Further down the street, there is the opening of "the path of the English",
a place which, during the One hundred year War with the English, was a
way for the local inhabitants of the village to get in and out without having
to pass through the city gates. On top of the opening to this passage, there
was a launching pad, that was used to launch projectiles to the attackers.
Retreat centre in Châteauneuf-de-Galaure, France
Marthe Robin, a simple country girl, became so sick as a child that she
could not even finish primary school, spent all her adult life in her bed,
in her room.
Her condition worsened progressively as she grew up, and in the end
she was paralyzed and blind.
Still people flocked in thousands to her bedside, every day there was a
queue outside her house, people waiting their turn to be allowed in, one
by one, to get the opportunity to talk to her, and to tell her their problems,
and to ask for advice. She would listen, but first of all she would always
pray with them, before she would talk.
She drew people to herself, as she lay in her bed, unable to even stand up.
She was what is called a «mystic», she had the stigmata of Christ, and she
lived the Passion with Him at the end of every week.
The How, the What that happened to her, and IN her, is what made me
want to go there on a retreat, 33 years after her death.
The What I understood to be what she herself allowed to happen, her
cooperation.
It did not «just happen», rather it was a question of allowing, through
the use of her willpower and understanding, letting the unfortunate and
painful circumstances of her life to be used by Jesus, she united herself
to him, consciously,
willingly.
It was not just believers that came to visit her, people of no faith came too,
and also as news of her spread, a team of doctors came to ask permission
to bring her to a hospital in Lyon, where they wanted to carry out tests on
her.
Why?
Due to her illness she was unable to swallow, and because of that she lived
without food. For decades. The only food she had was the Eucharist.
And we know that that is impossible.
And yet it happened.
There are still people alive today that can testify to that.
Marthe Robin was proclaimed Venerable in November 2014 by Pope Francis.
The recognition of Marthe's "heroic virtues" by Pope Francis is a decisive step
in her cause for beatification. A file presenting an inexplicable healing obtained
through her intercession is being studied in Rome.
By proclaiming her Venerable, the Church gave as a model to Christians the
way in which Marthe Robin lived the theological (faith, hope and charity) and
cardinal (justice, prudence, strength and temperance) virtues. She recognizes
the exemplary value of the life of Marthe, who gave herself completely to God
and to others without any selfishness, facing the difficult situations of life with
a strength that is not simply human.
In the written work about her, I learned that even as a child, she always had
the Rosary beads with her, and she would pray the rosary whenever she had
the opportunity.
That was the foundation for what happened later.
It made her available to God, and it made her willing and wanting to give
herself completely, to hand herself over entirely, later on.
What she allowed to happen in her, was based on the understanding of the
teaching of the french
Saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort.
The books that explains his teaching are the only ones recommended to us
pilgrims, I bought two of them.
This priest lived in the 17th and 18th century, so the style of the language is
obviously different, but I still understand what he means.
The retreats are based on his teaching, and my experience there have hugely
increased my faith in Jesus Christ.
Marthe Robin was regarded with suspicion, mistrust and fear by many
people, also by many people in the church, throughout her lifetime.
Even today many still want to try and prove that she was «faking it», so that
they can be «right».
Books to this effect has been published and are still to this day being
published.
Conrad De Meester, an «expert on catholisism» had drawn up his report
regarding Marthe Robin, it was submitted to Rome, where it was dismissed.
On the contrary; Marthe Robin was declared Venerable, by Pope Francis,
a key step to beatification, and the Pope recognized her as being
"heroic in virtue".
At her funeral there was 4 bishops and over 200 priests.
Apart from Jesus, we have to remember:
«Don't trust leaders; don't trust any human beings—
there's no saving help with them»
(Psalm 146:3)
«Put no trust in a neighbor; have no confidence in a friend; guard the
doors of your mouth from her who lies in your arms; for the son treats
the father with contempt, the daughter rises up against her mother,
the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; a man's enemies are
the men of his own house.»
(Micah 7: 5-6)
«It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man.»
(Psalm 118:8)
«Thus says the Lord: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes
flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the Lord. He is like a
shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell
in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land.
“Blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose trust is the Lord.
He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is
not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.”
The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can
understand it?»
(Jeremiah 17:5-12)
And the devil, who is everywhere, and it could be any well respected
member of the Church, also suffers a lot from jealousy. He hates the
success this retreat has had in bringing people to Jesus. He wants an
end to it. But he will not succeed.
I pray every day:
The Joyful Mysteries, The Sorrowful Mysteries and
The Glorious Mysteries.
Every Friday I pray Marthe Robin's meditations on
The Stations of The Cross.
By daily recitation of the Mysteries of The Rosary one unites
oneself to all the differents events and situations of Mary and Jesus's life.
For example; When I pray The 3.rd Joyful Mystery;
The Nativity of Our Lord,
I commit myself, me too, to giving birth to Jesus.
By my daily living, words and actions.
All the mysteries are connected, of course:
Praying the mystery of bringing Jesus into this world reminds
me daily to give up my fears.
Which is connected to the Sorrowful Mysteries;
in the 2.nd Sorrowful Mystery,
the Scourging at the pillar, I hand over to Him my fears of pain,
fear of being hurt, rejected and ridiculed.
That gradually dismantles my defensive system, my automatic
reactions.
It is a re-setting, a change of configuration.
The interiour landscape opens up, and I become more available
to others, more present, in other words, more capable to carry out
the 3.Joyful Mystery: of bringing the
love of Jesus into the world.
Dublin, Ireland:
I am at a pro life Rally in Dublin, there is a big crowd and many speakers.
I am with a woman for the day, who I met on the way up on the bus.
Going for a cup of coffee afterwards, at a point where we crossed the
street, we came across a couple who was staring at the big crowd of
people gather for the Rally. I overheard the woman asking the man
what it was all about, and he answered with contempt and judgment
in his voice that it was «those pro life people».
If we allow the influence of the media who tries their best to tell us what
we should believe and how we should think, to condition us, to make us
conform to their concepts, and the world, we will remain blunted
spiritually and therefore also emotionally.
Our level of awareness are low, we "live in darkness" and we become
easy prey for the lies and manipulations of this world. Since the fall
from grace, Man has cut the cord that linked him to God, the Creator.
He can now justify just about anything. Respected people who holds
high office promotes abortion as a civil right for the woman.
The baby in her womb, who is also a person, has no rights, no protection,
and neither does the father of the baby.
The woman claims the right to decide over her own body, and she is
right. She should take complete control of her body, always, not just
only after she discovers that she is pregnant.
A village in France
Going in to the old Church for the start of Mass, I was met by the new
parish priest.
Wow, he was young, and seemed very sympathetic and energetic!
As he introduced himself from the pulpit at the end of mass, he told the
congregation that he was from Lisieux, and was therefore influenced by
the teaching of Saint Thérèse.
St.Thérèse:
St.Thérèse was born into a well-to-do family in Aleçon, but her mother
got sick after she was born, and little Thérèse was «nursed away», as a
baby; she stayed with a woman who nursed her until she was 1year old.
When she was 4, her mother died, and the family moved to Lisieux.
Then, when she was 9, her sister, Pauline, who had become her mother
substitute, also left her, because she entered the Carmelite convent.
That became too much for Thérèse, who had a nervous breakdown,
and she became ill.
She must have felt that everybody closest to her, the people that she
depended on, just went away from her, abandoned her.
Then, in the middle of her illness, something happened, she recovered,
and burning with desire to consecrate herself to God, she too, decided
to enter the Carmelite order.
She was under the official age of entry, but because of her strong will and
determination, and her supplication to Pope Leo 13, in person, she managed
to get an early entry.
By character she was stubborn, and not always easy, but despite her human
weaknesses, her manuscripts and teachings has earned her the title «Doctor»
of the Church.
Her teachings can be summed up in «A complete confidence in God, a total
abandonment to Him»
«Surrender everything, give oneself completely», and «Become very small,
in order that He can rule everything»
What I associate most with St.Thérèse is her way of perfection in the small
everyday things and situations.
It is not a matter of performing big or extraordinary things to prove or show
our love for the Living God. It is the opposite, it is to do the ordinary small
things of everyday life exceptionally well. That is within every person's possibility,
and that is also the road to holiness.
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