Does orientation seem important to you? And you — how do you find your way? And, finally, one more question: do you let yourself be guided?
When I have the chance, on the feast of Saint Marie Eugénie I like to pray with the little ones and tell them what the Assumption crest means, the one they wear embroidered on their uniform, over the heart. There are crests that orient our passion, focus our gaze, give vigour to the work of our hands, enlighten our understanding and help us to pray.
Nowadays it is easy to find one's way. Our phone and the right app help us do so. And, if you are not very skilled with technology, you can always ask a passer-by, another walker or a driver to lend a hand.
When I think of the spirituality of Saint Marie Eugénie, and as I was looking for how to write about it, some instruments of navigation and orientation came to mind — ones used since ancient times which, in their own way, are the forerunners of modern systems.
The astrolabe is an instrument once used to determine the position of the heavenly bodies. Our spirituality of God Alone helps us to praise, bless and contemplate God in creation, in every creature and in history. The astrolabe, by looking to the sky and the stars, helps one to navigate. Yes, to look to Heaven in order to live and to reach a safe harbour.
Careful, though! Our spirituality does not only look to the sky.
On setting foot on solid ground, the ground the Son of God inhabits… "The Word became flesh," we sing with the joy of children in the Son during the Christmas celebrations.
And here the compass comes into play, always pointing north. Our north, in our spirituality, is Jesus Christ. It is clear: so we pray it, so we sing it, and so we wish to pass it on in our mission of transformative education. "Everything comes from Jesus Christ, everything belongs to Jesus Christ, everything must be for Jesus Christ."
Anyone who sets out on a road, a journey, has to pack their bags. Depending on our responsibilities, we sometimes have to think about provisions for many. What is clear is that, in the Assumption, our Saint spoke to us of joyful detachment.
Joyful detachment? It is the attitude that allows us to see everything from the perspective of God's love and goodness. It helps us to grow in inner freedom and to place ourselves at the disposal of the breath of the Spirit.
The compass rose, painted on maps, spreads its arms towards the four cardinal points, the intermediate points and the direction of the winds. And what has it to do with our spirituality? The four cardinal points represent the world, the places — past and present — to which the mission of extending the Kingdom of Jesus Christ has led us.
The land mapped out on the charts is the land in which we must open the furrow and sow the seed in his Name. A land that is not a place of exile, but a land that gives glory to God. A land we are called to care for, because without it there is no home, there are no brothers and sisters. And the winds are the breath of the Spirit, which has made and makes it possible to embody the Word in the history of each place.
Every orientation needs a style of navigation that adapts to the conditions of the moment. There are times to look at and contemplate the horizon, and others to roll up our sleeves and get down to work. There are calm paths, still waters or shores where many of us have left our boat to sing: "I will follow you." On our path of following him, Marie Eugénie calls us to be Martha and Mary. Martha: in the action of educating, of looking at each person as a creature, of forming the intelligence from faith and reason, of transforming the world with each one's talents. And Mary: men and women of faith, of contemplation and of praise.
We must not forget that the Liturgy of the Hours sets our rhythm and that the words of the psalms unite us to Christ and to all humanity. We are Martha and Mary, two women who cultivated the spirit of family through their welcome and experienced Nothing without faith (their family's motto).
Walking, on pilgrimage or sailing… it makes no difference. We are the heirs of a woman who took her place on the field of the Church from the experience of her First Communion, from her conversion at Notre-Dame, beyond misunderstandings or difficulties. She loved the Church.
"You will leave everything to serve this Church you do not yet know." She came to know it, she experienced it and she loved it. With a true love, far from idyllic images. "…you must love the Church with an ardent love that you will pass on in your prayer and in your action" (Inst. 5.5.1878).
This duty is for all of us who are Assumption, because in the Assumption one lives in community, one extends the Kingdom with others and one works in different teams. And each with their own particular grace!
And Saint Bernard tells us where to look, with our own eyes, our own particular astrolabes, so as not to founder: "do not take your eyes off the light of this Star; call upon Mary!"
Without doubt, our spirituality guides us… Don't you think?
"Take and read" is the famous phrase that led Augustine of Hippo to conversion. So, if you want to keep deepening in the spirituality of Saint Marie Eugénie, make Saint Augustine's maxim your own. You have her writings, the website, the magazines and the chance to dialogue with lay people and sisters who guide their lives with the instruments proper to the spirituality of the Assumption.
Ana Alonso, r.a.