Join Sr Mary Clare from District England as she reflects on the experience of celebrating her 60 years of vows at Kermaria and looks back to when she first visited the motherhouse.
Celebrating my diamond jubilee at our motherhouse, Kermaria, gave me a chance to reflect on my first visit to Kermaria 60 years ago.
« Welcome home »
Six of us made our first vows in Massingham, England, on June 25th 1966. We were the first to make the Novitiate in England after those who had done so during World War II when travel to France was impossible. Soon afterwards, we travelled to France, where Sr Anne-Marie Chiasson, a member of the General Council, met us at Vannes station and “welcomed us home”. Sr Anne-Marie was a bilingual Canadian who had a close liaison with the English Province and made every effort to ensure the English language had its place within the Congregation.
Our visit fast became a history tour of Kermaria and its environs as all that we had heard about the motherhouse during the Novitiate, soon became reality for us. The French Sisters made every effort to make us feel at home by ensuring we had cornflakes for breakfast and tea to drink, even if we had been encouraged to follow the French way of life, such as drinking coffee out of a bowl using a large spoon!
Places of pilgrimage
In 1966, we visited the Sainte Famille, the unit for our elderly, infirm Sisters. 60 years on that again featured in my pilgrimage, as did a visit to the cemetery and the grotto of St Joseph. These places had made a profound impression on me, and I always return to them to say, “Thank You”.
A call to reflection
The Chapel bells rang, calling us to the Celebratory Mass in the Chapel. I found the same place of profound calm as I did 60 years ago. Despite the frailty of age, voices resounded with clarity and freshness as they brought the liturgy to life.
In her welcome, Sr Anne Thirion, Provincial of France, enabled us to reflect on what we were celebrating at Kermaria: –
- a peace of heart that has no boundaries,
- a taste for forgiveness that allows us to move forward without scruples,
- a desire to live fraternity and find joy in chance encounters,
- a letting go that opens a space for the Father’s will.
After the Mass, over the accustomed aperitif in the interior courtyard, we were able to renew acquaintances with the Sisters who had travelled to be with us before we sat down to a magnificent meal in the Salle du Sacre Coeur.
The same charism unites us
The presence of Sisters from other Entities reminded me of how the Congregation had grown in its mission as it spread out from Britanny. It still maintained its charism of simplicity, however. As Sr Anne-Marie Chiasson used to say, “A Daughter of Jesus is a Daughter of Jesus anywhere” .
In times past, we would hear stories of the English novices during their time in France. Whenever anything was lost or found, it was presumed that it belonged to “nos Sœurs anglaises”. 60 years on, Sisters asked for news of certain English Sisters.
The spirit of the Congregation is still alive
Kermaria has changed due to circumstances beyond our control but in one way it was as if nothing had changed. We had assembled to celebrate in thanksgiving the last 25 through 80 years of service as a Daughter of Jesus in the Vineyard of the Lord, whether it be in France or elsewhere. The Spirit of the Congregation is still alive and continuing to pervade our lives.
Sr Mary Clare Mason dj
Westgate-on-Sea, England
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