March 9, 2012 - A Friday of Lent with St. Marie Eugenie

Our Theme of today was about how we can be joyful always and when we have problems, sufferings and difficulties (in other words, challenges) when we pray for and develop the virtue of JOY.

Our Saint of the Month, St. Marie Eugenie is a great example of the virtue of Joy! St Marie Eugenie is not very well known but her life is very inspiring, especially to us today. She was born in 1817 and grew up in a castle near Paris. Her family did not believe in God and they were very wealthy (hence, the castle…)

 She often accompanied her mother visiting poor families, but her mother died when she was 15 years old. It was at this moment in her life, when she was 15 that she had a conversion, searching for God and trying to find meaning to all of her suffering. She went on a retreat and made sense of her life in the presence of God.

Reading her life story, you would never think that she lived almost 200 years ago. We are faced with so many of the same situations today (maybe not living in castles, but everything else could be applied.) In a time of economic instability, and difficult family situations, she can help each one of us and the girls to see that you can make the best out of any situation and find God. She converted when she was 15 at a retreat and it changed her life forever. Camps and retreats can be these life changing experiences for the girls in our clubs. The whole goal of these activities is to spark an experience with God through prayer and faith building activities.

When Marie Eugenie was only 22 years old she founded the Religious of the Assumption. She died at the age of 80 in 1898 having founded 30 schools in 9 countries. She was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2007. Today her work lives on with over 1200 sisters in 34 countries around the world educating children and families in the faith.  

"Each of us has a mission on earth. It is simply a question of seeing how God can use us to make his Gospel known and lived". – St. Marie Eugenie

We played a very fun game about the virtues we see in our Challenge Club friends and to welcome our guest visiting Challenge for the first time. We talked about growing closer in friendship with Christ by doing good deeds and receiving the joy of Christ when we do His will. To finish the night, we made the craft of St. Therese's Good Deeds beads. We will be carrying it and hiding it in our pockets and for every good deed we do, we will shift one bead to the other side, just as St. Therese of the Little Flower did when she was still very little. We will offer each good deed as a fragrance for Christ in the secrets of our hearts.

 “A joyful heart is the normal result of a heart burning with love. Joy is contagious. We may not be able to give much, but we can always give the joy that springs from a heart filled with love.” – Mother Theresa