As part of the Lenten programme and to raise awareness of the Associates of the Daughters of Jesus of Kermaria, the parish of Sainte Thérèse de Keryado in Lorient (France) organised an evening meeting on the 19th of March 2025, St Joseph’s Day.
Why the 19th of March?
From the very beginning of the Congregation, the Sisters had a devotion to St Joseph, the humble worker who became the man of trust in difficult times. To be Daughters of Jesus is to live one’s faith by working in the service and among one’s brothers and sisters (education, health, social), it is ‘to honour the Sacred Humanity of the Son of God’ (Rule of Life, no 3).
Presentation of the Congregation and its Associates
With the help of a slide show and the reference text, Michel, an Associate, presented :
– the history and life of the Congregation
– its international presence,
– the first Associates in July 2000,
– the life of a team of Associates (how they live their faith as Christians associated with the Daughters of Jesus).
Meetings of the Daughters of Jesus and Associates
The five Associates present (Marina, Colette, Sylvie, Gervais, and Michel) each explained in turn how :
– they had met the Daughters of Jesus and why they had responded to the call. Above all, it had been a question of relationships created in the course of their professional and/or family life.
– they shared the charism, to continue to keep it alive after the departure of the Sisters from our parishes.
Reflection in small groups
The twenty or so participants, made up of Associates, Daughters of Jesus and members of the parish, young and old, then split into three groups to reflect on a sheet worked on by the Associates during the previous year, namely: ‘Entering into conversion and integral ecology’, with reference to the encyclical ‘Laudato Si’ of Pope Francis.
The questions centred on ‘Taking care of myself, others, nature and God’.
Afterwards we meet around a table to share a picnic get to know each other better.
Picnic out of the bag
We meet around a table to take the picnic out of our bag and get to know each other better.
Final prayer
The evening ended with a time of prayer around the statue of St Joseph, consisting of:
– a slide show with the song ‘Every man is a brother’.
– the reading of the Gospel for the day : St Matthew 1, 16. 18-21. 24a.
– a prayer to St Joseph.
– the Lord’s Prayer.
At the end of the evening, everyone could go home and reflect on this time of meeting and sharing. And perhaps one of the participants will want to join a group of Associates?
The Associates of the Daughters of Jesus,
Lorient, France
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