‘To bless is to put a bit of yourself into something. It is to make holy, to change something or someone because of your presence.’ (Macrina Wiederkehr)
The month of February is always special and memorable, looking forward to an event so close to the PBN Family that is commemorated yearly. It is the recalling of the Miraculous Benediction – an extraordinary blessing - that attested to the authenticity of the Foundation of the Holy Family of Bordeaux. On this special occasion, it is worth recalling the event of February 3rd, 1822, and looking deeply and intently at what we mean by blessings.
Anyone and anything that contributes towards good or goodness enhancing our lives is a blessing. To bless is to bring the touch of God, the touch of love and goodness, healing and forgiveness to another by our presence as well as by our genuine actions. Blessings are greetings, reminders, and assurances from God, saying, “I care about you.”.
Blessings are not always immediate, or on the spot – just to make us “feel good”. Sometimes they come in disguise - in the pain, struggle, and hardship of the unwanted or unacceptable part of our lives. Blessings in the Scriptures were given for a variety of purposes: when invoked, divine mercy, protection, and care; prayer offered for someone; requests for favour on another’s behalf; blessings to bestow happiness and fulfilment; to guard and preserve; to keep safe, and to approve and encourage another. Whenever God blesses, there emerges bounteous life and an abundance of goodness. God blessed Abraham and promised with endless blessing that Abraham would have numerous descendants - a symbol of the abundance of new life.
In Jesus’ life, though He bestowed and offered blessings, Jesus Himself became THE BLESSING. His presence, strength, healing, courage, vitality, and His goodness engender life to the effect that His blessing is transformative and has the power to change, to inspire newness. Let us get in touch with our personal spiritual experiences, recalling the blessings showered on us today and throughout our lives, blessings that have made an impact and urged and prompted us to give thanks.
Every blessing of each pleasant moment is a gift from God. God allows us to look at both sides and see his powerful, gracious hands at work in our lives. We can delight in the happy times but also realize at the same time the instances when we were freed from the fear of encountering difficult circumstances because we often find God’s power woven through those moments in marvellous ways. 203 years ago, the Lord in the Eucharist bestowed on our Founder and the Early Mothers a very special and significant blessing-a blessing of the foundation of the Holy Family as a sign of His approval to Go Forward!
In this great event, God came very close to us, and He presented Himself as the “Jesus of the Holy Family,” and his blessings became our source of strength, vitality and courage so that we may move on with hope.
In reflecting on Blessing, gratitude is the first feeling that comes from the heart. This attitude of recognition is needed to value the great works that God has done in and through our Venerable Founder. These two centuries of our existence have been transformed into a great history of efforts and perseverance to ‘Be and to Build Family in Communion’ in the spirit of God alone, reviving the flame of the Early Christians, which was close to the heart of our Founder in the footsteps of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. When we reflect on the life of our dear Founder Pierre Bienvenu Noailles, we capture the deep love he had for Jesus in the Eucharist and from there he received strength, courage, light and power to live for God Alone. I was very much touched by his words to the Sisters after the Miraculous Benediction:
“He blessed us…. He showed us his heart. Oh! Never forget that Jesus showed you his heart so that you would go to Him in all your difficulties, your temptations, and times of discouragement. He alone is the true comforter; He alone is the surest counsellor, the source of all good.” (PBN)
Our Founder had great conviction and hope towards the future of the Foundation of the Holy Family. The same hope is continued today in our journey - as we are on our Chapter journey - reimagining and restructuring our life and mission with the Synodal Church with the urgent call for transformation to lead the way for a total renewal from within. Let us walk with the Church thanking God for the Jubilee year 2025. Jubilee that comes as a special invitation to us to deepen our love for Jesus and broaden our minds and hearts that will consciously include all those whom Jesus loved most, without any discrimination, celebrating the diversity that is present among us and the richness of our interculturality, which is a blessing beyond words.
This Jubilee year is a time for reconciliation and redeeming the lost life. Let us reflect in our communities on the theme: “Jubilee -“Pilgrims of Hope.” We live in a fast-growing world where relationships are broken, hope lost, and values eroding. Hope, Love, and Faith are intertwined in our spiritual pilgrimage. Let us spread Hope as we spread love around us, for Hope is a strong and indispensable value and attitude helping us to promote justice, to live in peace, and to be on the side of the poor, proving that our “Option for the Poor is at the heart of our Apostolic Choices,” as our Constitutions says. To live and experience this precious gift of hope, let us take a meaningful route that energizes our life and mission so that it is possible to “cross over to the other shore.” Let us be hopeful. It is time to become a blessing and hope for our people!
Sr. Jeya Mary Arockiam
Unit Leader, India