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At a certain
point you say
to the woods, to the sea,
to the mountains,
the world,
Now I am ready.
Now I will stop and be wholly attentive.
You empty yourself and wait,
listening...
Annie Dillard
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Feast of St Madeleine
Sophie Barat
May 25, 2007
The first RSCJ called by the Lord to establish the Society of
the Sacred Heart were attracted to solitude and desire to live in contemplation,
devoting themselves only to the interior life; but he who was for them the
medium of God's will made them understand, in a moment when faith was nearly
extinct, they should give themselves to re-enkindle it in hearts, devoting
themselves to the education of youth. Obedient to God's voice, they sacrificed
their attraction for the cause of his glory ....It seems that the Lord,
providentially guiding us, wanted to teach us that interior life must be the
first need of our hearts and only God's glory and the zeal for souls should make
us leave it. and that we should, in the midst of our exterior work, preserve the
interior attraction that unites us with God, so that we may not act but under
the impulse of his grace. if we possess this Spirit, it is to communicate it to
others
On the day of Sophie's Final Profession, June 7th, 1802,
when everyone was going to the
chapel,
Sophie
did not appear. At last she was found in the garden, under a
walnut tree. She was in an
extraordinary state
of
recollection completely unconscious of her surroundings: motionless.
God
was revealing himself to her
in this ecstasy. When
Sophie came back to earth, glowing and radiant,
she went to the
chapel and consecrated herself to her God who had so ravished her.
How are we being called to live
Sophie's dream / vision
in today's world?
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