St. Marie Eugenie of Jesus speaks to us:
The great virtue which I notice in saints, is HOPE, one of the virtues most lacking in our times. If there were more hope, there would be more saints. I speak of that hope which, based on the knowledge that we have of God and of ourselves, makes us count much on God and not at all on ourselves; of that hope which arises from a deep awareness of the goodness of God, of his power and of his love for us.. We cannot count too much on this.
And when this conviction penetrates deeply into a soul, then she does great things she dares to undertake much, because she feels that a very strong hand is upholding her. We have too small an ideal of the goodness of God. And yet, it is a theological principle that God, from all eternity, gives the Holy Spirit through the contemplation of infinite goodness which is Himself. Think how infinite must be a goodness which causes an eternal ecstasy of admiration of an infinite wisdom. Never, with our limited human reason can we measure nor even understand divine mercy; the sight of this mercy will be one of our greatest joys in heaven.
(Excerpts from a conversation with the Sisters, 28 January, 1864)
Reflection Question:
‘Dare to be holy…’ was Pope Paul VI’s message during the Beatification of St. Marie Eugenie. During her canonization, the message was: ‘The earth is a place of God’s glory!” Can you share insights on how these two themes inspire you together with St. Marie Eugenie’s own message of HOPE ?
The great virtue which I notice in saints, is HOPE, one of the virtues most lacking in our times. If there were more hope, there would be more saints. I speak of that hope which, based on the knowledge that we have of God and of ourselves, makes us count much on God and not at all on ourselves; of that hope which arises from a deep awareness of the goodness of God, of his power and of his love for us.. We cannot count too much on this.
And when this conviction penetrates deeply into a soul, then she does great things she dares to undertake much, because she feels that a very strong hand is upholding her. We have too small an ideal of the goodness of God. And yet, it is a theological principle that God, from all eternity, gives the Holy Spirit through the contemplation of infinite goodness which is Himself. Think how infinite must be a goodness which causes an eternal ecstasy of admiration of an infinite wisdom. Never, with our limited human reason can we measure nor even understand divine mercy; the sight of this mercy will be one of our greatest joys in heaven.
(Excerpts from a conversation with the Sisters, 28 January, 1864)
Reflection Question:
‘Dare to be holy…’ was Pope Paul VI’s message during the Beatification of St. Marie Eugenie. During her canonization, the message was: ‘The earth is a place of God’s glory!” Can you share insights on how these two themes inspire you together with St. Marie Eugenie’s own message of HOPE ?