聖ローズ・ フィリピン・ デュシェーン渡米200年祝い
2017-12-19
聖心会二人目の聖人、聖ローズ・フィリピン・デュシェーンが大西洋を渡りアメリカ大陸に上陸されてから200年、聖心会では今世界中の聖心会員、聖心家族を巻き込んでの祝祭の時を迎えております。
フィリピンは生涯、根気強い祈りと勇敢な行動を通して、神のみ旨を探していきました。この彼女の精神を学んでいきたく、この１年間、モット一「越えていこう 情熱と勇気」のもとに聖心家族が志を一つにして過ごすことを願い、数々の呼びかけをお送りします。是非ご覧ください。
・聖心会第17代総長Sr. バーバラ・ドーソンからの、すべての聖心関係者に宛てたお手紙。
聖心会総長 Sr. バーバラ・ドーソンのお手紙
・アメリカ・カナダ管区200周年委員会からは、この一年のために準備された聖女の軌跡を辿る様々な企画についてのお知らせとお誘い。
ｱﾒﾘｶ・ｶﾅﾀﾞ管区「ﾌｨﾘﾋﾟﾝ･ﾃﾞｭｼｪｰﾝ200周年委員会」からの呼びかけ
・この一年間毎月曜日に、世界各地で活動する聖心会員による省察（Reflections）が届き、このウェブページに掲載されます。
2018年11月12日 Bicentennial Prayer 日本語訳「200周年の祈り」
生ける神の霊よ、あなたは始めに創造の海に息を吹きかけ、そしてある日フィリピン・デュシェーンの心に情熱を吹き込まれました。新大陸へと海を渡り、あなたが既にいとおしまれていた土地と人々に、愛と憐れみの知らせを伝えるようにと呼びかけられました。
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2018年10月15日 It’s never too late! 日本語訳「遅すぎることはありません！」
人間には、ともすれば自分の中で聖霊が発揮される創造性に従うよりも、自らの判断に頼ろうとする傾向があるようです。私たちは、物事がいつどのような途をたどるかを知りたいと思い、人生が思ったようにならない時、自分の願いを神は聞かれていないと思い込んでしまうのです。新しい生き方を切り開くには歳を取りすぎて、遅すぎると思う人もいます。
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2018年10月8日 Oak Leaves 日本語訳「樫の葉」
フィリピンの姓である”デュシェーン”は、”樫の”という意味があります。このため、私たちは、いつもフィリピンを樫の木と関連づけてきました。樫の木には、葉先が丸くなっている白い樫の木と、もうひとつの主だった種類の葉先が尖っている赤い樫の木があります。
昨年、私が黙想をしていた小屋は、この白と赤の両方の樫の木に囲まれた木立の中に立っていました。この小屋は、アボリジニの男性が建てたものでした。このような環境の中で、2016年の聖心会総会の呼びかけのことに心を巡らせつつ、私は、2枚の白い樫の木の葉の間に育つ赤い樫の木の葉を描いている自分に気付きました。
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2018年10月1日 Education: A Frontier 日本語訳「教育：最前線で」 フィリピン・デュシェーンの布教の精神は、枯れることのないインスピレーションの源泉となって、日々最前線で神から委託されたミッションを進める私達を力づけてくれます。今日の世界における教育のミッションは、まさに戦場の最前線にあると言えるでしょう。新自由主義の生活規範から生まれる欲深さを目の当たりにすると、教育の務めは居心地のいい安全地帯にとどまったり、中立の立場に甘んじたりするわけにはいきません。
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2018年9月24日 Our Timeless Source of Inspiration 日本語訳「時を越えたインスピレーションの源」
聖ローズ・フィリピン・デュシェーンにとって、手に持つ地図だけで充分ではなく、聖霊の導きが必要でした。聖霊が私たちのフィリピンを未知の世界へといざない、アメリカ大陸へのミッショナリーの先駆者としたのです。このことが私たちの小さな会の外への動きの始まりとなり、世界各地へ、アフリカへと会のミッションは広がりました。
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2018年9月17日 Darkness into Light 日本語訳「暗闇から光へ」
闇と光、何処に行くべきか、何を為すべきか、何も判らない混乱状態の中からの創設ーローズ フィリピン デユシェーンが生きて行く中で向き合わなければならなかったことは、一体何だったのでしょうか？
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2018年9月10日 With Dirt Under Her Fingernails 日本語訳「汚れた爪で」
サントゥ・マリー・ドンオ―の修道院再開を目指したフィリピンの試みは、当時の裕福な若い女性の持っていた力量を遥かに超えたものを必要としていたと思われます。彼女は日頃から職人や商人の仕事ぶりを観察していたのでしょうか、或は実践の場での自分なりの工夫で、方法を見出したのでしょうか。ソフィにポスト通りの家の準備を託された時、フィリピンは床をこすって掃除しただけでなく、窓枠の取り換えから、職人の仕事が遅い時はモルタル塗りの作業まで手伝ったと言われています。
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2018年9月3日 We Can Make a Difference 日本語訳「私達は変えられる」
この絵の中で、聖ローズ・フィリピンは、二人の少女の間に立っていますが、この立ち位置には重要な意味があります。この絵は、大勢の無学の女性が、それは特に私の住む地域に多いのですが、逆境にありながら子供たちを慈しみ、教育するために闘っていることを思いださせます。私は常々、フィリピンの勇気に感服しています。
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2018年7月30日 A Prayer to Philippine 日本語訳「フィリピンへの祈り」
苦しみと誤解を受けながらも勇気に満ち溢れていたフィリピン、
私たちに精神的強さをお与えください。
友情においては、謙虚で熱意に満ち、独り占めすることのないフィリピン、
イエスのみこころの愛のまどいの中で互いに愛することを教えてください。
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2018年7月16日 Philippine Duchesne in Ormoc 日本語訳「オルモックのフィリピン・デュシェーン」
1991年、フィリピンのオルモックで鉄砲水が約8,000の命を奪いました。山の森林伐採と放埓な環境破壊によるものでした。聖心会はこの悲惨な状況に応えたいと考え、家屋と近親者を失った家族の元に私が使わされ、生活再建の手伝いをすることとなりました。被災者は主にサトウキビ畑で搾取されてきた労働者です。
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2018年7月9日 “A Remarkable Woman …” 日本語訳「並外れた女性・・・」
2001年にセントチャールズを訪ねた折り、私は、街の中の一軒のギフトショップにぶらっと立ち寄りました。すると、一人の売り子が近づいて来て、「この街にはね、昔、並外れた一人の女性が住んでいてね、その人は、今、聖人の位に上げらているのですよ！」と、いとも誇らしげに教えてくれました。しかし、すぐに私が身につけていた聖心会会員のメダルに気づき、「あら！あなたはその方のことを良くご存じですよね。」と言ったのでした。
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2018年6月25日 Lights on Philippine Duchesne 日本語訳「フィリピン・デュシェーンに光をあてる」
若者への魅力：数年前、二人の12歳前後の少年が修道生活についてのプロジェクトを手伝ってほしいと修道院の門をたたきました。私たちは聖心会のことを少し説明し、本や絵を渡しました。しばらくして、私たちは発表会に招かれました。会場に入ると、まず目にしたのはレベッカ号のデッキに腰かけているフィリピンの2メートルのポスター。熱のこもった発表から、彼らがフィリピンにどんなに共感し尊敬しているかが明白でした。
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2018年6月11日 Crossing Boundaries – Breaking Barriers 日本語訳「境界線を越え－障壁を崩して」
フィリピン・デュシェーンは私たちに、開拓者の心を提示します。人々の言葉の通り彼女は深い祈りの女性であり、その時代のセントチャールスやフロリッサンの世界で、自分の心の言葉で話す女性でした。彼女は言語、文化、気候や隔たりなどのあらゆる不確かなことに怯まず、それどころか地中に埋もれた小さな種のように、死と新たな誕生という緩やかな時の経過の中で豊かな収穫を得ました。
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2018年5月7日 Staying 日本語訳「留まる」
私たちのなかのフィリピンに対する尊敬の念と、彼女によって掻き立てられるインスピレーションを知ったなら、フィリピンはさぞびっくりするでしょう。何年も前、初めてフィリピンについて聞いた時、私は彼女の宣教に対する熱意に強い印象を受けました。
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2018年4月2日 Truest Joy 日本語訳「ほんものの喜び 」
歳を重ねて自分はもう何をするにも歳を取り過ぎていると思っている人たちよ！フィリピン・デュシェーンの生き方をたどって見ながら、インスピレーションをいただこうではありませんか！
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2017年12月11日 Healing Love 日本語訳「癒しの愛」
1804年の春ソフィ・バラは病に伏し、パリの医者たちは症状を和らげることはできても病を治癒するすべを知りませんでした。ところが1806年7月、フィリピン・デュシェーンを訪ねてグルノーブルで数週間過ごした時に転機が訪れました。この時
ソフィは、フィリピンの看護により健康を取り戻したのです。
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2018年11月12日 Bicentennial Prayer
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English | Español | Français | 日本語訳
Bicentennial Prayer
Spirit of the living God,
you first breathed over the waters of creation,
and one day you breathed a passion
into the heart of Philippine Duchesne.
You called her to cross the waters to a New World,
to bring the message of your compassion and love
to a land and peoples already dear to your heart.
Not knowing the language of the land,
she spoke the language of the heart –
of love and prayer,
of attention and openness,
of steadfast purpose and living faith.
As the Sacred Heart family around the world,
we are the harvest of the seeds she sowed.
Bless, now, our ever-new world,
with Philippine’s spirit of great-hearted courage.
Fill us with her desire to cross frontiers,
especially those furthest from the touch of hope.
Renew the whole Church in its missionary spirit
and give us Philippine’s zeal
to spread your compassion and love to the ends of the earth.
We ask all this in your name, triune God,
whose love knows no borders or boundaries,
and who sends us to make known that love in the heart of the world
now and forever. Amen.
Image: Patricia Reid, RSCJ, Province of the United States – Canada
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Society of the Sacred Heart
4120 Forest Park Avenue, Saint Louis, MO 63108
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Bicentennial Prayer
Spirit of the living God,
you first breathed over the waters of creation,
and one day you breathed a passion
into the heart of Philippine Duchesne.
You called her to cross the waters to a New World,
to bring the message of your compassion and love
to a land and peoples already dear to your heart.
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What have we learned from her?
In 1940, T. Gavan Duffy asked a question about Philippine Duchesne: What have we learned from her?
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Fortitude and Love: Ukon Takayama and Philippine Duchesne
On February 7, 2017, the Catholic Church of Japan was newly blessed by the beatification of Justo Ukon Takayama (1543-1615). Ukon was a prominent Christian leader of the church in 16th century Japan. Reflecting on his life in troubled times, I find similarities between Ukon and Philippine Duchesne, especially in their spirituality of prayer and in their perseverance.
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Poem to Saint Rose Philippine
Wonderful flower, you who daily nourish the faith and hope of millions of people.
Given a pure and generous soul, incarnated in your infinite goodness and love for people, such are you, O Saint Rose!
God decided to send you into the world on August 29th 1769. At the time of your birth, an old woman who was dying prophesied your birth as a shooting star passed over.
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It’s never too late!
Our human tendency is to set expectations for ourselves, resisting the creativity of the Holy Spirit within us. We want to know how and when things will take their course. When life does not go as we wish, we believe that God is not really listening to us. Some people think it is too late to explore new ways because they are too old.
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Oak Leaves
Philippine’s surname, Duchesne, means “of oak.” For this reason we have always associated Philippine with the oak tree – the white oak that has leaves with rounded lobes. Another major species is the red oak with leaves with pointed lobes. Last year, the cabin in which I made my retreat was surrounded by white and red oaks. This cabin was also built by an aboriginal man. In this environment, while pondering our 2016 General Chapter Calls, I found myself painting a red oak leaf growing between two white oak leaves.
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Education: A Frontier
The missionary spirit of Philippine Duchesne is an endless source of inspiration which stimulates us to carry on a prophetic mission on our daily frontier. I dare say that our educational mission in today’s world is a battlefield on the frontier. Faced with the greed generated by a neoliberal model of life, our service of education cannot stand in any comfort zone or neutral position.
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Our Timeless Source of Inspiration
The map held by St. Rose Philippine Duchesne could not suffice; she needed the guidance of the Spirit. The Spirit led our dear Philippine to the unknown and to becoming our pioneer missionary to the Americas. This was the beginning of the outward movement of our little Society, the spread of her mission to many other lands, including Africa.
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Darkness into Light
Dark and light, not knowing where to go, what to do, chaos or creation – what was it that Rose Philippine Duchesne had to face in her life?
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With Dirt Under Her Fingernails
Philippine’s attempts to reopen Sainte Marie d’en Haut must have demanded skills that were not normally in the repertoire of wealthy young women. Had she been observant of trades people or did she simply problem-solve when taking on practical tasks? When Sophie asked her to prepare the house on the Rue des Postes, we hear that she not only scrubbed and cleaned but replaced window panes and assisted in applying the mortar when the builders were too slow.
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We Can Make a Difference
In this image, Saint Rose Philippine stands between two girls in a position that is very significant. This image reminds me of many illiterate women, particularly in my part of the world, who are struggling to love and educate their children against many odds. I have always admired Philippine’s courage.
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Prayer to St. Philippine from Soboba Indian Reservation
O holy woman, who prays always, we honor you
You are like Eagle, soaring high to Creator
Your prayer is like sweet-smelling smoke of sage and cedar
Your presence with us is acorn meal, feeding our spirits and drawing us to Grandfather
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The “Rebecca Moment” in the Philippines
Ever since Philippine Duchesne and her companions set sail for the New World on a ship named Rebecca, we have come to speak about “Rebecca moments” as times of choice, sometimes in perilous situations or when facing similar uncertainty about the future as Philippine faced when she boarded the Rebecca in 1818.
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Philippine’s Return to Ste Marie d’En-Haut
In 1801, in the midst of a glacial winter’s cold, some Grenoble youngsters hanging around the streets were called by Philippine for a rather extraordinary task: to help her refurbish her dear Monastery of the Visitation, badly damaged by the French Revolution.
We see them carrying heavy packages.
We picture them cheerful and noisy …
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Philippine
Grain of Wheat Fallen into the Earth …
Philippine had only opened up the furrow, and with what difficulties, sown the seed … But one day the Sacred Heart would return and harvest it … . Her role was to open up the way through the brambles. She is God’s pioneer (Msgr. Baunard).
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A Prayer to Philippine
Full of courage in the face of suffering and misunderstandings,
obtain moral strength for us.
Humble, zealous, and unpossessive in friendship,
teach us to love with the Heart of Jesus Christ.
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Philippine, woman of yesterday … woman for today
When I think of Rose Philippine Duchesne as a person – with her courage and commitment, her need to go to the peripheries and her contemplative being – I am connected immediately to where we are today. She speaks as a woman of yesterday but with a deep, clear, solid perception which the world of today so needs.
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Philippine Duchesne in Ormoc
In 1991, about 8,000 lives were lost in flash floods in Ormoc, Philippines due to the deforestation of the mountains and the wanton destruction of the environment. Religious of the Sacred Heart felt the need to respond to this terrible tragedy, and I was sent to help in the rehabilitation of the families that had lost their shelters and their loved ones, most of whom were exploited workers in a sugar cane plantation.
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“A Remarkable Woman …”
Arriving in St. Charles, for a visit in 2001, I wandered into a gift shop in the town and was approached by an assistant. With pride she said, “There was a remarkable woman who lived here in the early days and now she is a saint.” Then, noticing my medallion, she said, “Oh, you’ll know all about her!”
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My Friendship with Philippine
Rose Philippine Duchesne was beatified in 1940. Four years later, at age thirteen, I began high school as a weekly boarder at the Academy of the Sacred Heart in St. Charles, Missouri. The school was first opened by Philippine in 1818.
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Lights on Philippine Duchesne
Appeal to the Young. Some years ago, two boys aged about twelve came to our house to ask for help with their school project on religious life. We told them a few facts about our Society and gave them some booklets and pictures. A short time later, we were invited to their exhibition. On entering the hall, our attention was drawn immediately to a six-foot high poster of Philippine sitting on the deck of the Rebecca, and in their presentation, the boys made clear by their enthusiasm that Philippine was just the kind of religious they could understand and admire. Her daring, dedication and her selfless loving had captured their imagination. I learned from children that day a new appreciation for the gift to the Society of Philippine Duchesne.
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The woman who prays always
Since we were children, educated in a Sacred Heart school, we learnt to recognize the name of Philippine Duchesne as the first missionary of the congregation, without many details, but we knew of whom we were speaking.
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Crossing Boundaries – Breaking Barriers
Philippine Duchesne offers us the heart of a “frontier woman.” She was a woman of deep prayer, as others described her, and a woman who spoke with her heart in the Saint Charles and Florissant world of her time. She was undaunted by language, culture, climate, distances and uncertainties of every kind. Instead, like a humble seed in the earth, she garnered a rich harvest in the slow process of dying and birthing.
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To Be and to Act as One Body
The Society has recently called us “to act as one body…” moved from its center by Love. Within this body, life flows, weaving different kinds of connections, bringing energy and flexibility to each part. What affects one of these parts affects the whole body.
General Chapter of the Society of the Sacred Heart, 2016, p. 15.
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A Community of Three
My first community was named “Duchesne,” and it was on the Feast of Philippine that I entered the novitiate in the Philippines. Since then Philippine has had a place in my heart, and I have been deeply inspired by her life of prayer and zeal for mission. From her story, I learned that her first desire for mission was to go to my country but that God had another plan for her. With all these connections, I felt close to her and often turned to her for help.
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Silence
Philippine‘s life is marked by many qualities. What stands out for me is her silence, which attracted many in her day and still seizes our hearts today.
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Woman With A Global Heart
I find Philippine Duchesne to be a particularly inviting model for our twenty-first century world because she had a global heart.
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Staying
I think that Philippine would be very surprised by the admiration and inspiration that she arouses in us. Years ago, when I heard about her for the first time, I was impressed by her desire to be a missionary. I was struck by the fact that, with all that needed to be done in her country, with the great needs and challenges of the society of her time, she looked beyond her own frontiers and wanted to bring the love of the heart of Christ “to the ends of the earth”.
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Beyond the Limits of our Sight
Philippine dreamed big and listened wide for the voice, the call, of God. Whether working with those in need closer to home in Grenoble, or giving herself to a pull that would take her away from that which was physically familiar and ever deeper into the diverse terrain of the Heart where she made her true home, Philippine responded with disponibilité, creativity, and a broad, inclusive desire to make God’s love known.
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Living with Philippine’s Heart
I came to know Philippine Duchesne through stories told by one or other RSCJ, and from writings about her.
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Learning from Philippine, Woman of Faith
What comes to mind when you hear Philippine’s name? This question surfaced one day for us when younger members of the Indonesian region had gathered. We were delighted to learn that the Indonesian mission began when Philippine was canonized. We are blessed that Philippine, a woman of courage and faithfulness, is patron of our area.
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The New Frontier
“Domine, in simplicitate cordis meus laetus obtuli universa…”
After the fall of communism in Russia, Moscow became a special place of mission for RSCJ. In the time of Philippine, numbers of residents of the village of Florissant were baptized each Easter. Every year, numbers of adults, prepared by the RSCJ of Moscow, receive the sacraments of Christian initiation at Easter.
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Truest Joy
To those of us who think we are too old to do something, we have only to look to Philippine Duchesne for inspiration.
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Grace and Grit: Mysticism and the Cross
Can a painting shout and whisper? This one does. It shouts of grace and grit; it whispers about the cross.
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Toward the Unknown
One who starts out toward the unknown does not see the difficulties of the path right away because the gaze is directed in the distance.So Philippine, when she embarked on the Rebecca on March 21, 1818, and sailed toward an unknown world, was nearly fifty years old; but she had the energy of youth, the urgency to carry the Gospel to those who did not know it, and a heart full of hope.
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Philippine at a crossroad
To write about Philippine is to focus our gaze on someone who stood out because of her persistence. A valiant and determined woman, she overcame many hardships with the strength of one who knows she possesses a truth, that of the love of God, which must be known further afield by more people.
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Virtues Needed to Cross Frontiers: prayer, missionary zeal and humility
Prayer shaped Philippine’s life, helping her to embrace only what was essential in life, God’s promptings.
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Philippine’s Cross
When RSCJ make their perpetual profession of vows, they receive a cross to wear. This is a photo of the cross given to Philippine; it has been stored in our central archives in Rome since 1914.
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Handling a Broken Heart
“Strong was her heart that heard God’s voice when first it called across the seas” … This is the first line of the song sung on Philippine’s feast, but it does not really reflect how that heart became so strong, many years before the call “across the seas.”
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None of this is reassuring if we do not see God in the storm
“The creaking masts, the sails hastily folded or torn to pieces, the helm abandoned in order to ease the ship, all this is not pleasant for those who do not see God in the storm.”1
Philippine, an energetic woman, a lover of truth, did not hesitate to describe what was not ‘beautiful’ in the Rebecca’s journey. She says in her letter, “I shall not conceal from you the dangers of the sea nor my own weakness.”2
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What boat must we take?
All of us in the Sacred Heart family are invited by the General Chapter to cross new frontiers. This means being alert like sentinels scanning the horizon, so that we are ready to love that territory most distant from us and feel “pulled” so that we swing into action.
Facing the Unknown
Rebecca feels the breeze
stirring the ribbons on your travel-hat
and soon you will be summoned
ALL ABOARD!
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Roots and Branches
Strong as an oak tree and at the same time flexible in the face of any changes and challenges – this is Philippine Duchesne. It is not only her name that evokes an oak tree; it is even more her character – or is it more than that? Is it her rootedness in God?
The oak tree sends its roots deep into the earth, which makes it strong, resistant to heavy winds and severe thunderstorms. At the same time the oak tree can adjust to different conditions, such as changes of climate.
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Thinking of Philippine in FukushimaPhilippine Duchesne was moved by a strong call from God to go and be with native people in North America. Passion to bring the love of God led her to a land and people unknown to her. She travelled by ship, which took her two months – no internet, no smart phone, no Skype. While in America, she had to wait and wait for the letters from Sophie Barat. Faith, courage and patience enabled her to carry on her mission to spread the love of the Heart of God.
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Pools of Silence in This Thirsty Land*
There is much in Philippine’s life of prayer that could be a source of reflection for us, but today let us focus on just one aspect – how her prayer touched and inspired others, especially her beloved Potawatomi.
Healing Love
In the spring of 1804 Sophie Barat was seriously ill, and doctors in Paris could only ease her condition, not cure it. A turning point came in July 1806, when Sophie spent some weeks in Grenoble with Philippine Duchesne. During this visit Philippine nursed Sophie back to health. However, this recovery took place only when Sophie had left Grenoble, but she was sure it was due to Philippine’s loving care.
On 1 August 1806, Sophie wrote to Philippine telling her how much their deepening friendship meant to her and how she had been healed:
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What Drove Her to Prayer?
In 1841 Philippine Duchesne arrived at a new frontier – St. Mary’s Mission in Sugar Creek, Kansas. There she lived with people who today we would call internally displaced persons. The Potawatomi had not only been forcibly displaced from their traditional homeland in Indiana, but had suffered deaths, and murders of family members by American militia along the Trail of Death. These events took place between 1838-1840, just before Philippine’s arrival.
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Waiting on God
Dear Philippine,
When I first met you I was impressed by your many qualities, which spoke deeply to my heart. Today I wish to reflect with you about your patient waiting, in faith and hope, to fulfil your dreams.
It began in 1792 when the monastery where you were a novice was confiscated and you had to return home. Then followed years of waiting before joining the Society, going to America, and finally, in 1841, to the Potawatomi, too old and sick to do anything but be “the woman who prays always.”
Prayer of the Potawatomi on Hearing of the Death of PhilippineShe comes, Great Spirit,
She comes soon.
Comfort her spirit and care for her passage.
Let the grasses of the fields whisper her homecoming….
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It may surprise you to know that Saint Rose Philippine Duchesne often wrote in a journal, keeping track of the events of the day, the people who visited, important moments and celebrations – in a word, providing a record of the life of the community. In fact, the cover of this journal is the opening page of one of her “House Journals,” a recording – for posterity – of the significant life events in the earliest days of the St. Charles foundation, Philippine’s first home in the New World.
The Wise Men’s Star
