We live to the extent that we are freed from the past and look to the future with serenity.
Father Louis-Marie Parent, O.M.I.

Reflection on Father Parent's thoughts: 

In a very primal way, we “live” by what we eat ... and the pleasure it gives us ...

But LIFE is much more than that ...
Father Parent's words are very beautiful, but also ... sometimes ... “difficult”.
Freeing yourself from the past is the first step ... forgiveness, understanding the event, receiving help...

To place ourselves in the presence of God with our qualities, our gifts received from Him.
I have to realize that I belong to Him, that I come from Him, that I remain His.
Looking to the future with serenity ... that's the second part of the journey ...

Sometimes serenity arrives like a grace that seeps in little by little and speaks to us of the future. It's where I taste the charisma of the Institute: “A constant availability to the will of the Father to live everywhere the charity of Christ through service, with the help of Mary.”

Everything must lead us back to the mission: “Following Christ to witness the unconditional love of God the Father through the attitudes of life.”

Serenity is like the sap in me, if I stay connected to the branches.

Inspired by the “Presence of God” (cf. In the Footsteps of Jesus)

Annick François
France