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Talk on St. Madeleine Sophie - May 18, 2009 |
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Written by Barbara Carey, rscj
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As I was preparing for this Feast and for this talk, wanting to bring together somehow where we are right now, our world, our country, our Society, and our dear Saint, I decided to seek some inspiration from the Conferences of Helen McLaughlin. I have to admit I have not read or prayed about all these wonderful resources that the Society has compiled. But in fact, I was quite amazed to find how relevant some of them are. In particular, I was struck by her Conference to the probanists in July, l993, in which she gave them their name “The Song of a New Creation”, with the devise from Romans 8
“The entire creation is groaning in one great act of giving birth.” I want to quote a paragraph from her words which seem so appropriate to us today.
“We all know that we are in the midst of a social and cultural upheaval; a new civilization is being created. Our world, and within it religious life, is experiencing the pangs of giving birth; it is a painful and messy moment but also a beautiful and exciting one. What have touched you during these months are values that, consciously or unconsciously, humanity is crying for. We are at a turning point in history, but this time, you and I, all of us, are agents of change. . . . Every birth is a wondrous mystery (a mystery that inspires wonder) that calls for a new song…. The history of religious life is a remarkable story of change, of adaptation, of re-focusing of the charism and mission; in other words, it is the story of one great act of giving birth. Our future lies in our capacity, your capacity, to give birth and thus revitalize our mission and structures across time. The fate of our Society is in your hands, as it is in ours. Your song, your incarnational creativity in living out our charism, our mission, will be an expression of your faithfulness, an act of giving birth.”
Helen goes on to say that this involves three imperatives, among others. She singles out Compassion, Prayer, and Relationships. It is not just a personal thing; it must have a communitarian dimension; it must be relational. She also says, “The new song the world wants to hear is not a song without conflict, but a song that sings the beauty, the struggle, the pain of any true relationship. It must sing forgiveness, reconciliation, must create anew, embrace each person without distinction and not allow love for your own country or province or friends, or even vision and ministry … to stop at any border
She challenges them, and we can hear her challenging us today: “ You are called to influence our culture, this new civilization that is being born, and you can do it through your compassion, prayer, and the quality of your relationships. If the apostles, only a few men and women, were able to influence civilization after civilization, why can’t your life, your presence, influence our times?”
Sophie must have heard words like that spoken to her heart by the Holy Spirit who was her constant leader. She too lived during a time of turmoil and change, and with only a handful of women influenced the birth of a new civilization and a whole new way of living religious life. A woman of deep prayer, spontaneous compassion and strong relationships, she drew others to her like a magnet. In a Conference on the Spirit of Our Holy Mother, Helen says this of her: “Madeline Sophie was a woman of her time, a woman of vision , who responded generously and energetically to the calls of the reality of her time – moved, guided, driven by the Holy Spirit – a woman irradiated by the Spirit, the Spirit of love, joy, and strength.”
We too are called to live by the Spirit as she did, as we strive in our own way to manifest the love of God in today’s world. We nourish this common mission when we share our lives in the light of faith, when we listen together to the calls coming from our often complex daily experience, when we discern together and actively commit ourselves to respond to the groaning and groping of the whole creation, so palpable and so urgent today. This responsibility for our mission is forcefully expressed in our Constitutions (par.40):
“Each one’s commitment to the progress of the whole is an expression of our communion. Each religious has a basic responsibility which she cannot surrender and which no one can carry out for her: that of living in the truth of her heart and her life, wherever she may be, the charism of St. Madeleine Sophie. This means listening to God’s calls in the world, in others, and within herself.”
To listen deeply we must be open to change and to be changed. Change is a word which we hear often today. We are aware that the speed of change is increasing so rapidly it may sometimes overwhelm us or knock us off balance. But we must not fear it. Certainly, Madeleine Sophie did not, nor did she fear being changed herself, as we read in the quote on our recent update from the MLL group report: “How many times, having thought out in advance such and such change, have I been obliged to change my views once I have seen all and heard every point of view.” May we all be as open, generous, and courageous as she was.
As I come near the close of this talk I want to mention an incident related by Patty Garcia when they were considering where to place the little wooden statue of St. Madeleine Sophie in the motherhouse chapel. When Patty asked the Little Sister of Jesus who recently had renovated the interior of the chapel, what she thought, the Sister looked at her first and then said, “I see her in the midst of you praying.” Isn’t that a lovely way to think of our dear saint? It reminds me of the beautiful poem written by Marie-Therese Thery,RSCJ, which is on the International Web site now. It invites us each to think about what it is that we love about Sophie. I want to close by reading my favorite stanza:
What I love about you, Madeleine Sophie,
is your eagerness to serve –families,
young people and children.
I love your creativity, your dynamism,
the talent for rejuvenation that made you say,
at 83,
“The world is changing;
and we must change too.”
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