Jubilee, hope and 225

The other day I was thinking about the 21st November 1800. This was the day when our Society was born: when a fervent, courageous and quietly passionate little group of women, among them St Madeleine Sophie, vowed their lives to God in an extremely fledgling community, in the aftermath of the French Revolution. Two and a quarter centuries on, this anniversary continues to be a source of inspiration and renewed commitment for us who live the charism and mission they began.

So, last week was our 225th birthday, and the other day, contemplating the passage of time, I was remembering how we had celebrated our 200th birthday during the millennium year, which was also a Jubilee. And in one moment, two thoughts came to me. 

The first was that they made their vows only a week or so before the start of Advent; this time of waiting in quiet, joyful hope, and of preparing for Love coming to dwell among us. What, I wondered, must it have meant for them to live their own new beginnings and expectations during this graced time of promise and preparation?

And the other thought was that 1800 should have been a Jubilee year as well, but events in France and elsewhere prevented it from being celebrated. And yet... in an attic apartment in a corner of Paris, Sophie and her companions ended 1800 by pledging themselves to proclaim not just a year of the Lord's favour, but decades and generations of themselves and their RSCJ descendants being sent to bring good news... to bind up hearts that are broken... to comfort those who mourn... (Isaiah 61: 1-3)... to proclaim - as our Constitutions call us to - by our very lives and activities, the Good News of a God who is love, compassion and tenderness. 

And, 225 years later, in a Jubilee Year of Hope, to be women filled with hope, in a world so often filled with despair. To be women who, as Pope Francis wrote, “abound in hope” (cf. Rom 15:13), so that we may bear credible and attractive witness to the faith and love that dwell in our hearts; that our faith may be joyful and our charity enthusiastic. 

This weekend we will enter the final month of our Jubilee of Hope, as we also light our first Advent candle - the candle of hope, which remains lit throughout this season. It is the light which pierces the darkness, and ushers us to Christmas. May we all discover and know the hope and the good news that we are called to share, this Advent and beyond...