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At the heart of our lives,
a hope…
In this world of turmoil, suffering, injustice and violence, we must often imagine the figure whom the poet Charles Péguy called little girl Hope with her feet wounded by her stony path, sometimes even with her eyes full of tears. But it is she who, day after day, takes us by the hand and draws us irresistibly toward the future which God has prepared for us, “a new heaven and a new earth where justice dwells”.
We wait… wait for the dawn of this new day in which humanity, reconciled at last, will raise its hymn in the splendour of the living God. We wait… like the woman who is with child, who carries hope within her, the promise of new life of which she can already see the signs. Her days are lighted by the child who is to be born, and this light transfigures her face, energises her entire being in the present, gives direction to her life.
In the same way the future promised by God is being prepared. In our own depths and at the heart of all creation, the Holy Spirit is silently present, the gift and promise of new life. We have only to open our ears, to listen to the world’s murmurs, as Marthe Westphal invited us to do on February 9th, our day of thanksgiving. We have only to listen to the murmurs of life, a Life stronger than death; to see it at work in so many little gestures which tell of forgiveness, reconciliation, solidarity and sharing.
“In this world you will have to suffer; but take courage, I have overcome the world.” Jesus came down into the abyss of evil, even to giving his life, and “Christ our hope is risen” – this is our faith – bearing in his flesh the marks of his passion. He is calling us today, just as yesterday, to follow him, to celebrate together the newness of life which he gives us, to let it bloom. What a great joy, this summer, to experience in this light sister Isabelle’s and sister Sabine’s professions of their lifetime commitment to our community, signs of God’s faithfulness fifty years after the professions of our first sisters.
To walk with the “God of hope…” This was the direction we received at our last Council. Such a beautiful name to express a reality with two aspects. God is the source of our hope, the God who keeps promises, whose presence among us never fails. God is also, and perhaps especially, the One who hopes within us, who hopes for the life of each one and for the world, who looks on with a hope bathed in tears. God looks and sees the suffering, sees our deep desires and does not hold against us the wrong we have done. God sees that we are still growing and has faith in us. What a mystery, such immense love, such infinite respect for our freedom as human beings, silently waiting and hoping.
To walk with the God of hope means to enter into this view of ourselves, of all those whom we meet, of all the suffering in the world. It means to sing of the Risen Christ who comes to us in the depths of our nights, our trials, our imprisonments, to open there a way towards Life.
Our Council was a chance to find out together how our life and our particular commitments may be a sign of hope for the church and the world today.
Several sisters gave their testimonies; an echo:
“The only way we can bring about a new era is to prepare for it now, within ourselves.” (Etty Hillesum, 20 July 1942)
In our disordered world, can a monastic vocation, with the three traditional vows, be a sign of preparing for a new era and give meaning to human life? Can it, through our daily life of prayer, living in community and openness toward the world, be a form of profound solidarity with humankind and with all creation in the pangs of giving birth? an alternative to, or even a form of resistance to the dehumanisation of modern society, in which human beings are treated as objects in the name of technological and economic progress?
Life in a community is a crucible, a place of transformation, an invitation to become ever more human, to open our hearts to others, to their joys and sorrows, to let grow within us the ability to be in relation, in communion. Sometimes this is a painful journey. It means committing one’s heart to a profound conversion, to leaving selfishness behind and divesting oneself of self, to giving oneself. And when the community becomes a place for sharing and forgiveness, for reciprocity and welcoming one another, there is the new era beginning to bud.
The vow of poverty invites us to embrace simplicity, a simple lifestyle, to share goods both material and spiritual. It is a way of gradual transformation, in which, little by little, we let go of our spirit of possession to move into a deeper way of being. To dare to give up everything in order to discover our need of the Other, and of others, goes against the dictates of “having”, of consumption, of everything, and of “everything right away” for oneself. Then our clenched fists can open up and our thoughts can lay aside all our inclination to sit in judgment on others. This opening of one’s heart, which is poverty, also makes room for sharing and for communion. It represents a liberation and a way of hope, of serving the cause of peace and justice.
The vow of chastity teaches us to love non-possessively, with a giving and self-giving heart. This is a major, on-going task for us in our relations. To learn to love inclusively – doesn’t it mean to allow the love of God to grow within ourselves, to open our hearts to that love which is freely given to all, and to live it out with our sisters and brothers?
The vow of obedience is meant to deliver us from our “almighty” selves, from our need to dominate, from the temptation of power. Obedience becomes loving attention within a covenant. It is a way of freedom, a way towards more communion; it leads from the solitary me to a me in solidarity. To the very end Jesus remained in solidarity with our suffering humanity, and to the end he lived in obedience to the loving will of his Father, to the cross from which welled up a compassionate force, a force bringing new life to all the earth. This is the light of hope which shines throughout all the nights of humankind and of the world.
Our commitments are a form of resistance to the worldly spirit contained in the three fundamental temptations; they are guideposts which direct our lives towards God, in God, and their call is not reserved for those who have chosen the monastic life! They translate also, in other ways, into other life situations. They are seeds of hope, speaking God’s Yes and God’s love to this world, God’s Yes to us; they speak of the Risen Christ who lives in us through the Holy Spirit, and of the breaking in of the new era.
“Hope… in our daily life”
Reading back through these months, we are amazed by all the traces of light and hope in the events of life, both great and small, sometimes even in the midst of our questionings and doubts… The lovely celebration on February 9th of the fiftieth anniversary of our first sisters’ professions, at the beginning of our Probation (community meeting in winter), took place in great simplicity and a joy, both deep and light-hearted, which brightened the whole year for us. A number of messages were given to accompany us on our way, and an especially strong one from Hildegard Goss-Mayr titled “Seeds of unity and reconciliation in a world undergoing profound transformation”. This celebration was followed by three days of workshop about Islam, with Sheik Bentounes, Father Christian Delorme and Nadia Karmous.
The time of Probation and the Council are highlights during which we receive a great deal – this summer through our meeting with brother François, the retreat with Marc Donzé, our sharings… Afterwards we have to “come down again”, to actualise what we have received in making it a part of our daily lives. Sometimes this is quite a challenge, but it helps us to stay flexible and move forward, if we are willing. It does not always go without tension or conflicts, but as Hildegard told us, “Welcome them as signs of life and youth!” The challenges are many, including that of keeping the right balance between our prayer life, community life, being open and receiving guests. It is not always simple, either, to find the right distribution of our energies among our different locations; this is true of Chalencon in particular, where we need to step back for a while to see how to continue this presence in Ardèche, in France, which is important to us. Sisters Laure and Pascale returned to Grandchamp in May, and sisters Lucie-Martine and Judith alone carried on a reduced programme for guests until mid-summer. Since the Council, the Home de Grâce has been put “on hold” for a year to allow us a needed time for discernment, keeping one sister there whenever we can to assure the continuity of prayer in that house. At Grandchamp, where sister Christel has taken over from sister Hiltje the local responsibility for our daily life, we keep on moving too; there are changes in the different areas of work and some major renovations in our houses (especially in the Béatitudes house, a new carpet for the Ark, and the acquisition of the Fontaines house, across from the Ark… ).
The emphasis put on training this year, for a group of novices and of postulants, called for a number of adjustments. It was a rich and stimulating period for sisters Hannah, Veronica, Ellis and Birgit – and for all of us! – concluding in early October with a trip to the Community of Bose in Italy. Those in the noviciate benefited from numerous special events. Through sessions open to all, many sisters were enabled to hear brother Pierre-Yves speak on the Holy Spirit, sister Lisa, from Bose, on St. Basil and Hildegard Goss-Mayr on the non-violence of the Gospel.
If the energy of our youngest ones carries us along, encourages us, and sometimes shakes us up, the courage, faithfulness and prayers of our eldest – sister Philomena who just celebrated her 95th birthday, and sisters Albertine, Anne-Marie, Danièle, Laure and Ruth – are full of light and hope which sustains us. Through their struggles and fragility, we perceive what is essential, and are strengthened in our own trials, struggles for health for several of us, and trials among our loved ones and our wider circle. This includes the very painful situations in which our sisters live in Algeria and in the Holy Land, where violence is still not ready to yield to peace, and where holding onto hope calls for poverty of heart and a profound conversion in our perceptions. During the autumn, sister Vreni, followed by sister Françoise, joined our sisters at St. Elisabeth for a few weeks, until we can find a third sister to take her place there for a longer term. Through Eve-Evelyne we are touched more concretely by the violence and suffering in the eastern Congo.
The group of persons, young and not so young, who share our life – they come from 12 different countries! – have opened up an amazing space for sharing and communion, especially Dina, who we’ve met in Israel and who spent a year and a half with us. They have been a great support to us, along with the faithful and generous help of sister Ursula Barthelmey, and of the Little Brothers of Jesus of Fribourg.
Visits and meetings…
little windows on the church and the world, are signs to us from God!
We had a most joyous encounter with the Little Sisters of Bienne, who have just celebrated their 50th anniversary, during our Council. The profession of two of our sisters was an opportunity to see many old friends, including Colette and Paul Kessler, and Nara… There were enriching meetings with a Brazilian theologian Ivone Gebara, with the north German Lutheran bishop Bärbel Wartenberg-Potter and Dr. Halbe, with the Armenian bishop Mgr. Adjenjan, among many others.
We were moved by a time of sharing with Yvonne Dind, returning from her Congo mission with Médair in the Ituri region, Eve-Evelyne’s homeland.
At the end of last year, Lucette and Ebenézer, on a sabbatical time in Switzerland, made several brief visits to Grandchamp. For them it was a retreat, but also a time of sharing about their ministry of prayer and intercession in the African Protestant Church in Cameroon, and about their way of seeing the cultural differences between Africa and Europe… The news of Ebenézer’s death on October 15th was a shock for us. What a courageous witness he has been, giving himself for his people and his church. His faith, his prayer, his friendship, his prophetic vision give us strength and hope.
Receiving guests continually invites us to widen the space within our tent – in a very concrete way when Bethasda sessions take place! Besides many guests and groups, we have had the joy of hosting several sessions for members of religious orders. Among all our retreats, let us mention the Easter retreat led by our chaplain, Jean-Louis l’Eplattenier; brother Pierre-Yves of Taizé led the Withsunday retreat, and pastor Pierre-Yves Brandt the one for the Third Order of Unity (T.O.U.), with the participation of two very committed members of the committee for retreats of the Methodist Church in Benin, West Africa, Eusèbe Gnanhoui and Anatole Ohouko. At the end of the T.O.U. retreat we had the joy of witnessing new commitments to the Order: those of Aline Lasserre, who in November had led a retreat in Benin together with Evelyne Roulet, and of Jacqueline de Dardel and Denis Petitpierre. Elisabeth van Ketwich Verschuur had made her commitment in June during the retreat of the Netherlands group, and Sophie Vallelian-Biéler had done so in September.
Travels and missions…
Sisters Irmtraud and Christel participated in the international Church and Peace meeting in Croatia, and sisters Anne-Emmanuelle and Dorothea in the first ecumenical Kirchentag in Berlin. Sister Christel travelled to Hungary for the blessing of the sister Olgi as the new abbess at Kismaros, sister Elisabeth to Whitby, England, for the CIR meeting, sister Janny to Soucieux, France, for the retreat of the Fraternity of the Suffering Servant; sister Françoise spoke at Caux, Switzerland at one of the series on the “Agenda for Reconciliation”.
Sister Regina went with Emmy on her way back to Indonesia, where the path of her life now lies; our strong bond with her family continues. Sister Siong was able to visit the sisters of Mamré in Madagascar; this community within the Protestant church of Madagascar has survived some growth crises and is deepening its roots in its vocation of prayer and sharing with the poorest people. For several years sister Christianne has returned faithfully to the Buchinger Clinic at Überlingen, Germany, for a fortnight in November, where she gives several meditations and lectures at the request of Françoise Wilhelmi-de Toledo. Sister Minke still receives many invitations from communities; among others, she participated in a round table in Milan on “Spirituality and Ecumenism” with Dom Louf and Mgr. Khodre.
Pilgrimages, and a journey called “Memory for Peace”
Among the many signs of hope, a very moving one for us was the “Memory for Peace” journey which was organised in May by Father Emile Shoufani at Auschwitz. He is an Israeli Arab, a catholic priest in Nazareth, who called on his Jewish and Arab brothers to “make a powerful gesture together for peace, disinterested, resolute and daring, as a first step towards building mutual trust…” Jews, and Arabs both Muslim and Christian, responded to his appeal along with some others. Sister Minke had the privilege of participating. In March, sisters Hélène, Hiltje and Dorothea too spent a day at Auschwitz, along with high school students and former deportees. These were deeply moving hours for all who were there, including our four sisters. Sister Minke said, “Auschwitz enlists us or makes us fall into total despair, if not a simple desire to run away. Indeed, how can one still have faith? How can one hope? Where is love? For me, it was Chagall who opened a way, with his ‘White Crucifixion’, this believing Jew on the cross in the midst of the chaos of anguish, desolation and his people’s horror, this Yeshua, feeling himself so abandoned, giving himself up totally in his ‘Yes’ to the very end. Chagall placed lamps at his feet, lights reflecting the light which comes from beyond, as a certainty. It is like Ground Zero where everything seems to have come to an end… but just there is where the light shines out, a seed of life, of love, of hope against all hope, a wellspring of goodness and humanity…”
From the Sonnenhof
“We are so very grateful for all we have experienced this year, writes sister Thérèse. The many guests we have received, as participants in a retreat, individuals, or members of a parish group… renew hope in us through their search for God, in whom they find the meaning and the centre of their lives, by their witness and involvements in the world. Through sharing in prayer with them and their experiences we have been greatly enriched. Some changes amongst the sisters: in the spring sister Elisabeth returned to Grandchamp, and sister Gesine came for several months, just after entering the noviciate. In the autumn, sister Marie-Elisabeth returned to Grandchamp to prepare for her profession, while sisters Hannah and Birgit came to us, freeing sister Dorothea for other tasks such as receiving guests and office work. We were deeply affected by two deaths: one was that of pastor Jakob Frey, a true man of church, of prayer and of openness. He had been a faithful advisor for us since 1966. With his wife Marga he had infused new energy into the spiritual centre at Kappel, where he was the first director, and where two of our sisters had worked for several months before he came there. The other death was that of pasto Martin Cunz who had also led several retreats at the Sonnenhof. In him, the church has lost a fine theologian in the Jewish-Christian dialogue, a “righteous man” as he was called by his Jewish friends and co-workers.
We shared with our neighbours the trial of this summer’s drought – a difficult time for them – and realised much more how vital and precious gift water is!
In 2004 we were glad to be able to offer, besides the three-day retreats, two longer retreats with the “Exercises” (according to St. Ignatius). And it was a joy to receive more and more people from the region for a day of silence and prayer.”
In the hope of the resurrection…
This year several witnesses, who have had a great impact on us, preceded us in the light of the resurrection such as Mgr. Antoine Bloom, Father Voillaume, Dorothee Sölle, Father Oshida, brother Hans of Imshausen, Mother Tarcissus of St. André… as well as many loved ones and friends: Madame Germaine Perrochon-Jan, Alain Perrot, Myriam Serment; Anne-Rose Ackermann, Simone Rosset and Brigitte Ramseyer of T.O.U; Nelly Major and M. Karlen of the Foyers d’Unité; neighbours Henri Aubert and Madame Gaschen, who faithfully attended our offices for years; Pierre Dépraz, Victoria Schlaeppi S.U., brother Meinrad of the Christian Schools… They have gone ahead of us into the light of the One whom we await.
To each of you we would like to express our gratitude for all the signs of friendship you sent us, for your generous support, your prayers, and in the joy of this communion, we wish you a blessed Christmas season. May it renew us in the hope of the One who is to come, the Prince of Peace!
Sister Pierrette and her sisters
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