會祖的心-聖于法西亞

很久以前，在200年前的法國，一個偏僻但美麗的島上Noirmoutier，

一位小女孩誕生在法國革命的流放者家中。小Rose Virginie Pelletier

高興的生活在這小島上，在松樹和沙子間俯瞰蔚藍的大海。

但是溫馨的家庭不足以掩蓋生活的黑暗面:岸上的奴隸買賣、

她父親的死亡、遠行到(法國)大陸上一所嚴峻的寄宿學校離開那既平靜

又安全的家、在少女時代失去了它的母親。

對和她有同樣遭遇的激起同情心的火花，之後變成烈火。當她得知Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge收容被虐、瀕臨毀滅、身處危險的婦女，她的心簡直就要爆發了:這就是她所屬於的地方。修女的會院就在她寄宿學校附近，天主帶她來這裡是有用意的，她也全心回應天主。在1814年，她加入Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge修會並使用她所喜愛的聖人:聖于法西亞的名字。

于法西亞修女(會祖)的寬宏加上她對天主的信任日增，很快的她就被派去照顧一群女孩子，之後也被任命為院長。她的熱忱沒有界限，她希望天主所有的孩子有一個安全的地方成長、來學習關於我們慈愛的造物者。她相信每個人對天主來說都很重要，無論是天主對個人召叫、賦予使命、或有所作為。她堅信天主對她的愛是無條件的，藉著每日的祈禱、傾聽天主的聲音、自己的靈修，來成立一個使徒修會，並推展到全世界，去尋找那心靈受傷的。

她也成立了默觀修會，藉著祈禱，緊密的和使徒修女連結在一起。有著教會的祝福，之間遭受了一些階層人士和Sisters of the Refuge修女的誤解，她在1835年於法國的安吉(Angers)成立了善牧修女會(Sisters of the Good Shepherd)。她是一個富有創意及講求實用的領導者，吸引了其他熱心的婦女和精神理念相同的人來協助她。在她1868年去逝時，她已在35個國家成立了110個中心。目前大約有5500個修女在68個國家服務。

使命(救靈的熱忱) 會祖相信福音，天主就像是一位悲憫的牧者，新約中耶穌稱天父為父親，祂以無限的愛創造了我們、賦予我們尊嚴。耶穌將祂的生命作為天父救贖的使命，藉著聖靈的工作，把每個人轉變成有如神一般的聖潔。會祖總是專注在同樣的使命:去愛和去尊重每個人的尊嚴，盡所能為人類的福址努力。

對天主的信仰
她對天主的信仰表現在她對待其他修女的方式、注重禱告、尊重人以及喜愛天主對她的召叫。

忠誠
以耶穌善牧的榜樣來追求她的生活，在生活中，遵循天父賜給她的恩寵，這就是她真正的幸福所在。依循著那些恩寵，為她帶來了深層的平安和和滿足，連她身旁的人也注意到了。對於她聖召的忠實，使她和大善牧:天主合而為一。

謙虛
她堅強的內在生活(與天主的關係)，意謂著天主是她生命中的堡壘也是她的牧者，這給了她自信心來行善，即使她自身遭受嚴重的批評。對她來說，完全的信任天主也是信任別人，人們回應她謙虛、尊重他人的相處方式。

十字架
包含會祖在內，沒有人喜愛苦難或受苦。她知道苦難在大部份人的生活中是現實的，所以想辦法讓受苦的人快樂一點。在做這些善牧的「神聖工作」時，常常是身心受苦的。她將自己的受苦看成正面的，她相信並教導她的修女們:生命、成長及希望可以藉由痛苦、悲傷和失望而來。她和她的修女們以大牧者:天主做為她們的象徵，祂為了別人而犧牲自己的生命。

依循教會的聖事
會祖以教會的聖事、禮儀年、聖經為生活的依據，因為這些都是耶穌活在現今世上的跡象。聖體聖事對她來說，是天主最大的慈悲，也就是天主愛她的奧跡。藉著領聖體，我們得以與那被給的、被祝聖的、被分開的、以及被轉化的耶穌基督結合。

教會驗證了她的熱忱，因她致力於擴展和保衛她(教會)的使命，這工作和救靈有關，讓教會的使命和工作更為生動，會祖的喜樂在於知道她和教會並與天主的子民在主內合為一體。

會祖本身也因自己對天主子民的忠誠而被轉化，教會在1940年肯定了她這忠誠的神聖:宣布她為聖人。聖于法西亞那天可能會說「沒有您(教會)，我根本不可能辦到」。事實上，在她寄給她在全球各地的修女們鼓勵她們的信中，她也總是這麼說。

這是關於一個人感到天主在她內心的運動，所做的回應，結果如何就交給了天主…之後豐收滿溢，她也得到了完整的喜樂。每個人都可以問問自己「慈悲的大善牧:天主如何在我內心說話…我如何聆聽並採取更忠誠的行動?」

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The Heart Of Our Foundress—Saint Mary Euphrasia Pelletier

Once upon a time, two hundred years ago, on the remote but beautiful Island of Noirmoutier, France, a daughter was born to exiled prisoners of the revolution in France. Little Rose Virginie Pelletier delighted in her prison-island amid the pines and sand overlooking azure waters.

But a loving family was insufficient to hide the dark side of life: slave traders on shore, the untimely death of her father, a move to a bleak boarding school on the mainland away from all that was peaceful and secure, the loss of her mother as a young teenager.

 

A spark of compassion for others in a similar plight grew in this young woman’s heart to consuming dimensions. When she heard of the work of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge, who took in women and girls caught in abusive, destructive, and dangerous situations, her heart nearly burst: this is where she belonged. And the Sisters’ home was in the very neighborhood of her boarding school. God had brought her here for a purpose and she responded with all her heart. In 1814 she entered the Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Refuge and took as her patron, St. Euphrasia.

 

Sr. Mary Euphrasia’s generosity and trust in God grew and soon she was given responsibility for the care of a group of girls and later appointed as the leader of the community. Her zeal knew no bounds; she wanted all God’s children to have a safe place to grow and learn about their loving Creator. She believed that every person was of deep importance to God, with a personal calling or purpose to belong and to make a difference with her/his life. She continued to grow strong in her confidence that God loved her unconditionally. She was led through daily prayer and deep listening to God and her own spirit to form a community that was missionary (apostolic), allowing for opportunities to reach out to the whole world in search of the wounded in spirit and heart.

 

She also formed a Contemplative branch of the community, closely linked to the apostolic Sisters through prayer. With the blessing of the Church, amid some painful misunderstandings of some of the hierarchy and many of her own Sisters of the Refuge, Mary Euphrasia formed the Sisters of the Good Shepherd in Angers, France in 1835. She was an ingenious and practical leader who attracted the assistance of other dedicated women and many like-spirited persons. By the time of her death in 1868, she had established 110 centers in 35 countries. Today approximately 5500 Sisters’, active and contemplative, serve God’s people in 68 countries.

 

Mission (Spiritual Quest)
Mary Euphrasia believed in the Good News, that God was like a compassionate Shepherd. Christ of the New Testament had revealed God as an ABBA (Father), whose love was boundless by creating us with dignity. He himself gave his life to the Father’s redeeming mission of salvation, through the Spirit’s work of transforming each person into God’s holiness. Mary Euphrasia was courageous to act always in light of this same mission: to love and respect the dignity of the person and do all she could for the sake of people’s welfare.

 

Faith In God
She modeled her faith in God to her Sisters in her own manner of person and the priority she placed on prayer, respect for people, and love of her calling.

 

Fidelity
Taking Jesus the Good Shepherd as the quest in her life, happiness for her was to know she was following the graces that her loving God provided in her life. Fidelity to these graces instilled a depth of peace and contentment in her that others noticed. This practice of fidelity to her calling is what created oneness with Christ, her Shepherd God.

 

Humility
Her strong interior life (relationship with her God) meant for her that God would be her defense and her Shepherd all through her life. This gave her the self-confidence to act for the good in spite of sometimes severe personal criticism. Her complete trust in God meant for her to trust in others as well. People responded to her humble, respectful way of relating.

The Cross
No one, including Mary Euphrasia, loved suffering in and of itself. She knew suffering was a reality in most people’s lives and worked to make their existence happier. It was in going about doing this “Holy Work” of the Good Shepherd, that many days were full of physical and emotional pain. She saw her suffering as a positive reality. She believed and taught her sisters that life, growth, and hope can be born through pain, sorrow and disappointment. She and her sisters claimed the symbol of the Shepherd, who lays his life down for others.

 

Sacramental Life of the Church
Mary Euphrasia found a home in the Church through its sacramental life, liturgical year, and the scriptures as signs of the living presence of Christ in the world. The Eucharist, for her, was the greatest gift of God’s mercy, the mystery of God’s love for her. In receiving the Eucharist we are each joined with Christ who is given, blessed, broken, and transformed.

 

Her zeal is validated through the Church be extending and protecting her mission. This is the work and doings of the Spirit, which animates the mission and works of the Church. Mary Euphrasia’s joy was knowing that she and the Church were one in Christ and with all the people of God.

 

Mary Euphrasia was herself transformed by her fidelity to the people of God. The Church declared this fidelity holy: she was made a saint in 1940. St. Mary Euphrasia probably said on that day, “I couldn’t have done it without you.” In fact, she always would say this in her many encouraging letters sent to the sisters ministering around the world.

 

This is just one story of a person who felt the inner movement of God in her heart and responded. God did the rest…and the harvest was overflowing and her joy complete. Each person can ask, “How is the merciful, Shepherd God speaking within me…how can I listen and act more faithfully?”