40′ For God with Saint Thérèse Couderc
On 17 August, the animation team, Sr Toussainte from the Montmartre community, Paris, Ms Susanna Paccagnini from Milan and the Regional Director of the Groupement Séculier, and Sr Patricia Byrne from the London community met in Lyon.
Thanking the Lyon community for their welcome and the use of one of their cars for the week, we left early the next morning to drive up to Lalouvesc.
Once settled into our accommodation at the Maison des Sources, we immediately went to visit ‘the fourth other member of the team’, Sainte (Mère) Thérèse !
And here is our team !
We attended the Vigil Mass and the Sunday morning Mass to get a feel for the context and to meet the people, in particular P. Michel Barthe-Jean sj, responsible for the sanctuary of Saint-Jean-François Régis in Lalouvesc, and Ms Agnès (assistant in the parish) who were our invaluable collaborators for the week !
We were delighted to see the poster announcing the week displayed in various places around the Basilica, and in the bars, shops and on public notice boards village.
Our team had already met twice on Zoom over the last few months to prepare. We chose the following 6 themes, with each of us leading the prayer in turn. A small booklet was prepared for each day with extracts from the letters of Saint Therese, a song, pictures and biblical quotations according to the theme of the day
Day 1: An encounter with St Thérèse: her life
‘I have only desired, desired and demanded that God’s will…this thought gives me great peace’.
Who is St Thérèse… what is she saying to us today ?
Day 2 : Prayer
“…the nearer one draws to God the more one desires to draw near to Him; the more one is united to Him the more one desires this union, because one understands ever more fully that God is the centre of our heart and that He alone can fill it and make it happy”.
An invitation to Listen to the voice of the Lord in our lives
Day 3 : Prayer with the Five Senses and Goodness
God has given us five senses to discover His creation, to discover Him and His Goodness!
Taste and See that the Lord is Good ! (Ps 33, 9)
Day 4 : The surprises of God
(doors to open at the turning points in life to see God’s surprises)
The Lord is the door !
What events have marked our lives, opening doors to God’s surprises ?
Day 5 Se livrer – Self-Surrender
That’s all I did; I surrendered myself ; the Good Lord did everything else.
Day 6 : Everday life :
God in all things
“Let’s make good use of the present moment, which is the only one available to us.“
Day 7 : Feast of St Thérèse Couderc
The grain of wheat that falls to the ground…following Christ to serve
What must I leave so that my life bears fruit in abundance…..so that God is the centre of my life?
What call am I hearing from the Lord?
Every afternoon at 4pm, we gathered around the shrine of St Thérèse for prayer. The number of participants varied, sometimes we wondered if anyone would come, then suddenly there would be a small group of 6 or 9 or 10 who arrived, which included a small group of faithful parishioners who came every day, joined by a few pilgrims passing through.
After prayer, we were always available to listen to those who wanted to talk or to share their life experiences.
Although the numbers were not significant, we sometimes had the impression that we were witnessing the experience of ‘the lost sheep’ (cf. the parable of the lost sheep – Matthew 18, 10-14).
A few words (and photos) about our life together during this week :
We had a truly international experience of community life, with all its gifts and challenges, especially as none of us was a native French speaker!
Our day began with a time of prayer together. This was an important time for sharing our faith, praying for various people and for the many intentions that were close to our hearts. We then took time to review the theme for the afternoon’s prayer and to print out the booklets which we gave to people to help them in their reflections and prayers.
We went daily to the parish Mass, which was also an opportunity to meet the people of the village and the pilgrims passing through.
We took it in turns to prepare lunch and dinner. Sometimes we invited our collaborators to join us, for example the Jesuit community (Father Michel and Brother Yve) and Mgr. Hervé Giraud, the Bishop of Viviers who was visiting them, and with Agnès from the parish. They were also delighted to welcome Patrick Cabus, the former caretaker of the house, who came to visit us.
Sometimes, after prayer in the Basilica, and depending on the weather, we went for a walk in the village to enjoy the surroundings !
In the evening, after dinner, we got together to review the day and check the points for the following day.
Day 7 : This was the Feast Day of St Thérèse Couderc : The celebration was at the Basilica presided over by the Bishop of Viviers, Mgr Hervé Giraud, with the Baptism of Méline !
We were very grateful to Sr Marie Céline Dehondt, who arrived on Saturday evening from the Lyon community, for her very generous offer to lead the liturgy of the feast. Needless to say, the villagers, while appreciating the presence of foreigners among them, really enjoyed seeing and hearing a French sister!
The day began with the usual morning prayer, but on this day we chose to pray in front of the precious objects that belonged to Mother Thérèse.
The Basilica was magnificently decorated with various bouquets of flowers created by two ladies from the parish.
What a joy to have a baptism on this Feast Day, and to be celebrated by the new Bishop ! And what a wonderful link between this baptism and the Feast of St Thérèse Couderc ! Little Meliné, who is 1 year old, is the granddaughter of Mr Bernard Besset, a wonderful man, and his wife Annie, who helped us so much throughout the translation process of Mother Thérèse’s body, Bernard having unfortunately died suddenly a few months after the transfer.
Everyone took part in the celebration, including Meliné’s family and the Cenacle sisters.
Patricia carried the portrait of Mother Thérèse in the opening procession.
After receiving Meliné for the beginning of the baptismal rite, Father Michel invited the Cenacle team to share briefly an aspect of Mother Thérèse’s life that touches them today. Toussainte sang the Psalm 33, Taste and See.
During the offertory procession, Susanna brought a bouquet of flowers that included blades of wheat, prepared with love and generosity by the parish’s two florists.
After the Mass, the Jesuit community invited everyone to an aperitif in the square, another moment of conviviality and to hear how much Cenacle Sisters are appreciated, and missed of course !
Then it was back home for a festive meal before returning to the Basilica for the last prayer of the Feast. This prayer took place in the Basilica, as there were around 25 people, our faithful participants plus the pilgrims and those who were in Lalouvesc for the weekend.
Gospel according the St John
Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honour him.
After taking time to reflect on the Gospel, we invited those present to write on a piece of cloth what they heard the Lord calling them to live as a service at this time in their lives, and to place the cloth in the pocket of the large apron, as a sign of their commitment to the Lord’s call.
We then listened to the song Take Lord, receive as our offering prayer.
We asked the people if they wanted to take their piece of cloth home with them or if they would like us to take them to our Sisters in Lyon who would pray for them. There was a unanimous desire to take their calls to our Sisters and ask them to pray for them.
With the week of prayer over, it was time to return home and open up the museum for an hour-long guided tour for those who wanted it.
We had decided during the week that each of us would concentrate on one room, so we had taken time to familiarise ourselves with the contents. Toussainte was in the first room to tell the story of Mother Thérèse’s early life.
Patricia was in the second room, guiding visitors through the significant objects linked to Mother Thérèse’s life and prayer.
Susanna was in the third room, the cellar, to tell the stories behind the artefacts there.
Sr Marie-Céline helped us to manage the movement of people so that the spaces weren’t overcrowded. We had around twenty-five people pass through in an hour.
What a busy day… and a busy week!
People are certainly very interested in finding out more about Sainte Thérèse Couderc, through her letters and the displays in the museum.
Our day ended with a final evaluation of our experience. It was a blessed time for each of us. It was demanding, of course, but we gave everything we had to offer in faith, hope and love, confident that the Holy Spirit had done the what was necessary during those days.
Even though we were tired at the end, we were grateful for the experience we had had and for the lessons we had learned from our mission together !