“A work has been entrusted to you”
Bernadette Mc Namara rscm – Unit of France
This title spontaneously comes to mind when I think of our archives and the work accomplished over the years and in recent times too. In every sense, we have experienced this here in Béziers recently. In view of the current evolution of the Mother House, and in response to the call from LCI, Catherine Dolan came for the 4th time to reflect on the archives and to suggest the destination of this treasure protected over the years. This is a concrete aspect of discernment for the future. Many of you know the archive rooms of the Mother House and have perhaps had the opportunity to look at them closely. Among others, who among us has not been touched to see the very handwriting of Father Gailhac or the notebooks of Appolonie Cure Pelissier?
Energetically supported by Claudia Pacheco, Thérèse Marie Potelle for days and myself for a few hours, Catherine was able to see how to orientate the task entrusted. Reviewing the road travelled since 1949, admiring the sum of the work accomplished by Marie Paule over the years led us to experience various feelings, throughout the days when we shared the tasks : surprise, interrogations, wonder and gratitude.
Revisiting the letters of our dear sisters, such as the circular letters of our Superiors General, we can recall the words of Father Gailhac in his letter of October 7, 1878: “Here on earth their great example of virtue will never be forgotten, it will also be a great encouragement to follow in their footsteps…”.
In speaking to us of the past these records also remind us that there is a time for everything as Ecclesiastes tells us. Change is a continuous factor in reality, in any institution, in our lives. At every stage of our history we have moved on to roads not marked out in advance. The archives will soon go to somewhere else but we remain what we have received from our roots. This change invites us to let go of what was, while tasting the richness of the relationships we have built up over the years… Thank you for all that was, and trust for what is to come. The roots remain in our hearts … Let us move forward into the future following the light of the star.
