On Saturday, the 10th of May 2025, the Associates of the Province of France had the joy of gathering at the Motherhouse, Kermaria, for their annual meeting, whose theme was: “Pass on the Word as you would offer a gift.”
Welcome
Sister Anne Thirion, the Provincial, welcomed everyone, especially those joining us for the first time, and introduced the theme of our reflection. She then introduced our speaker, Yannick Houssay, Brother of Christian Instruction of Ploërmel. An invitation to begin our day with a time of prayer then followed.
Brother Houssay’s intervention
Brother Yannick captivated his audience with his speech. It was very profound and began with two questions:
- What makes me want to pass on what I have received?
- What have I received that I must pass on?
In his intervention, he insisted on three points :
- Passing on the faith: a mission entrusted to us
- God is the source of transmission. It is He who calls and sends.
(cf. Deuteronomy 6:6-7).
- How can we pass on the Christian faith?
This may be done in two ways :
- According to Saint Paul (Romans 10:14-15), the faith must be announced and proclaimed… we have to pass on is what has been given to us, and which is beyond us.
- According to Saint Peter, it is to follow Christ and learn to love.
- Transmitting the charism of an institute
The “charism” is the set of elements that define the specific identity of an institute, its uniqueness, its originality. It is a community style, a way of carrying out its mission, of living and praying together, of being and following Christ.
To help us focus our attention, two different post-it notes were distributed. Everyone was invited to write something they wanted to remember on one of them, and a question to ask the speaker on the other.
Testimonies of two experiences
In the afternoon, two Sisters, one French and the other a younger Honduran, shared their experiences of transmission with us. The two testimonies were different but both of great depth and intensity.
Reflection and celebration
Following this, we divided into teams to share our thoughts on these two questions:
- What face of Christ do we want to transmit?
- How can we concretely envisage an act of transmission?
This reflection was offered during the closing Eucharistic celebration that had been carefully prepared by a team of Associates.
Sending forth
At the end of the Eucharist, Sister Anne Thirion and Nicole Kervella sent us out to our various places of mission with this invitation:
“Transmit the Word as you would offer a gift.”
The beautiful day ended with a friendly gathering during which the exchanges continued.
The Brétilliens Team,
Associates of the Daughters of Jesus,
Rennes, France
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