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The
first MSOLA came from France (Britany) and the congregation
has always have a great number of French sisters among
its members.
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| Sr.
Monique De Pissy accompanies an algerian young woman that
after years of searching has asked to be baptized in the
Catholic Church. Sr Monique accompanied her all along
these years till her Baptism. She was her Godmother. |
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The
work and mission
of the MSOLA in France
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| Sr.
Cécile Dilé with a group of young people,
opening them to the missionary reality. |
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The mission of the MSOLA in France today
The founder
of the MSOLA Congregation Cardinal Lavigerie, was born at Bayonne
(France).Our
first superior general Mother Salomé and our first Sisters
came from Brittany. They had never been out of their homeland
but, strong in their faith and their sense of mission they crossed
the sea… to Algeria and beyond.
Our first
Sisters were followed by many others from France in the course
of 123 years! At present we are 281 French Sisters, of whom 47
in Africa.
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Our
younger members
Cecile
Dilé has just done her final vows,
on September 21st 2002 after some years of mission
in D.R. Congo and a time preparation in France.
She is now in London learning English, preparing
herself for her new mission in Africa.
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| Sr.
Cécile Dilé from France.She has done
her final vows and is now in London learning English,
preparing herself for her new mission in Africa |
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| Sr.
Laurence Huard the day of her first commitment.
Actually she is in Mauritania. |
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Missionary
Joy
Laurence
Huard who is in Mauritania shares her missionary
joy with us:
"Together
we learn to discover our differences, to look
at one another in a new way….I live in
a situation where the power of our charism is
very clear: " to be all to all", to
accompany, be a link between the different communities
in the country."
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Witness of unity
Véronique Hégron, who is in Ghana,
tell us:
"For
me today, to be a Missionary of Our Lady of Africa is to
be a messenger of Christ and of the Gospel; to be a witness
to unity and a sign of hope by my presence which, everywhere,
strives to discover the meaning of life, to work for more
justice and dignity, without making distinctions between
persons.
I wish
to respond with all that I am to the Gospel message, to
say "yes " to my deep desire of belonging totally
to God, so that through Him, I may be "all to all"
and find the true happiness of my vocation…"
I thank
God and all my Sisters, who, through the witness of their
Missionary life have given me the certitude that this "yes"
to Christ and to Africa can fill my whole life!"
As for
Cécile Lambert, she is getting ready to start
her postulate in September.
There
are lay people also who are linked to us, in the
spirit of our Founder. They belong to our families, they
have known us in Africa, they feel at home with us.
What
will come out of all this ?
It
is God's secret, but " If this enterprise… is
of human origin, it will break up of its own accord: but
if it does in fact come from God you will be unable to destroy
it!" Acts: 5:38,39
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Our
communities in France
At
present we have 24 houses in France.
The welcoming communities are: Marseilles Les Chartreux,
Cuire, Sceaux Roosevelt. The oldest of these
is Marseilles - founded in Mother Salome's time in
1898.
Sceaux Filmins is the community that cares
for our sick sisters.
Paris Gay Lussac is a house for mission animation
and the regional house is at Maisons-Alfort.
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| Community
of Gay Lussac in Paris. From left to right: Agnes, Marie-Cecile,
Rosi, Genéviève, Gosia. |
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There are
some small communities: Mouzaïa, Coulommiers, Lyon 8°,
Clerval, Carcassone, Marseille-Olives where the sisters live
very close to the population.
New since
this year: Valenton in an inter-cultural area, and Versailles
for our sisters working on the history of the Congregation.
One large
community, Verrières, welcomes our elderly sisters.
Some inter-congregational communities in the region of Paris
are: Meaux, Chevilly Larue and Bon Secours.
In the North there is Lille; Villeurbanne in Lyons, Aix-en-Provence
and Mougins in the South.
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| Africans
in France. |
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Immigrants
in France asking for
regularisation of their situation. |
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The
context in which we live
Like
the whole of Europe, France has seen a huge influx
of immigrants - a number of them without papers, illegal
immigrants, who live most precariously with regard
to lodging, employment, and security.
Among the immigrant population are some five million
Muslims, including a number of French nationality.
In
the last 30 years, as our sisters mainly from North
Africa, came back, a number of insertions were established
in France. Cities or quarters with a population largely
from North Africa were favoured. Carcassone, Marseilles-Olives
and Lyon 8° are still of that number.
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Sr
Marguerite-Marie Luc, has been named by the Bishops
to be responsible for pastoral work among migrants
in the South.
Sr.
Béatrix Dagras is also working in this
domain. Others are involved in inter-religious dialogue.
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Sr.
Marguerite-Marie Luc with an
African woman at Marseilles. |
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France,
now mission country, what do you say to our missionary hearts?
Our churches,
especially those in large towns, are filled with brothers and
sisters of all nations and colours, who little by little are taking
on their responsibilities. More and more lay people are playing
their part in the life of the Church, and small communities hold
on in spite of everything and are overflowing with initiative.
Mission, then,
is no longer foreign mission only; it is here on our doorstep.
This mouvement of peoples is at once a challenge and a grace.
If there was
a time when faith was deeply rooted in a highly individualised
social context, our society today is one with a marked indifference
towards the practice of the Christian faith.
There seems
to be a change in view, however imperceptible. We are invited
by our Bishops to live the Gospel of the Beatitudes in this context,
which is ours and to propose our faith in Jesus in the midst of
a multireligious society.
The Spirit
blows where He wills!
An African
proverb says: "The tree that
falls should not forget the forest where it grew!"
As MSOLA we
are invited to share in the grace of a Christianity that lives
in fragility.
For most
of us it is no longer question of climbing up and down stairs
in the apartment houses, of visiting schools, of giving professional
advise… the hour has struck for interiorisation, like a lamp
that lights up the darkness and burns silently - attentive to
what awaits to be born at the heart of each encounter.
"It
is better to light one candle than to curse the darkness!"
Many of us
are aware that our strength is diminishing, yet strangely enough,
those in contact with our communities ask in astonishment: "How
is it that you are so dynamic?"
Is it not
true, that the essential comes as a grace? For now is the time
to love, to pray, to help one another in the humble activities
of everyday life. It is thus that Jesus comes to us… He shines
through our poverty!
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