Information service of the Pontifical Mission Societies since 1927
Vatican City (Fides Service) - Although Charles de Foucauld (1858-1916), whose name will be inscribed in the register of the Blessed by Pope Benedict XVI on Sunday 13 November in St Peter’s, lived as a hermit in the Saharan desert and never founded a religious order, today several religious and lay groups in various parts of the world draw inspiration from his teaching. Here are testimonials of a few of the spiritual daughters and sons of the new Blessed.
Sr. Marie Dominique is a member of the Little Sisters of Jesus community in Azrou, Morocco, where the Fraternity has been present for over 50 years. She works in a hospital and her colleagues are all Muslims. “I am convinced there are values we can live together because they exist for Christians and Muslims: for example, forgiveness and encouragement to do good works, to be ready to reconcile when there is a small discussion at work. These are things we can live together and we can encourage each other to do good. In my prayers I include everything that happens in my work and so they too are part of my prayer, although they do not know .”
“Our way of life does not detach us from the world in which we live - says Brother Lorenzo Chavelet, of the Little Brothers of Jesus -. This is why our Fraternities have no particular outward signs. This does not mean that we hide: we say who we are, we Brothers living in a religious community but without any particular sign, like Jesus who dressed the same way as everyone else. We look for humble jobs: factory workers, or cleaners, hired daily farm hands, workers in homes for the elderly, or as craftsmen, the sort of jobs which ordinary people do to earn a living. Not long ago one of our Brothers who had lived for many years in a village in southern Egypt died. He was a craftsman and taught his trade to many of the local people. Just before he died he said to his friends: I have not given you much, all I want to say is that I have loved you dearly and this is what I was meant to do and I think this is what we all must do, love those around us.”
Sr Casimira de Jesus, a Little Sister of Jesus, lives in Portugal, in a village of unauthorised huts built by immigrants from Cape Verde, Angola, Sao Tome e Principe. “They came in search of a better life and found only a hut to live in or they had to build a hut- the Sister said -. We chose to live here with them. We live in a hut like everyone else: and they, the Africans, helped us build it. We came to live among them to help them obtain a better life. We feel our mission is to live side by side with these people and help them build a life which is more worthy, human and normal. They came here to earn money for their families at home in their countries because they are extremely poor. All they want is to make the life of their loved ones a little better”.
“Our life is a sign of God’s tender love for each person and we show it by caring about others with tenderness - says Sr Agnes Noele, from Burkina Faso -. There is nothing very special about our life; it is made of prayer, friendship, love for every person, poor or rich. Tenderness comes only through prayer. The centre of our lives is the Chapel where we live this friendship and learn how to show tenderness.” For Sister Yvonne Valette, also from Burkina Faso, it is important to welcome everyone: “Our door is always open to welcome and listen to all who knock and want to tell us about their suffering, to have a conversation, to pray in our chapel, or ask for advice. If they ask, we are very willing to visit the family. Not far from our hut there is an old lady who is paralysed. She likes me to pop in everyday, just say ‘good morning’”.
Sr Odile Fessler and Sr Jacub Salwa live in a working class district of Cairo. “For three years I worked in a sewing factory with very poor girls - says Sr Odile -. Most of them were under twenty. We were supposed to work from nine to five but the girls often had to stay until eleven or midnight. During the month of Ramadan I invited some of them to share our evening meal. We spoke a lot about God, the importance of prayer in our lives. In our Fraternities prayer is the most important part of the day: actually we live prayer, it is part of the whole day and we find God is everywhere even in places we would never expect. We agreed that we can pray even while we work at the factory, even in the loud noise of the machines we can be intimately close to God”. (S.L.) (Agenzia Fides 11/11/2005, righe 52, parole 803)
