Knowing and knowing how to communicate
Feeling and living to share

The General Council’s desire in planning its annual retreat was to live and enter into the experience of Father Eymard in his native land. We know and are aware of this from having heard, read and studied what is related his biography. However, we were well aware that the closer we were to his native Matheysine where he forged his personality, the better we could live and feel his life experience. The service of the General Council to the Congregation entails bearing witness of our Founder’s life. This is another reason why it was decided to hold the annual retreat at the centre of spirituality of La Mure.

Father Manuel Barbiero was chosen as preacher, for more than obvious reasons: his knowledge of the Founder and the places where he lived, as well as his experience in accompanying pilgrim groups and leading retreats on themes related to Father Eymard and his work.

• La Mure as a destination

We ended our 7^th ordinary session of the General Council and what better way to continue the fellowship among the members of the Council than with the annual retreat?

On Saturday, 2 November, All Souls’ Day, we began our pilgrimage to La Mure, with an intermediate stop in Malmantile. We spent the night there and Father Manuel joined the pilgrimage. On Sunday, once we had regained our strength and changed the vehicle, provided with great generosity by the Italian Province, we left Tuscany to head towards the French province of Dauphiné, in the department of Isère.

We celebrated the Eucharist in the chapel of the "Maison Eymard", in the room where our Founder gave his life to God. During the celebration we remembered, in a special way, all the deceased SSS. In the evening, we had the first practical instructions and presentation of the theme of the retreat, timetables, distribution of times and prayers, trips and visits to the various places.

• Retreat as a pilgrimage

Father Manuel’s approach was to visit the places that influenced the young Peter Julian and in situ, to contextualise them by reading the texts of the Founder, to celebrate the Eucharist, to pray and share feelings and reflections.

On Monday, we began by visiting the place of his birth, La Mure. It was the beginning of the journey, the birth of Father Eymard, on a Monday market day, around 11 o’clock in the morning. The socio-cultural, political and religious context that marked his initiation into the faith and his personality. The house where he was born, his parish church, the baptismal font. The many anecdotes recalled, the events and circumstances that occurred during that period, which, being heard described in the place where they took place, certainly produced among the members of the Council a greater understanding of the facts and feelings of admiration. To mention just a few details that aroused much surprise: the pilgrimage he made alone on foot at the age of 11 to the shrine of Laus, 80 kilometres away, or the climb he made barefoot in the snow to the Calvary in preparation for his First Communion which he had desired to receive since he was only 8 years old. Undoubtedly, the context marked his great determination and willpower.

• A life marked by a call

The week continued as planned with visits to the Marian shrines of Laus on Tuesday, L'Osier on Wednesday and La Salette on Thursday. The messages s of the Virgin Mary, their similarities and differences, the contexts. The way in which they took place, the characteristics of the protagonists involved. The relationship of Father Eymard with these places offered topics for reflection.

His relationship with the Virgin Mary was the foundation of his various graces: communion, priestly, founder. Laus was the beginning of a very close relationship with Mary whom, as we know, after the death of his biological mother, he adopted as his mother. The many texts of Fr Eymard, selected by Fr Manuel, served as a basis for prayer and reflection. The steps taken, the choices made, the difficult situations he had to face. Father Eymard gave guidelines on how to proceed. Father Manuel even provided very precise details, referring to the vade-mecum Father Eymard himself had written early in his priestly ministry.

Wednesday afternoon was truly special, the visit to Chatte and Saint Romans. It was a reminder of the place where one of Father Eymard’s great milestones took place: “the grace of the Rock of Saint Romans.” This was a turning point in his life; it was certainly a substantial change in his vision of God’s call and his response, no longer from mortification and sacrifice, but from love itself. In the chapel on top of the rock, and in the background the mountains, the cedar of the house of his confidant and friend Mrs Jordan, reminded us of the importance of this event in the life of Father Eymard which was inevitably related by each of the members of the Council to their own life, as well as to the Congregation.

• Pastoral success and vocational discernment

Friday morning was devoted to a visit to the small village of Monteynard, where Fr Eymard was parish priest. Only two years were enough for Fr Eymard to transform this reality. His interest and commitment to his ministry made him an obvious success as a pastor. It is true, however, that it was also the place of his sister’s suffering and detachment. It was there that he had to make another of his great decisions in response to God’s call: to leave for the Marists, a religious society that had recently been founded. The path was becoming more and more evident, Father Manuel said, pointing to the stained-glass window which in an abstract way showed a crossroads in the small chapel in the cemetery of what was part of the parish church in Father Eymard’s time. It was there that he replied to his sister Marianne, “God is calling me today... tomorrow will be too late.”

We celebrated the Eucharist there with a group of pilgrims from Blessed Sacrament parishes in the United States. The group was accompanied by Fathers John Thomas Lane and Thomas Wiese. As providence would have it, this was the circumstance of this encounter of Lay and religious celebrating the Eucharist presided by the Superior General, remembering Father Eymard. It was very beautiful to share this special moment with them. We felt that we were members of a single family, regardless of our civil status and origin, the family of Father Eymard, as Fr Benzy recalled.  

• The circle closes

In the afternoon in the house chapel, the place where Fr Eymard died, was the context in which the last days of his life were recalled, with the details of his arrival and subsequent burial. A circle was closed in the place where the call began, the place of his last response, his definitive Passover: La Mure.

For the group it was a very poignant moment during the praying of the vespers when the group expressed their feelings of gratitude for the days spent together and what they experienced during those days. Here is one of the prayers that were said and which summarises the feelings of all the members.

Oh God, thank you for these days,
Thank you for the opportunity to live these days in the house where Saint Peter Julian Eymard spent his last days.
Thank you for the experience of seeing and touching the modern places.
Thank you for the opportunity to understand better the physical and the spiritual journey of Peter Julian Eymard.
Thank you for Fr. Manuel for his guidance with his knowledge and experience.
May this experience enlighten us to deepen our understanding and love for our founder Saint Peter Julian Eymard.
Blessed be God forever.                                                                    

Father Benzy

The retreat thus came to an end, with a feeling of great gratitude to God and to Father Manuel for his competence and care in ensuring that everything turned out perfectly. Even the good weather that had accompanied us, something unusual at that time, it was said on more than one occasion.

We also thanked the members of the Community of La Mure, in particular Father Thaddée Mupapa, in charge of the spirituality centre. We shared dinner with them on Friday. It was another beautiful and fraternal moment that will remain in our memory, as well as the meal with some lay people to which we were invited or the magnificent welcome and dinner offered by the Community of Malmantile. Thank you all from the bottom of our hearts
On behalf of the General Council

Father José Antonio Rivera Ruiz sss