Self-giving, at the measure of women and men

Mission testimony at Saint-Joseph School in Ambohimahasoa (Madagascar) with the Religious of the Assumption

Before leaving for Madagascar, we received many words: admiration, encouragement, misunderstanding, and calls for prudence. Sometimes even impressive words: commitment, self-giving, generosity, example, model. Yet for Bérangère and me, going to live and serve for a year at Saint-Joseph School in Ambohimahasoa was not an achievement. After a professional life devoted to Catholic education, serving elsewhere felt natural. Still, a question emerged: are we being careless?

Does true self-giving really exist?

We long questioned whether a completely selfless self-giving truly exists. Every gift carries some benefit: recognition, peace, joy, coherence. Even religious life may first be a gift offered to God in hope of salvation. Marriage itself shows how demanding and fragile self-giving can be.

A year of mission… and transition

Our year in Madagascar is neither exotic escape nor retreat. It is a transition between professional life and a new future. A year to serve and transmit. A year to reflect. A year to meet, pray and discern. A year to reinvent life. At Saint-Joseph School, within the Religious of the Assumption, giving takes daily form. Self-giving becomes relationship.

When giving overwhelms and exhausts

Jean-Marie Gueullette’s reflection on Christian burnout helped us understand how the language of sacrifice may become a trap. When commitment becomes excessive, self-giving may turn into inner exhaustion. Pope Francis reminds us: “Charity needs rest.” Recognizing limits becomes an essential spiritual act.

Self-giving or mission?

Perhaps we should speak first of mission. Mission provides structure and protects self-giving from sacrificial distortion. Sent by the Religious of the Assumption of Orléans, we receive as much as we give.

Self-giving and the comfort zone

Self-giving always involves leaving one’s comfort zone. Changing rhythms, language and references is destabilizing yet transformative.

Conclusion

Blessed are those who serve without losing themselves. Blessed are those who give without disappearing. Blessed are those who discern within self-giving. Blessed are those who accept their limits. What if self-giving simply begins by receiving one’s mission, as Marie-Eugénie said: each person has a mission on earth?

February 4, 2026 — Ambohimahasoa

Bérangère and Jean-Pierre