He Is Risen As He Said! – A Reflection By Sr. Marie Mackey, CSJ
Easter Greetings to the St. Paul’s Community!
I had the extraordinary opportunity to be in France for the Holy Days and the Octave of Easter. It was no ordinary trip, it was a pilgrimage to the sacred sites of the Sisters of St. Joseph.
We were officially founded in LePuy, France in 1650 with six women and a Jesuit priest, Fr. Jean-Pierre Medaille, SJ. Medaille was an itinerant preacher and spiritual director. As the Congregation of the Great Love of God grew and expanded throughout France, God’s presence was palpable.
During the French Revolution all religious communities were suppressed and those who continued to gather for Eucharist or were found harboring priests were guillotined in the public square. Our CSJ history tells us the six Sisters of St. Joseph met their fate with the blade. As I stood on the spot I remembered my religious ancestors. In particular, I remembered our Savior, Jesus Christ, on the cross. His Great Love of God, his Abba, and his teachings about God’s mercy and inclusion was too much for religious and civil authorities to fathom.
Despite the Reign of Terror there eventually was a new dawn. For the Sisters of St. Joseph, it meant a refounding of the Congregation requested by the local bishop. The woman he chose was Jeanne Fontbonne, who like all the religious went back to her family to live a quiet life once she was released from prison. This task to be the greatest challenge of her life.
Known as Mother St. John Fontbonne, she went about quietly and patiently gathering young women to once again let God’s inclusive love be manifest. In 1836 a request was made by Bishop Rosati from St. Louis to send some sisters to teach deaf children as well as Native Americans. Other requests for her sisters came from other parts of France and the known world. She lovingly sent her daughters out to make God’s love visible. Today, there continue to be 9,000 Sisters of St Joseph throughout the world ministering to the “Dear Neighbor.”
We too are sent out into the world to proclaim that Jesus is Risen! God’s love is alive! WE are people of Hope! God is asking great things of us! Let us be filled with joy. Let us make God’s presence palpable to one another and all those we meet!
Alleluia!
Marie Mackey,csj