As the Sisters of the Sacred Heart are undergoing their Special Chapter, the figure of Philippine beckons to each one of us. Let us go to meet her. Let us contemplate once again her vision of Holy Thursday 1806, the unfailing source of her missionary dynamism. For this evocation, let us remember the account she gave to Madeleine-Sophie on April 4, 1806, and to Frenzel's interpretation (image below).

Philippine receives abundantly the living water that gushes forth from the open Heart of Christ.
The Word, the Word that creates, nourishes, transforms in his image, is presented in the humblest form:
the Eucharistic bread for the road, the life-giving drink, drink that opens to a new birth.

Philippine receives to give. Together with the work of freedom, she receives from Heart of Jesus.
She receives with one hand what she gives with the other. But who are these new admirers of the Body and Blood of Jesus delivered up out of Love? They are the natives of the New World, oblivious to their dignity as God's children and who have become slaves of European colonists seeking only profit.
To respond to the urgency of sharing with them the Good News of the Resurrection of Christ, Philippine "spreads her love everywhere without fear of exhausting it".

Is she alone in this mission?

Certainly not, a good number of saints accompanied her, particularly St. Francis Xavier who wanted
"to go to the poorest parts of the world". Xavier, who wanted "to go to new lands to enlighten".
This course she followed, against all odds, with courage and determination.

How did she succeed?

Her trust in Providence is at the heart of her work. It never fails her. In her many letters, she realistically describes the endless waiting for approval from her Superior General, the disappointments and obstacles that hindered her plans. Then, like the psalmist, she turns always to the Lord.
Here is an expression of this from the moment of her arrival in New Orleans on July 9, 1818:

"Why worry about the future? Now, Providence always shows itself for us and for the mission.”

Together, on this day of her feast, let us ask her to share this faith with us.
 

 

Marie-France Carreel RSCJ