“You have too great a love of holy poverty and too much confidence in God to do that. These are the two pillars of the Company of the Daughters of Charity. […]
I do not know if I am mistaken, but I believe that Our Lord always desires more confidence than prudence in order to maintain the Company, and that this very confidence will imperceptibly give rise to prudence when the need arises. It seems to me that experience has often shown this in the many occasions on which the laziness of my mind made it necessary.” (l. 545 y 546).
Louise de Marillac, Letters to Sr. Louise-Christine and Monsieur Vincent.
Reflection:
- Saint Louise was very clear, and manifested it in many letters, that trust is like the air that allows us to breathe; that without confidence you can not live. She, who gave so much security to others and so much aplomb put in the affairs of material life, felt the insecurity of her conscience in the inner life and continually went to her directors. She always listened to them, and she advised the Daughters of Charity to trust in Providence, in the directors, in the superiors, in the Sisters, in the poor, in all.
- Society has succeeded in introducing into communities the idea that, in life, each one searches for their interests and has set the axiom as “Mistrust and you will succeed, that each one is worth on himself.” However, in social and community relations, either we trust each other or life becomes unbearable. What assurance we receive by a doctor we trust, even if he can not cure all diseases or stop old age! For we know that he will do all what he can to cure us. It is often said that it is foolish to trust everyone, but to trust no one is crazy.
- Without a community, a family or friends that give us security, we can not face the difficulties of every day. Feeling that someone powerful and generous is at our side and accepts us is what gives meaning to our life. The Vincentians who trust in each other build a paradise of love, and those who distrust, live in a hell of suspicion. That others rely on us is vital, without prudence making distinctions, as Saint Louise wrote: “We must also acknowledge that prudence requires us to trust them for their needs, without showing partiality toward any of them” (l. 523).
- The most effective testimony that Vincentians can give is to transmit their trust to family, friends, members of the Vincentian Family and to others, because we trust in all of them; to value them and consider them capable of taking actions that change many unhappy situations of this world and put the evangelical faith that Jesus asks in human hearts.
Questions for dialogue:
- First of all, do you trust God as a Father? And in Jesus as our Redeemer? And in the Virgin Mary, that Jesus gave us for Mother? And in the Miraculous Medal that the Virgin gave us as an emblem of her powerful love towards us, her children?
- Do you trust yourself, in your qualities that are more abundant than your defects? Do you trust that you are capable of undertaking great initiatives?
- Do you trust your relatives, friends, co-workers, members of the Vincentian Family? If you distrust, have you analyzed and pondered why?
- What value do you give to Pascal’s phrase, “if we knew what friends talk about us when we are absent, there would not be four friends in the world”?
Benito Martínez, C.M.
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