REFLECTION BY FR. PAUL LANDOLFI I just finished reading, Marie Therèse de Lamourous, Firm of Hand, Loving of Heart. By Fr. Joe Stefanelli, SM. I highly recommend it. Why not take a break now; you can finish it in a half hour.
Something struck me very much.They say if you want to know what kind of teacher you are, ask one of the students to teach a part of your class. They will imitate you. But isn’t this the way we all learn. So if I want to know something about Fr. Chaminade’s style or methods, I should look at some of his disciples. Therèse was, perhaps, his most devoted follower. When she became the Directress of Mercy House, she applied all that she was previously doing in the Sodality of Bordeaux. Her methods were the same as Fr. Chaminade’s. Fr. Joe sums it up beautifully.
She (Therese) used an extensive yet simple network of committees and meetings to involve as many women as possible in the organization and running of the house, to make them more conscious of the needs of others, and to prepare them to manage a household, whether as parents or servants, when they left the Misericorde. Each was given tasks in keeping with her talent and her potential; each was encouraged and taught to assume ever-greater responsibility for her own life. (p.16)
This was precisely the pattern in which the Sodality of Bordeaux developed under Fr. Chaminade. He talked about “multiplication of Christians”. It was not just to share the Good News to individuals, but to help these individuals become apostles who would share with others who would continue the process. The Marianist Family was called to be a witness of a “nation of saints”. The Church wants it to be a Movement.
We pray through the intercession of Therèse for an end to human trafficking. She spent most of her life working against this.
If you do not have a copy of this short life of Therese, you can obtain a copy from NACMS.
Peace - Paul Landolfi, SM
