These are the stairs in the Mother House here in Beziers where we are learning this week, worn down by a century and a half of RSHM nuns walking up and down each day. I made my contribution to the wear and tear of these stairs twice today.
We have had a remarkable day learning about and discussing Pere Gailhac; his life, vision, and charism...all in the rooms where he sat, the streets where he walked, the churches where he prayed and officiated, and the Mother House where the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary lived and he worked.
I always felt that while my knowledge of Father Gailhac was at least enough to describe his vision and work to others, one day of in depth learning and discussion and I see just how woefully inadequate it was. While one week certainly cannot make anyone an expert, I feel much more qualified to fully explain and comprehend our own mission and how we are called by Christ to, as our mission states, "Know and make God known, love and make God loved, so all may have life and have it to the full." Today was a gift.
Tomorrow we study Mere St. Jean, co-foundress of the Religious of the Sacred Heart of Mary.