As we delve into the letters of Saint Marie Eugénie of Jesus, we realise just how timeless her words truly are. This is especially evident in her reflections on Easter, the Passion of Jesus Christ, and the Cross. Naturally, the context and circumstances of life have changed: the world is now more pluralistic, faster-paced and complex. Yet the principles that inspire us remain strikingly relevant.
To explore her perspective on Easter, we present two selected excerpts from letters Marie Eugénie wrote to the congregation during Holy Week. The first is dated 11 March 1877:
“God does not allow us to go through life without many afflictions. Sometimes they are afflictions of the heart; sometimes they arise from political life, as with those poor sisters in Poland and Germany who are being expelled from their convents, or as it happened to us during the Commune. Sometimes they are inner turmoil, temptations, spiritual pain.”
This perfectly illustrates the timelessness of her message. It could be mistaken for today's news: the change of administration in the United States, the conflict in Ukraine, or the suffering of the people in Gaza. Life is not a calm river. There is no life without movement, without disturbance. These inevitable trials are there to offer us the opportunity to experience life more intensely. But we must choose to walk this path — our own “Way of the Cross” — regardless of our beliefs, origins, or personal history. Everything will depend on how we walk it, and with what posture.
“Certainly, there are many crosses in the world — perhaps more in the world than in religious life. Do we not hear every day about financial losses, deaths, heartbreak, upheavals, revolutions? Crosses are not lacking, that is certain.
Why then, in the face of trials great or small, in daily contradictions, pains and sufferings, do so few people conform to that sign of salvation, the cross of Jesus Christ? What is missing is the meditation on the Passion of Christ. Few are those who seek to enter into Jesus' disposition toward suffering, and we cannot ask too much, nor strive enough, to acquire that disposition ourselves.”
This second excerpt, from a letter dated 9 March 1873, offers a more direct insight into Saint Marie Eugénie’s lifelong teaching: helping us live as intensely as possible. It resonates with the three postures that emerged during the International Education Meeting (RIE) in Manila in 2018 on transformative education: being rooted, being passionate, being bold.
Rooted: the roots of a tree carry the fuel needed for growth. That fuel is energy. For human beings, spiritual energy comes directly from our convictions. For Marie Eugénie, this infinite energy source is Jesus Christ. We see this implied throughout the second excerpt. She also wrote: “Jesus Christ must be everything for us” and “I am Christian: Jesus Christ is my only model.” Each person must develop their own convictions, their own free and infinite energy source. To walk the path with intensity, we need energy — and strong convictions.
Passionate: that indescribable blend of joy and suffering. It may seem like a contradiction, but it is not. Passion carries an intensity that can be found both in joy and in pain. It helps us stay focused, committed, and purposeful. Passion enables us to channel energy without wasting it. Passion demands effort. It is the opposite of entropy. It is difficult. It can be painful. But it makes us feel alive. And ultimately, it leads to Joy and Hope. For Marie Eugénie, passion is rooted in this connection to the life, Passion, and Resurrection of Christ. We too must develop our own “necessary disposition” to live our passion.
Bold: for Saint Marie Eugénie, it is essential to embody our passion in the present, in the real, in the physical. This is what creates movement, and therefore life. And we must do so with the utmost boldness. Boldness makes the difference between a lukewarm action and one that is decisive. “Crosses are not lacking” in today’s world. Jesus Christ offers us the boldest cross imaginable: the Cross of the crucifixion. What boldness, what radical action!
Ultimately, this forms a beautiful virtuous cycle. The more deeply rooted we are in our convictions, the more energy we will have to live our passion, and the more boldly we can embody it — bringing life, joy, and hope to ourselves and those around us. This, in turn, strengthens our convictions, renews our energy, and sets us back on the path again.
May each of us be as rooted, passionate, and bold as possible on our own Way of the Cross — on our path of transformation, and thus of Life in Joy and Hope.
Happy Easter to you all!
Vincent Jacobs
Province of Europe
¹ During the period known as the Commune in 1871, the Communards established a far-left autonomous government in Paris that promoted a radical separation of Church and State, even going so far as to expel religious congregations from hospitals, schools, and convents.
* Original illustrations of Easter at Assumption Boitsfort in the snow during the second year of COVID. Each class was invited to reproduce one of the Stations of the Cross based on a model — all done with conviction, with passion, and with boldness!