29 November 1991
Baraketa, Madagascar

My dear Sisters,

When we look at a river as it flows through one of our cities, we realize that it is the same river which, as a little stream, trickles over the ground at its source. It is the same river with a difference, however. At the source the water is pure and fresh. In the city, the water is broad and deep, but it is less pure than it is at its source.

This morning our minds are centered upon the source of that great river which is the Company, and which now for 358 years has been giving joy to the city of God which is His Church. Today our hearts and voices rise in thanksgiving to God for what He has done in and through the Company in His Church, which is the Body of Christ. Our minds pass in review the 358 years of the life of the Company. We think of the thousands and thousands of Sisters who have been called to it and the millions of poor who have been helped and saved through it. "How can I repay the Lord for His goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise. I will call on the Lord's name." (Ps 116:12-13). We can only do as the psalmist did when he reflected on the succeeding epochs of the history of his nation. Each meditation ended with the same refrain: "Eternal His merciful love...eternal His merciful love." (Ps 136).

The beginnings or sources of great rivers are almost imperceptible; so, too, the beginning of the Company. Its rising out of the ground was watched lovingly by Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac and the small group of village girls whom St. Louise welcomed to her house on this day 358 years ago. We would wish to know so much more of what happened on that day, but it has gone unrecorded. It is, however, hardly possible that that day closed without prayer. Knowing St. Louise, we can easily surmise that she would have begun the evening prayer by thanking God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, for what had come to pass that day. Devotion to the mystery of the Most Holy Trinity was a prominent feature of her spirituality. Nor would she have failed to honor the mystery of the Immaculate Conception: "I believe and confess thy holy and Immaculate Conception." Since their purpose for coming together was to serve the poor of Jesus Christ, the poor would have been commended to God in that evening prayer. It is almost certain that St. Louise would have prayed earnestly for Monsieur Vincent, who was known to each of them, for it was he who entrusted the little group of village girls to her care and formation. Surrounded by these simple village girls, St. Louise would have remembered to breathe a prayer for the repose of the soul of her who some months earlier had left this earth to found the Community in heaven, Marguerite Naseau. So the first day of the life of the Company ended, and God saw that it was good.

In the course of its journey to the ocean, a river changes but never so much as to be separated from its source. So, too, the Company. Dedication to God for the service of the poor, simplicity, humility, charity--this was the fresh spring water that trickled into the life of the Church on the 29 November 1633. It would not be long before Monsieur Vincent would be among them to reinforce the formation St. Louise was now giving to the group. "I shall now say, my dear Daughters, that the spirit of true village girls is extremely simple, no cunning, no double meaning words....Country girls are remarkable for their great humility....I must tell you, my dear Sisters, that I feel greatly consoled whenever I see those of you who really possess this spirit....Yes, I repeat, my Daughters, when I meet you in the streets...I experience an inexpressible joy. May God be blessed." (Conf. Eng. ed., 25 Jan. 1643, pp. 75-76).

Rivers are pure in their source, but they lose some of their purity as they pass through the cities built by men. They become impure through what people, through carelessness, thoughtlessness, and selfishness, throw into them. It is so with our Community. Its purity and freshness is ever threatened by what we, through laxity, lack of mortification and selfishness, cast into it. It is only when we are pure that we can give life to the poor; purity in thought, in word and in deed, purity of intention, purity of heart. "The Sisters," wrote St. Louise in a letter, "must often renew their purity of intention which causes them to perform all their actions for the love of God. This will enable them to preserve the spirit which true Daughters of Charity must possess. Finally, I beg all of you not to allow the distance which separates you from us to cause you to forget the care with which you must observe of your Rules and the virtues which the Daughters of Charity must possess." (Spiritual Writings of Louise de Marillac, ltr. 400, p. 432).