How beautiful are your works
How great are your works, Lord!
You fill us with joy!
Yes, we are filled with joy on this day when we celebrate, with our Sister Angèle, the 107 years of her life since her birth in Saint-Pierre-Quilbignon, near Brest, in Brittany. France. We also celebrate 86 years of her religious life as a Daughter of the Holy Spirit, under the name of Sister Marie-Claire of Assisi.
So many people have walked with her in our then famous schools: Sainte Anne in Quimper, Notre Dame du Mur in Morlaix, Saint-Sébastien in Landerneau. In Angers, Angèle prepared a French-Latin-Greek degree. To teach French-Latin at Sainte Anne de Quimper, no problem! As for Greek: no customers! “No matter, she was told, you will teach English”. We had to manage….
Today his family is wholeheartedly present with us, thanks to the current means of communication: his nephew Paul as well as his wife, his grand-nephew Hervé and his grand-niece Armelle. And we must not forget that Sister Angèle is the cousin of Mgr Pierre Kervennic, the former bishop of Saint-Brieuc who was succeeded by Mgr Fruchaud.
On this Tuesday 23 August, when Sister Angèle has already been in our retirement home for 18 years, we, the sisters present here, the lay residents and the members of the staff who are always attentive to her wishes and needs, wish her a happy birthday!
The Gospel of Matthew that the liturgy gives us today could shock us for a birthday; but the Spirit will know how to introduce us to what is primordial for Jesus: the most important thing is not the external practice of observances, but the attitude of the heart, Jesus himself says, that is “justice, mercy and fidelity”, which Angela tried to live during her long life.
We wish her to continue her journey in peace and thanksgiving.
Yes, we can sing: How beautiful are your works!
Then at 3.30 pm, a festive snack with songs, flowers, gifts… where, together with the sisters of the retreat community and the service staff, so many people surrounded Angela: Sister Angèle Blanchard for the FBH Province, Camille Kolev, assistant director of the Ehpad, Mr Jean Le Goff, President of the administrative committee of the “Jeanne Guernion” association, Mgr Moutel, bishop of the diocese and his diocesan communication officer, Sister Agnès Stéphan, who was in charge of the Mother House, Pascal Bothorel, kitchen manager, Véronique Dikoma and myself, and later, held up by an event, Paul, journalist from the newspaper Ouest-France.
