6 January 1990
To Each Daughter of Charity

My dear Sister,

May the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with us forever!

In the country from which I come, the feast of the Epiphany is known as "Little Christmas" and also as "The Women's Christmas." There is a tradition that on the feast of the Epiphany it is the men who prepare the main meal, and the women are left free to enjoy the feast day more fully. Hence the day is known as "The Women's Christmas." I need hardly say that the tradition of men preparing the dinner has long since lapsed, even if the name, "The Women's Christmas," still remains.

It is on the evening of "The Women's Christmas" that I write to thank you for your letters, your gifts, your assurance of Masses and prayers that have been reaching me over the past few weeks. During the Christmas season I have been reading your letters. Some were written by hand, some by typewriter, but all issued from hearts that speak fluently the language of self-sacrifice and of love of the poor and needy. It is costly to speak that language, and so it is for that reason I would like to think that on the evening of "The Women's Christmas" you are enjoying a little rest, and that you are refreshing yourselves so that you can give yourselves to your apostolate, whatever it be, with renewed energy and love.

It may seem at first sight an unusual grace to ask for, but the grace or the art of being able mentally and physically to blend in proper proportions work with rest, is a precious one in an era of agitation, overwork and frayed nerves. "There is a time to keep and a time to cast away," writes the author of the Book of Ecclesiastes (3:6). Some of us can be so intent on keeping time for work that we lose the art--or leave undeveloped--our faculty of casting away time through rest, reflection and recreation. Some such idea seems to have been in St. Vincent's mind when he wrote to St. Louise: "...be careful not to do too much. It is a ruse of the devil by which he deceives good people, to induce them to do more than they are able, so that they end up not being able to do anything. The spirit of God urges one gently to do the good that can be done reasonably, so that it may be done perseveringly and for a long time. Act, therefore, in this way, Mademoiselle, and you will be acting according to the Spirit of God." (Coste I, Eng. ed., ltr. 58, 7 Dec. 1630, p. 92).

This little reflection of mine has been prompted by the celebration today of "The Women's Christmas." It is my prayer that she, who through her generosity first gave us and still gives us Christmas, and who could quietly ponder all things in her heart, may win for you the grace of being still and knowing that God is God (cf. Ps 45) and that He hides today behind the faces of the poor.

24 January 1990
Cologne, Germany

My dear Sisters,

First, let me greet you as I think St. Vincent would greet you. Whenever he wrote a letter to a missioner, he began with the words with which, in one form or another, we now commence the Mass: "May the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ be with us forever!". It is a beautiful greeting, for it is the grace of Jesus Christ that has brought us every good thing and is bringing us every good thing today. It is the grace of Jesus Christ that brings us the love of friends, the love of Sisters, the love of the Community, the love of the poor. It is the grace of Jesus Christ...yes, all of us could spend this entire day composing a litany of those good things that come to us through the grace of Jesus Christ. So, while greeting you with St. Vincent's favorite greeting, I am also praying with you that you will experience in a new and special way the grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ in the living of your lives with Him for the service of the poor in the Community.

All of us here are called to live out our lives in Community. In the vision of St. Vincent and St. Louise, the Daughters of Charity were to devote themselves to Jesus Christ in the service of the poor, but they intended that this be done in and through the Company. So the tradition has always been strong that we serve the poor through and in the Community.

For us the Community has been a source of support and of strength. It is not always easy to live life in Community, but I think it is true to say that after what we have received from our parents and family, there is nobody on this earth who gives us more than the Company to which God in His goodness has called us. It is the Company that has passed on to us the rich spirituality of St. Vincent and St. Louise. It is the Company that passes on to us the traditions of three hundred years of Community experience. It is the Company that offers us the opportunities of working for the poor, and it is the Company that supports us in doing so. It is the Company that will look after us in our weakness, sickness and old age. It is the Company that will pray God to be merciful to us when we have left this life and are experiencing the purifying process of Purgatory.

It is important that in our service of the sick and of the poor we keep a sense of proportion in our lives. That sense of proportion is touched upon by St. Vincent when he wrote in one of his letters: "...The works of God have their moments. His Providence arranges that they take place then and not sooner or later. The Son of God saw the loss of souls, and nevertheless He did not anticipate the hour ordained for His coming." (Coste V, Fr. ed., p. 396).

If I mention the importance of keeping a sense of proportion in our lives, even in the service of the poor, thus avoiding excessive or indiscreet zeal, I do so because I feel that the urgency of your work must weigh heavily upon your hearts. That word urgency evokes for us St. Louise's motto: "CARITAS CHRISTI CRUCIFIXI URGET NOS." Yes, through prayer, reflection and obedience, let us make sure that all sense of urgency in our lives is coming from the "CARITAS CHRISTI CRUCIFIXI." "And so there are many poor Daughters of Charity," observed St. Vincent, "who lose a great deal by their own fault. They serve the poor, they come and go, they wear themselves out, and all for nothing when they follow their own will. Sisters, you may do all you please, but the best of your actions will not be meritorious without this virtue (of obedience)." (Conf. Eng. ed., 23 May 1655, pp. 704-705).

The charity of Christ presses us at all times. It presses us not only to serve the poor, but it is the same charity that keeps us linked to each other in love within the Community. I have already stressed that our vocation is to serve the poor in and through the Community. What is a Community, in a Christian sense, if it is not animated by charity?

Over the past twenty years the General and Provincial Assemblies have put much emphasis on the service of the poor. The revision of works has been done and continues to be done in the light of the criterion that the vocation of a Daughter of Charity is to serve the poor. Much has been done to direct the energies of the Sisters towards the service of the poor. In saying that, I do not wish to imply that the Sisters before Vatican Council II did not serve the poor. They did so with much dedication. The number of the poor in the world has, however, increased in the last two decades, and the whole Church itself has become more conscious of her mission to manifest "a preferential option" for the poor. Answering this call of the Holy Spirit, the Company has been intensifying its work for the poor and seeking the most abandoned of the poor. Thanks be to God for what the Company has succeeded in doing for the poor by revising its works.

Recently I have thought that perhaps now the call of the Spirit is to intensify the life of charity within the Community. In the vision of our Founders, a Sister should carry to the poor a spark of that fire of charity at which she warms herself within the Community. That is the ideal. Read the conferences of St. Vincent and you will see how frequently he returns to topics like fraternal charity in the Community, the need to forgive the little injuries and slights we may receive in the Community. All of us recognize that at times it is more easy to show love and understanding to a poor person who calls at our house than to show love and understanding to a member of the Community who kneels beside me in the chapel or sits beside me in the refectory. Yet the truth is that, the more I try to be a radiating center of love within my Community, the more effectively will I serve the poor outside the Community. The more brightly the flame of charity burns within our houses, the more will it attract vocations. Where there is division within a Community, where individuals are selfishly pursuing their own projects, where there is constant criticism of the conduct of other members of the Community, a young aspirant will not feel at ease and will not remain with us. So, as you prepare for your Domestic and Provincial Assemblies, could I appeal to you to give some thought and reflection to the quality of your charity within the Community? If it is good, then your mission to the poor will be authentic and will be blessed by God.