Walking with Gailhac April 2023
“God takes care of what belongs to him”.
Dear Father,
May my words come to you as an expression of gratitude for all the experiences I have had on my vocation journey. You know everything that goes on in your daughter’s heart! I sometimes think that you must be tired of hearing so many pleas and requests, but I am more and more convinced every day of your solicitude and your patience as a father towards me.
The purpose of this letter is to remember the days I spent in Béziers and to recall the most significant experience of my entire journey as an RSCM. It was an intense moment that touched me so deeply that words fail to describe it. Sometimes I find it hard to believe that it was all real and the only thing I know for sure is that I really needed to experience that moment. It was such a beautiful dream that I wish it had lasted longer!
I began my writing with the thought “God takes care of what belongs to him”, somewhat modified from its original meaning (“God will take care of what belongs to him” – GS/5/VII//72/A*) to say that it accompanied me during our stay in Béziers. To reach the depth of these words, I had to go through a few days of desolation before I could, indeed, affirm what they provoke in me and what they inspire in me in the present time. This time spent in the “holy land”, in the cradle where everything began and where we were able to be close to your heart, was a time of immersion in the founding inspiration: “That all may have life”. A time that gave me energy, motivation, and great life goals, especially in my personal life. Going to Béziers gave me a new impetus, a greater love for our history and a strong desire to deepen our sources and our mission.
One of the most memorable days for me was the experience on the last day of 2022, when we went on pilgrimage, walking the same paths as you, on the “sacred ground” of your footprints. At each place we passed, I could imagine and contemplate your presence and our history. I would be lying, however, if I did not speak of the sadness and emptiness of seeing that some precious spaces no longer belong to us. The question “is this the end or a new beginning?” kept repeating in my head. Are we ready to accept what is being asked of us today? Are we reading the signs of the times with a heart full of faith and zeal?
The moments of silence that I took in this experience were fundamental so that I could have time to feel and formulate the questions that arose in my heart. Yes, I believe that it is very important to cultivate silence in our interior life, because it tells us much and confirms what is often not clear in the noise of daily life.
Father, I can say with a happy heart that I feel more and more a part of our history and I reaffirm what has remained in my heart after the whole experience of Béziers with our sisters. It is a time of new beginning; a new time and we are called to live and proclaim this newness that is being established among us. We are few but great is our desire to do the will of God, inspired by our Charism, Mission, Spirituality, confident in the purpose of life initiated by you and our first six sisters.
I ask the good Lord, through you, dear Father, to strengthen me/us in the way and purpose of being God’s people. May our RSCM Institute grow again in numbers and in prophecy and may its legacy of proclamation and presence of God where life is threatened last until the end of time. Strengthen in our hearts the desire to be faithful propagators of the Kingdom of God and, like Mary, women of “faith and hope”!
Thank you for continuing to take care of each of us, your “dear” daughters!
Daniela,
Brazil Area
