On June 8, the sisters of the two communities from Rennes, in Brittany, FRANCE, came by car, metro or bus to join me, Marie-Thérèse, a consecrated lay person living in Acigné -16.2 km from Rennes-.
A few days after the feast of Pentecost, in a corner of my room, a time of prayer brought us together as a FSE family, to call and welcome the Holy Spirit beyond all borders and in all situations experienced throughout the world. We listened to a few excerpts from the letter of Sister Ann Almodovar, Superior General of the Congregation, each expressing what spoke most to her. Then we renewed our vows. We extended our prayer time with the words that the CORREF* proposed every day during the Pentecost novena and we turned to the Virgin Mary so that she would help us “to risk our lives for the unforeseen of God”.
The moment to move into another room for our meal sharing brought by each other allowed us to let our spontaneity flow with simplicity and fraternity. What a joy to be able to meet again like this in the family, a very strong dimension of what we must live. A short word of thanks received from the Sisters of Rennes clearly expresses the joy of this meeting: “Your welcome and simplicity, prayer in your ‘adapted sanctuary’, the meal easily tasted around a table decorated by an artist… what a precious moment!”
Thank you very much for this memory of fraternities.
Marie Thérèse MOCHET, consecrated lay person. Published on 14 June 2026
*Prayer of the CORREF (Conference of religious men and women of France)
“Holy Spirit, teach us to be silent in order to recognize your voice, enlighten our decisions, even the simplest. Come, even in our weaknesses, and make it a path of life. Make our hearts gentle and attentive to others. Inhabits our simple gestures and makes them light. A spirit of joy, open our eyes to the little signs of true happiness. Teach us to welcome what we had not planned. Come live this day fully and make us available to the presence of others.”
