I was born in Plouguerneau
Anna Bernard lives at the St Charles retirement home in Verrières le Buisson. During her African missionary life, it was Kabylia that welcomed her and she has wonderful memories. She also spent many years in France, always to render the humble service of cook there. With great kindness, she responded to our little interview. Anna, are you from the family of Mother Marie Salomé? She was a relative from afar, but I knew her family well. In Plouguerneau where I was born, I was close to one of her nieces. We were five children, I had two older brothers and two younger brothers. Only the youngest remains, my godson, whom I telephone. In what language do you speak to him? In Breton, of course! I even pray in Breton. When I arrived in Kabylie, I was told that it was a very difficult language to learn. I learned it with…
To do what God wants
Mother Salomé spoke very little of herself, wrote even less, and shortly before her death most of her writings were destroyed at her request. On the day of her First Communion, young Marie-Renée prayed “to be a great saint by doing what God wants.” Even at the end of her life, it was still the same desire. Her nurse told her, “I think the good Lord is coming to get you.” And Mother Salomé repeated her favorite saying: “When He wants … I am not afraid.” During the day, she often repeated this request to the holy Virgin: “Through your example, may the constant cry of my heart be that of Jesus: ‘Father, may your will and not mine be done.‘ ” From this comes her devotion to daily duty, to ordinary actions. She writes: “We must work without ceasing for our sanctification. However, we cannot do it by extraordinary…
Mother Marie-Salomé and Breton Spirituality
Over the centuries, Breton Spirituality has venerated Breton personalities known for their exemplary life from a Christian point of view. Few of them have been recognized as saints by the Church’s canonization procedure, but they have been honoured by the people, their very existence not always being historically attested. From 2021 another statuette has been added to this demonstration of ancient popular spirituality, that of our Venerable Mother Marie Salomé, who was carried on the pilgrimage by Danielle Burthier and 3 lay people from the Lavigerie family. An article by Danielle will follow on Sharing Trenta Aprile with details of this experience. According to a late literary and hagiographic construction forged from the eleventh century, the seven founding saints are traditionally reputed to have founded the seven bishoprics that existed in the late Middle Ages. Because of their precedence to any canonical procedure, these saints have not been officially recognized by…
Refreshment in Mother Marie Salome’s country
On April 6 and 7, 2019, seventeen Missionary Sisters of Our Lady of Africa went on a pilgrimage to Plouguerneau, in Brittany, France, where our first superior general Mother Marie Salomé (Renée Roudaut) grew up.
Joy
“Love begets joy – and what joy! pure, solid, deep, unalterable; a joy that is reflected on one’s countenance producing a continual serenity; a joy that is a foretaste of that of the blessed.” Mother Marie-Salomé Joy gives a new dimension to Mission. How, without it, people would believe that we have Good News to share with them? If the joy in belonging to Christ penetrates and is shared, our life as consecrated people will witness to a God whose love is the source of life and happiness. The joy of which we speak is neither a carefree joy, immature, which would be unaware of the difficulties of life. No, it is a joy which is firmly rooted in the world’s realities, but which at the same time goes deeply down in the reality of God’s love. That’s what gives it its solidity, this “hope against all hope”, which spurs…