It is vacation time:
“Come apart and rest a while“
RESPONSES WEB-WORK Nº 07
FOR YOU: What is the Psalm before this?
PSALM 22
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Why do you refuse to help me or even to listen to my groans?
Day and night I keep on weeping, crying for your help,
but there is no reply for you are holy.
The praises of our fathers surrounded your throne;
they trusted you and you delivered them.
You heard their cries for help and saved them;
they were never disappointed when they sought your aid.
But I am a worm, not a man,
scorned and despised by my own people and by all mankind.
Everyone who sees me mocks and sneers and shrugs.
"Is this the one who rolled his burden on the Lord?" they laugh.
"Is this the one who claims the Lord delights in him?
We'll believe it when we see God rescue him!"
Lord, how you have helped me before!
You took me safely from my mother's womb
and brought me through the years of infancy.
I have depended upon you since birth;
you have always been my God.
Don't leave me now, for trouble is near
and no one else can possibly help.
I am surrounded by fearsome enemies,
strong as the giant bulls from Bashan.
They come at me with open jaws,
like roaring lions attacking their prey.
My strength has drained away like water,
and all my bones are out of joint.
My heart melts like wax;
my strength has dried up like sun-baked clay;
my tongue sticks to my mouth,
for you have laid me in the dust of death.
The enemy, this gang of evil men,
circles me like a pack of dogs;
they have pierced my hands and feet.
I can count every bone in my body.
See these men of evil gloat and stare;
they divide my clothes among themselves by a toss of the dice.
O Lord, don't stay away.
O God my Strength, hurry to my aid.
Rescue me from death;
spare my precious life from all these evil men.
Save me from these lions' jaws
and from the horns of these wild oxen.
Yes, God will answer me and rescue me.
I will praise you to all my brothers;
I will stand up before the congregation
and testify of the wonderful things you have done.
"Praise the Lord, each one of you who fears him,"
I will say. "Each of you must fear and reverence his name.
Let all Israel sing his praises,
for he has not despised my cries of deep despair;
he has not turned and walked away.
When I cried to him, he heard and came."
Yes, I will stand and praise you before all the people.
I will publicly fulfill my vows in the presence
of all who reverence your name.
The poor shall eat and be satisfied;
all who seek the Lord shall find him and shall praise his name.
Their hearts shall rejoice with everlasting joy.
The whole earth shall see it and return to the Lord;
the people of every nation shall worship him.
For the Lord is King and rules the nations.
Both proud and humble together, all who are mortal
-- born to die -- shall worship him.
Our children too shall serve him,
for they shall hear from us about the wonders of the Lord;
generations yet unborn shall hear of all the miracles he did for us.
What does it inspire in you?
Psalm 21 was quoted by Jesus on the Cross. It is the beginning of a long lamentation. It continues with a prayer and the hope that God will soon respond to his cry for help. It ends with a hymn of praise and an invitation to all the people to join in it.
Look for passages in her Letters, Conferences, in which Mary Euphrasia cites Jesus the Good Shepherd. Do you find many?
CONFERENCES:
CHAPTER 6
THE GOOD SHEPHERD
"When we fall,
Jesus holds us lovingly and graciously,
and swiftly raises us.
(Julian of Norwich)
1."I am the Good Shepherd; I give my life for my sheep."
My dear daughters, during this week weshall reflect together only on the Good Shepherd. This subject will provide us with ample matter forthought, for Jesus the Good Shepherd is the true model whom we must try to imitate in order tomeasure up to the holiness of our vocation. He is the divine original we must endeavour to reproducein our conduct. Because he stooped to make us partners in his work and has put us, so to speak, in hisplace in the sheepfold where he has gathered in so many unfortunate sheep, we must, on our part, befilled with the spirit of our adorable Master and live with his very life. My dear daughters,You will do no good nor have the spirit of our vocation until you have the thoughts and affections of the GoodShepherd, of whom you must be the living images inthe midst of your dear flocks. Now, what did Jesus say of himself? "I have come to save the lost."(Matt. 18.11) How did He accomplish that? He followed sinners with a father’s concern and boremuch weariness to lead them back to Him. Do you remember His wonderful kindness in welcomingJerusalem's notorious sinner, Magdalen, when she fell at His feet washing them with her tears? Whydo you harass this woman? Stop persecuting her!" (Mk. 14:4) See Him, another time, seated byJacob's well; He is tired and rests awhile. But He is waiting for a soul, waiting to save the Samaritanwoman. Watch Him in Jerusalem: a guilty woman, deserving stoning, is dragged before Him. "Letwhoever is without sin throw the first stone." (Jn. 8:7) the crowd slinks away. Gaze at Him after theResurrection, still the Good Shepherd in search of two sheep who, discouraged and sad, have leftJerusalem, City of Peace, to go to Emmaus, stronghold of confusion. He joins the two disciples whoare filled with consternation, their faith reeling; He walks along, going neither too fast nor too slowfor them, joins in their conversation, suiting Himself to their weakness, the better to teach them andenlighten the darkness of their minds.
"His will is that we should be like Him in holiness,
and never-ending love
to ourselves and ourneighbour.
(Julian of Norwich)
2. There, my dear daughters, is the example you must follow, for you are called to be so many GoodShepherds, imitating the self-denial, the spirit of charity and zeal of Jesus Himself. Like Him youwill go to Emmaus in search of runaway sheep, to surround them with the Good Shepherd's care andlead them back to the fold. A difficult task, but great, noble and divine to the eyes of faith. Never bediscouraged at difficulties. God allows us to meet them sometimes to revive our zeal should we beinclined to tepidity. The object of our thoughts, words and actions will be the salvation of our dearsheep, like our Saviour whose thoughts, desires, actions and toil had no other end. Indeed, thewonders he works in our dear girls clearly show how much he longs for their conversion. Be full ofzeal, then, to save these souls entrusted to your care. Let that be your life's work. This thought musthaunt your prayers to make them more fervent, your Communions to arouse holy love, your dailywork, to enkindle in you more and more the fire of love and zeal. Don't forget - one must be holy to
work effectively for souls, given totally to God, no longer concerned with self nor with things. Jesushas chosen you, he has made you partners in his Mission to all peoples so that you maybear fruit. But what fruit? Fruits of conversion and salvation! That is the way you will attractabundant blessings and graces.
The fruit of the Spirit is love, kindness,
gentleness and self-control. (cf. Gal. 5:22-23)
3. Work to become worthy of your wonderful vocation, by a burning, active and alert zeal and acharity without limits, always keeping the Good Shepherd before you as your model. "You who governthe flock of Israel are just as truly Shepherds," God tells us by one of his prophets. Untiringlystrengthen the weak, heal the sick, bind up the wounds of the injured, raise up the fallen, search for the lost ones. Beware of treating them harshly, and ordering them about haughtily. Do remember,dear daughters, you will never do any good when you correct unkindly. I am far from blaming thosewho, obliged by certain circumstances, correct strongly and firmly; however, it is by greatgentleness that you will gain hearts and minds. Once you have won them, you will be able to doanything with people. You will calm these naturally rough characters, soften them and eventuallygain them for God.
I am the Good Shepherd; I know my sheep
and my sheep know me,
I lay down my life for my sheep. (Jn. 10: 14,16)
4. It seems that Our Lord had a particular affection for the sweet name of Shepherd: the princes ofIsrael were called Shepherds, and he chose as his first adorers not only the poor, but poor shepherds. The reason? Their way of treating their flocks expressed better than any other symbolic figure thetenderness and concern of this God who is so loving towards his dear sheep. How, in fact does a good shepherd act? He who forgets himself, often has to endure hunger andthirst. He is crushed by fatigue and difficulties - no matter! He is happy if his sheep do not suffer andif he finds any who are lost. What trouble he takes to lead his flock to good pastures! In summer heseeks out places where there is water and shade; in winter he leads them to where the cold is lessbiting and the grass more abundant. If he notices poisonous plants near the little lambs he hastens topull them up. Day and night he's on guard against wolves - he never completely relaxes.
The folds that receive many penitents are
always blessed by God. Don't be afraid
to deprive yourselves in order to receive them.
Even if you had only one piece of
bread, share it with them and be at peace.
God will take care of you!
5.Now you can see what to do for our young people, for the children God has entrusted to you. Watchover them carefully, noticing their needs of mind and body and prudently leading them to spiritualpastures suitable to each one's state. This is why it is so essential for you to be imbued with thespirit of the Institute: it will teach you the right way to fulfil a charge of such importance. Whengrass is lacking in the chosen ground, the shepherd rolls up his tent, asks, if necessary, the help ofother shepherds and seeks another site where there is more abundant pasturage even though he,personally, is not so well placed, has to leave his relatives and friends, and go far away. He reckons these inconveniences as nothing, satisfied if his sheep can graze. So, what we see shepherds doing fortheir flocks shouldn't we do for souls who cost our Lord his precious blood and who, for that veryreason, are most dear to us? I must admit that even during my Novitiate the urge to work for theconversion of sinners haunted me so relentlessly that I felt guilty and accused myself of it as atemptation. I often wept at night because I didn't have enough penitents. WhenMgr. Montault sent his delegate to us in Tours to propose the foundation of a house in Angers, my joywas so intense that I thought I was almost in heaven! In those days, a new foundation was so difficultand so rare! Now, however, we are privileged in having our Institute erected into a Generalate, withmany blessings from the head of the Church. He wants to see our houses all over the world, so youwill pitch your tents from end to end of it. One town, one foundation cannot satisfy your zeal - it mustembrace the whole world.
Go and make disciples of all nations. (Matt. 28:19)
6.St. Paul said: "I am neither Greek nor Roman, I belong to every country." St. Francis Xavier alsosaid: "I am not only Spanish - I am Indian. Chinese, Japanese; in fact I belong to every region where Ipreach the Gospel." There, you see, my dear daughters, the right attitude - those are the dispositionswhich must inspire the Institute. Let us rouse ourselves and go forward! As we are all Shepherds, orif you prefer, Shepherdesses, no one small corner of the earth should hold us back. As for me, I nolonger want to be called French! I am Italian, English. German, Spanish, American, African, Indian ....I belong to every country where there are souls to save. Don't be afraid to pitch your tents on distantshores if sheep are there to lead to the fold, sheep from Italy, Bavaria and all Europe; from America, Africa,Asia and Oceania. Bring them all in!
My sheep listen to my voice... and they follow me. (Jn. 10:27)
7.The more you hasten to answer the call, the greater will be your victory. And here I feel I mustgive you some important advice. You know that Scripture tells us that the Good Shepherd leavesninety-nine sheep to go in search of a single stray; in the same way, let us leave ninety- nine otherworks to lead back the lost sheep of the house of Israel. By that, I mean that if you cannot open severalsections you must give preference to the work for wayward girls and women and our Magdalens. Ihave noticed that our houses which are satisfied with these two apostolates always do well. Moreover,dear daughters, never found a house for our Magdalens if you haven't a suitable property. They needfresh air and solitude. You will only expose them to dangers and temptations if you put them wherethere is no garden and inadequate accommodation, where they cannot be quite separate from the othercategories. Here in Angers, the centre of the Institute we have a variety of Apostolates because wemust form the novices in different kinds of work, but you can see that we have several buildingsseparated from each other, a very big garden and enough resources for all of them. The differentsections have no communication with one another, there is no shortage of Sisters to take charge ofthem and the grounds are spacious enough for everyone. All this ishard to find in some of our houses, therefore we must always and above all give shelter to those dearsouls who, lost in the stormy world, wandering in the midst of its dangers and snares, find itimpossible to recover from their falls. If you abandon them to busy yourselves with otherapostolates, you will no longer have God's graces and blessings.
Hold on to what you have so that no-one will take your crown. (Rev. 3:11)
8. Let us recall what our saintly Fr. Eudes said when he urged us to keep our vows to God faithfully,above all the fourth, to labour for the conversion and instruction of souls who have strayed from theright path. "Be sure." said he, "that while you persevere in this holy work, you will be truedaughters of the Holy Heart of the Mother of God; she will inundate you with all kinds of blessings. But if for any reason whatsoever you withdraw from this work, you will no longer be calledDaughters of the Most Holy Heart of Mary, Mother of Jesus, but Daughters of Belial. Heaven'sblessings will be withdrawn and curses will come upon You." These words are frightening yet theyare clearly written, they are printed and you may read them in the preface to our Holy Constitutions. But wait! Only Daughters of Mary, or only Daughters of Belial? Isn't a middle course possible? Indeed, no! Amiddle road is not possible, just as it is not possible to stand upright without wobbling while standingon one leg! We must hold fast to our vocation and the vows we have made, otherwise we shall fall andbe lost. Let us aim steadily at the one objective, and not deviate from the Congregation's intentions. Inthis way we shall populate Paradise with souls, and make sure of it ourselves.
Do you love me?
Feed my lambs. (cf. Jn. 21:15)
9.You would not deviate from the aim of your vocation if, with due permission, you opened a sectionfor young boarders - that has always been allowed from our very beginnings. In fact, you can find inour Book of Customs, a little rule of life drawn up just for them. Even so, you must be sure that youcan fulfil your obligations in such away that the care given to the boarders would not, in any way, beprejudicial to the attention given to the penitents. If this were the case, you would have to give upboarders. With regard to the 'preservation' sections and orphanages, I urge you to read the words of theSovereign Pontiff in the brief of erection of our Generalate. So, my dear daughters, as we havealready said, your orphans and boarders, if you have any, will be as it were, the lambs of yourflocks. Bring them up with great tenderness and charity, sacrifice your livesfor the whole flock. But I must again point out that if the number of Sisters is limited, or if thepremises cannot be adapted, you should keep to a penitent's section only. In that way you will gostraight to the point of our vocation. Above all, take care not to become involved in works foreign toour Institute. We have quite enough obligations and must not undertake any that do not concern us. Would you think of undertaking shelters, hospitals and such works to which we are not called? And doyou imagine that by doing so you would benefit your houses? No, not at all! It is true that we are poorand have many needs, but a wonderful and miraculous Providence watches over us. Don't worry, dearchildren, go on taking care of our Divine Shepherd's sheep and lambs with zeal and love and try tohave him faithfully served by others. Be sure that in acting thus, He will never allow you to want forfood. As our Father, he will see to all your needs.