AUGUST 20: ST. BERNARD'S DAY

The testimony shared by Arielle Serveille-Brignon 

"We share the joys and hopes, the anxieties and the trials of the men of our time...

Everything that touches Man has an echo in our hearts." (rules for living)  

I. My story with the Bernardines' Convent began in 2007 (15 years already), when I came for a few days retreat. I was touched by the peace that I felt in this troubled period of my life. After analysis, several ingredients made this possible. 

First of all, I would place the welcome and the accompaniment of the Sisters of the Community. I remember that in the refectory, the kindly Servant of Mary who served the meal on those days, brought me a packet of tissues. I can still see the kind looks and the discreet smiles that accompanied me throughout my stay. The prayers of the Community in the straw chapel, in particular, and the Ignatian advice of the Sr (Mother Superior at the time) gave me confidence and peace. Secondly, I would put the silence and the solitude that allowed me to refocus, to hear that inner voice that speaks to the heart, to reconnect with myself and to understand that I was not alone on the path of life.  

After this unprecedented experience, many things changed and, in 2009, I came to live closer to the Sisters and the convent, because I felt called and somehow "grateful" for the love received and shared here. I was called to come and pray daily, to be nourished by the Word, to be recharged with divine energy through the Eucharist and to recharge my batteries in a natural, preserved and rural environment. I believe that I have drawn a lot throughout these years, and I am infinitely grateful to you. 

Quite naturally, when I felt better, I wanted to give back, and that is how I proposed to do Home and Accompaniment, at first once a week, then twice. Then, I had the opportunity to deepen the life of Father Cestac, within the Cestac group, to help in the writing of the Charter in 2017, to reread and share the Letters to Elise, to co-animate the workshop of the Faces of Mary... The highlights at Saint Bernard are the reception, twice a week, and the cemetery.

II. My mission here (as I feel it and practice it) is:

    1) to make Father Cestac, his work and the Congregation he founded better known to people who pass by. I feel called to speak to them about his great devotion to Mary, his spirit of openness, of welcoming the poorest. I explain to them that this place is a place of silence, of prayer, of renewal where one can always be welcomed for a short spiritual stop or for a retreat of a few days. I also introduce NDR when I see that they are really interested.

    2) to rekindling the flame (giving a taste for life). By listening attentively, because sometimes people come to confide in me, to seek comfort, advice, prayer. And, through sharing proposals open to a wider public (supported by Sr. Annie Houssin and Sr. Arantza): lenten spiritual stop at the cemetery "Doing and undoing", since 2019; meditative walks in 2020, resumed with Sr. Arantza in spring 2022; workshops Letters to Elise and Faces of Mary, mentioned for the record since they take place in NDR. 

III. My experience: I am at Mary's school. 

She teaches me 

• fidelity, adherence to the commitment I have made
• patience (her time is not ours) 
• abandonment (her will and not mine) 
• humility (renunciation, self-effacement, acceptance)
• welcome (of the other in his difference)

I receive graces 

• the joy of sharing with the Sisters who visit me, with the people who pass by, with the chaplain who is always kind and encouraging,
• the grace of silence, of community and personal prayer,
• the grace of feeling welcomed, supported, encouraged and expected 

I live sometimes in silence, sometimes in sharing, according to the will of "the Mistress of the place"; sometimes I welcome, sometimes I am welcomed.

IV. Conclusion 

Remember, what drew me here in 2007 was the comfort, the listening and the welcome that I received from you. This is what we have to offer today, as Father Cestac did in his time. I was looking for comfort, today I am comforting in my turn. I am grateful to you for being able to ensure, in the confidence that you give me, the welcome of all those who pass by. The welcome of visitors, of those who discover by chance, at the bend of their vegetable purchases, the welcome of those who come to pray, to rest, to recharge their batteries, sometimes of pilgrims of Saint James, of those who participate in the repair of the cemetery, in the days of recollection proposed, in the walk in the forest. This place cannot be understood without welcoming people in a precarious moral or physical situation, those who are searching, for it is indeed the spirit of Father Cestac to welcome in love. It is a place of reconstruction, of healing of hearts, a place of peace, of meeting and of silence.