Sister Paul Hélène- Little Sister of the Assumption – 8 May

She was 67 years old on 8 May 1994 when she was murdered in Algiers.  She was in the library where she worked and welcomed young people with Brother Henri Vergès.

“No one has greater love than the one who gives his life for his friends.

St John 15:13

We are invited to contemplate this great sign of Love, life and resurrection. To love and to give life. Jesus calls us to give our own lives to our brothers and sisters, as He did.  He, who witnessed the Father’s love in personal voice and deed. On this path of discipleship, we are all responsible for following this love with the certainty of being children, which helps us to give our lives without reserve to our neighbour.

Our Little Sister Paul Hélène lived, abandoned to the cause of the Kingdom of God, to the point of living with a people different in culture and religion, in the midst of families. Sent to Algeria, she dedicated herself to the service of the Gospel; and in 1988, she worked in a library in Bencheneb with students, in the popular district of the Casbah.  At that time, the country was experiencing a situation of violence, which was getting increasingly worse. It was in this context that Paul Hélène was questioned by her bishop in Algeria as to whether or not she should continue her stay in the country. During this interrogation, we heard this sentence expressed by Sister Paul-Hélène:

“Father, in every respect, our lives are already given up”.

This sentence is an invitation to reflect on death, the struggle for justice and freedom. She experienced this with the people to whom she was sent. Sister Paul Helene was a woman of prayer and conviction, her faith in the unconditional love of God for all humanity.

Even today, we live in a context where humanity is waiting for peace, the conflict between Russia and Ukraine affects all those who are part of this common house that is humankind. But it is also time to nourish our Hope.  Love has not been defeated by hate it has its place today in the heart of humanity.

In God, we find our strength in the face of the torture and death suffered by countless victims; we pray in communion with all the suffering families.  We believe in the struggle expressed in endurance, resilience and courage in everyday life.  We believe in the transforming capacity of life, we believe in the hope that leads us to freedom, we believe in the constant search to hear and understand the signs of God in our wounded world crushed by wars of law, or of any nature.

In prayer, Sister Paul Hélène found elements of discernment and freedom to pursue her mission.  As people of God, we are invited to pray today, building on her witness of intergenerational and intercultural love, the environment in which we find ourselves.

Let us continue in communion with all those who have lost a loved one. Let us unite our prayers and actions in the struggle for world peace, the struggle for freedom.  God calls us to continue and to bear witness to His Kingdom present among people.

To give our lives for love, as Sister Paul Helene did, even to the point of martyrdom.

– Poem: Message to distant friends, by Cecilia Meireles (Brazilian) – (1901-1964)”

My beloved companions, I do not wait for you, do not call you, because I am going elsewhere. But I am confident that I love you.
The closest are not continuing to be the best company. Even with the overcast sun, everyone knows when it is daylight.
For you intensely, I cut my shortcuts. For your sake, I think and that gives me help.
Don’t condemn my rebellious way for now. To free myself, I am your prisoner.
As far as it may seem, you are in my memory, you are in my head, you are my hope.“

–

Prayer in the memory of Blessed Sr Paul-Hélène:

" God of love, You gave
our sister Paul-Helene,
the courage to embrace
the highest form of
loving and follow in the
footsteps of your Son, by
dedicating her life to the
people she served, in the
name of the Good News.
By her example, help us
become true servants
of your Love, living
in simplicity and total
availability, for the glory
of your Son, and in the
unity of the Spirit. "

VIDEO

My God, make unity of minds in truth and union of hearts in Charity.