Bernadette Mc Namara continues the reflection with the Enlarged Family:
“We also need to work tirelessly, like a gardener jealous of his flowerbed, looking for new and rarer flowers…this means we can’t stand still, but move forward every day, climbing step by step and acquiring new virtues. This is the surest way to please God, to live according to his will”.
The founding of the Institute in 1849
In 1851, Father Gailhac laid the foundations for a community of Good Shepherd priests. Father Gibbal was the 1st member in 1853, followed by other fathers and brothers.
The same year, 1851, saw the purchase of Bayssan: a vast estate of 80 hectares of vineyards and garrigue land. This was the start of an agricultural colony for boys, for which Father Gibbal was responsible.
Purpose of the work: “to educate the boys, introduce them to agricultural work, and guide them towards agricultural trades”, p. 126 in Rosa do Carmo’s book. The urgency was to care for and cultivate … not to dominate or abuse, with one overriding prevision: to also have the space to help with health … a diversity of tasks in open-air spaces.
In his Laudato Si text, Pope Francis urges us to:
- Paying attention to beauty …. Which helps us to get out of pragmatism…
- A new paradigm for our relationship with nature…
Our spirituality must lead us to a passion for preserving nature: let’s become protectors of God’s work…in what ways do we offend God’s creation by our actions or non-actions? We’re much more effective at achieving our goals in this area through community networks.
“Teach us to contemplate you in the beauty of the universe, where everything speaks of you.
Today we thank God for the Maison Jean Gailhac project: where young people are taken care of in CREFS (Centre d’Entrainement à l’effort).
