1 February 1989
Paris, France

My dear Sisters,

Each year the feast of Blessed Marie Anne and Odile is celebrated as a vigil of that day when the Mother General asks the grace of the Renovation of Vows for the entire Company. So it is that martyrdom and renovation go hand in hand. In a broad sense we can say that there can be no renovation without martyrdom. That is not to say that all Sisters are called to shed their blood, as did Sister Marie Anne and Sister Odile. However, we are all called to something of which martyrdom is the external sign. For at the heart of Christian martyrdom is a sharing in the total self-giving and offering of Christ. The very word martyr means witness. All of us are called to be, not only witnesses but also active participants in the offering which Jesus Christ continues to make of Himself daily to the Father in the Sacrifice of the Mass.

Martyrdom is a language which we are called to learn. It is a language that is learned slowly and painfully. To some it is given to speak the language of martyrdom with power, elegance and distinction. They are those who have, in witnessing to Christ, resisted, to quote a phrase in today's first reading, "to the point of shedding blood." (Heb 12:4). Among such are to be numbered our two Sisters Marie Anne and Odile.

The language of martyrdom, like any living language, is subject to subtle change with the passing of time. Living languages change with usage. New words are formed and incorporated into the language. No one speaks today in the idiom of the seventeenth century. The idiom has changed, but the language is the same. So it is with the language of martyrdom. For the Christian, for the consecrated person, the language will always be the language of the cross. The idiom, however, is subject to change. No Sister will be executed this morning at Angers, but the Sisters who live in the community of Angers, and in each community the world over, are being called today to proclaim by word and work and humble service that the Risen Christ is with them and that He is making all things new. Being a martyr today is to live in such a way that those who do not share our convictions with faith are led to ask the question, "Why?" Why does a man or woman forego the right to marriage? Why does a person voluntarily accept the restraints on doing what he or she would like to do? Why this submission to Rule and persons? Why this simple, uniform life style? Why this generous gift of self to those who are needy and destitute? A true renovation of vows is a martyrdom. It is a witnessing to the reality of that invisible world of God's grace and love, a world that has been opened up for humanity by the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, Who is the supreme martyr. "If anyone wishes to be My disciple, let him deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Me." (Lk 9:23).