"LET US BE HOPE" - SEPTEMBER 2023

Let's walk together - Letter September 2023

Dear readers,

We meet again to reflect on this year's theme: "Let us be Hope".

In this second letter, we invite you to look at it from the point of view of the founder of the Servants of Mary and Pope Francis.

How can we "be hope" in our current, concrete reality? Let's recall some of Good Father Cestac's actions and thoughts that answer this question..

 

Faces of desperation

In 1831, in the port city of Bayonne (France), we stop in front of a group of little girls abandoned in the street and another group of young prostitutes. All damaged in their dignity, abandoned by the world and by the most intimate of all, their own families. Wounded and shattered in the trust of their loved ones, "rejected" as Pope Francis would say, desperately alone as are the victims of human trafficking and all those who suffer exploitation and abuse, with few other options than to search day by day, in emergency, for the means to survive.


Result of a past that did not help to have a worthy present. Poverty of the most extreme kind, because it combines the material, the spiritual and the social. And what does the future hold? Complete uncertainty, no alternative for building a life project, living from day to day.

How dark are the lives of these hopeless girls and young people!


The source of hope, prayer

In this context, a young priest and assistant priest at Bayonne cathedral, Father Cestac, was moved by the situation of little street girls and young prostitutes. What he saw in the streets of this city affected him and mobilized him within. A man of prayer, attentive to the signs of God, he understood that he had to find an urgent solution. But how to respond to such poverty? With what means? With whom? 

Louis-Édouard Cestac reminds us that the answers lie in prayer... "I must above all be a man of prayer". He urges us to pray before taking any action or making any decision.

"Our hope is prayer, prayer made with confidence." Prayer shapes you, your thoughts and your actions.


Louis-Édouard experienced the love and concrete intercession of the Virgin Mary as a child, due to serious health problems. Since then, he has entrusted himself to her maternal love. On July 19 1838, in the sanctuary of Buglose, he asked Our Lady for the money needed to receive these young women. She replied, "Ask only for my Spirit". Henceforth, whatever he did for these girls and young women, it would be Mary who inspired him. Father Cestac will be the instrument that materializes the love of God expressed in Mary.

Their closeness and his commitment are the concrete face of hope.


Waiting and trust make their place, provide shelter

At first, Father Cestac and his sister Élise received and accompanied the abandoned girls in a humble place lent by a former mayor of Bayonne, but it soon became too small. He was approached by young prostitutes, whom he also tried to help. His opponents questioned his budding work, without collaborating. 

In the face of all difficulties, Louis-Édouard Cestac remained inspired by Mary and profoundly confident in her providence. Finally, he managed to settle in a property called "Châteauneuf" in Anglet, which was to become Notre Dame du Refuge.


Little by little, hope was reborn in the lives of these little girls and young women... they underwent a profound experience of restoration and rebirth. Father Cestac and a group of educators, including his own sister, Élise, built a place where love of the family reigned. Working in the soil, developing crops, producing plantations full of hope and ensuring subsistence. "In working together, they discovered their sisters." (L.E. Cestac).

Now their life projects are strengthened, they can nourish their hopes, they can think about the future. Their new found dignity will soon enable them to dream of serving others.


On January 6, 1842, a group of 14 women inspired by Cestac's work decided to dedicate their lives to Mary, giving birth to the Congregation of the Servants of Mary. Later, in 1851, a group of young women decided to devote their lives to silence, prayer and work. Thus, was born the contemplative community of Bernardines: "God alone".

The Virgin Mary's work continued to spread, crossing the boundaries of Anglet, France and Europe, finding different faces of despair everywhere. A number of works were created in response, and are still very much alive today. 


Don't let them steal your hope

To complete our reflection, let's recall some words of Pope Francis on hope:

"Never let yourself be overcome by discouragement. Our joy is not something that comes from possessing many things, but from having found a person, Jesus, who is among us, a hope born of knowing that with him, we are never alone, even in difficult times, even when life's path encounters problems and obstacles that seem impossible to overcome, and there are so many of them! (...)

Let's follow Jesus. We accompany, we follow Jesus, but above all we know that he accompanies us and carries us on his shoulders: this is our joy, the hope that we must carry into this world of ours. And please, don't let yourselves be robbed of hope, the hope that Jesus gives us." (Homily for Palm Sunday, XXVIII World Youth Day, March 24, 2013)


Hope is a hidden virtue, enduring and patient

    • "It is the humblest of the three theological virtues, because it remains hidden", explains Pope Francis: "Hope is a risky virtue, a virtue, as St. Paul says, of ardent waiting towards the revelation of the Son of God (Rom. 8:19). It is not an illusion." (Homily at Santa Marta, October 29, 2013).
    • "It is a virtue that never disappoints: if you wait, you will never be disappointed. (...) Hope is concrete, it's daily because it's an encounter. And each time we encounter Jesus in the Eucharist, in prayer, in the Gospel, in the poor, in community life, each time we take another step towards that definitive encounter." (Santa Marta Homily, October 23, 2018).
    • "Hope needs patience, just as it takes patience to see the mustard seed grow. It is the patience of knowing that we sow, but it is God who makes it grow." (Santa Marta Homily, October 29, 2019).
    • "Hope is not a passive optimism but, on the contrary, it is fighting, with the tenacity of those who go towards a sure destination." (Angelus, September 6, 2015).

    We conclude

    In the face of despair, we are not alone. God will never abandon us. Our Blessed Mother intercedes, touching the heart of one who will be an answer, as Louis-Édouard Cestac was in his time, one who will be the bearer of the hope necessary for his own life and that of others to have meaning.
    We are called to cultivate the theological virtue of hope: 
    "To live with hope is to walk, yes, towards a reward, towards a happiness that we do not have here, but that we will have there." (Santa Marta, October 29, 2019).
    May Father Cestac's testimony and encouragement stimulate us and help us to
    "Rekindle in our hearts a spark of hope that will translate into concrete works of peace and fraternity." (in the words of Pope Francis)

    Some questions for reflection

    What are the new faces of need that appear in and around our communities?
    What is our response?
    What nourishes our hope?

    Each of us can be a "sower of hope". We look forward to your testimonies.

    Prayer to nourish our hope

    Lord, you tell us: "You are the salt of the earth and the light of the world".

    May our life not lose its flavor,
    Through our witness, may others savor the joy of life.

    Don't let our inner flame go out, 
    Increase in us the light of faith.
    May we be light for others
    May it be your light that reflects our being

    And from the hand of Mary,
    We give hope to those in urgent need.

    Amen

    Father Cestac and hope

    In November 1838, the Châteauneuf property was purchased for 44,000 francs. "There was no miracle in getting the money", writes P. Cestac, "but people of good will lent something, and some of the Châteauneuf co-heirs agreed to leave their funds on the property in return for an annuity".
    Once the house was bought, it had to be renovated: "In the state of extreme poverty in which I found myself, I had to aim for great economy, doing only what was essential."

    When the first 14 young people moved into Notre Dame du Refuge in June 1839, Fr. Cestac's debts amounted to 50,000 francs (acquisition, tax duties, repairs).
    Living conditions at the outset were extremely difficult; Fr. Cestac recalls: "No one knew how to work, so work provided almost nothing, so I felt the embrace of poverty and the real anguish of destitution... Quite often I found myself in great distress; the community was growing, so were expenses and nothing was being earned. However, accounts had to be settled, and often I was without a cent... How I suffered under the pressure of a creditor..."

    The years went by and the same extreme poverty prevailed:

    - January 6, 1842, at the first profession of the Servants of Mary, "We didn't have a bit of wood to keep Mgr. the Bishop warm.";

    - 1846, the beginning of Saint-Bernard, "I could not, for lack of means, do anything worthwhile there...".


    How does Father Cestac remain hopeful and heroically confident?

    Let's listen to his confession: "Without resources I had to plunge with my eyes closed into the abyss of divine Providence, and this Providence, oh my good Mother, was you, it was your maternal heart." And he added: "You never lost sight of me, sometimes in one way, sometimes in another, you never failed to come to my aid in extreme moments..."

    Little by little, the love of work began to show, and soon, from 1850 onwards, the ordeal of extreme poverty seemed to disappear. Sewing and, above all, fine embroidery were added to the many crafts. Fr. Cestac marveled: "Needlework having become well established, (around 1859-1860), everything changed face... Oh, my Mother! My good Mother! How good it is to abandon oneself to your maternal tenderness and to rely only on you and your compassionate heart!"

    Let's also take a few words of encouragement, among the many that Father Cestac addressed to the Sisters:

    "...You are in the hands of Providence... this is your consolation, your happiness in this life and the foundation of your hope... As for trust in divine Providence, for us it is not separate from trust in the most holy Mother of God..."  (L. July 27, 1839)

    "Every day and at every moment of the day, we experience His maternal and often miraculous goodness! So put all your trust in this goodness, and let it grow with the trials and impossibilities. It is when all seems lost that we must hope with unshakeable confidence." (L. March 15, 1858)

    "Nothing touches her maternal heart like the simple, filial trust that asks for everything and never doubts her goodness. This is the great secret of all protections and graces." (L. July 30, 1858)

    "Hope always, even against hope, is the motto that must sustain and accompany us. It is founded on the unfailing goodness of the Heart of the most tender of Mothers." (L. May 7, 1859)

    "We must always hope, even against all hope, in the One who holds us in her maternal Heart. For it must be recognized: this Mother of all goodness seems to suffer from all our sufferings, and often hastens to come to our aid...” (L. November 26, 1860)