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From Rome, on August 28, 1946, she wrote to Mother Scholastica, who was in Paris since July 21, in the second phase of her “exile”:
Dearest M. Scholastica How are you doing there? Have you already begun the apostolate? They told me that you make beautiful statues. How is your health? I pray for you a great deal. The Good Lord desired that you accompany His Son, when in the garden he was filled with sorrow and alone… Is that not so? How much I think about it! Take courage, my dearest sister, think of these as days of greater merit. In Paradise we will bless the pain, the crosses carried for the Lord. I am with you in spirit. Pray for me. I do not know how to say many things, but I desire the best for you. Many Masses are being celebrated for the successful outcome of the process. Let us pray and hope. We desire only to do what the Lord wants of us. Greet the sisters there for me. With great affection in St. Paul Affectionately, M. Tecla
Several months later, when the horizon was brighter and great strides had already been made toward the recognition of the autonomy of the Sister Disciples, she wrote to her on February 1, 1947:
Dearest M. Scholastica Your letter gave me great pleasure. Thanks be to God that the things are going along the right path. Everything is not settled yet but little by little they are falling into place. I thought about you a great deal, and with you I prayed and sacrificed. There is still need for much prayer. At this time there is nothing we can do, neither for the Sister Disciples nor the Daughters, without Fr. Angelico, our Apostolic Visitor. Everything depends on him. He says who is to be placed in charge, how everything is to be done. He is very good and understands our situation. They told me that periodically those disturbances recur pay attention, take the necessary treatments. I also recommend to you my dear mother, she went to Paradise on January 18. I only saw her as a cadaver. These deaths detach us ever more from the earth and increase our desire for Paradise. I have great confidence that the Sister Disciples will be properly instituted, as the Lord wills, as Primo Maestro and all of us desire. Your sacrifice lies at the foundation. It will be like the seed buried in the ground which seems to disappear but bears fruit a hundredfold. It matters little that we will be trampled upon as long as the Lord is praised and blessed. In Rome they are making beautiful adorations; the sisters are very happy. […} May the Lord bless you! Remember that I count greatly on your prayers. Affectionate greetings to you and to all Affectionately, M. Tecla
And again, a few days later, for her feastday greetings, she wrote on February 6:
Dearest M. Scholastica I am happy to have this beautiful occasion of your feastday to write to you again. Yes, dearest sister, I am near you and pray a great deal for you to your patron saint. She knows and understands your needs and will be generous in her spiritual gifts. Many Daughters are praying for you. I am certain that all the Sister Disciples are with you. Although the events have caused you to be far from them, the affection and appreciation is not diminished in any of them. Here we are working to put the things in order. You understand. There is much need for prayer, the things are being discussed up above, so you understand that it is only the Lord who can do something. We desire that his holy will be fulfilled in all things, This we desire and pray, and entrust everything to God’s love for us. I do not know if you are still in Nice, or if this will reach you. Are you better? Are you taking care of your ailments? May the glorious St. Scholastica grant you her love for God, and grant it also to me. What a beautiful day that will be when we can see the Lord face to face. Take courage! The more we have to suffer here below, the more we will enjoy up above. Many greetings and affectionate wishes. In St. Paul Affectionately M. Tecla
Not only Maestra Tecla but also many other Daughters of St. Paul, especially those of the beginnings, always saw clearly the specific vocation and mission of the Sister Disciples in the Pauline Family. A significant example is that of M. Brigida Perron (1899-1977) who wrote to Mother Scholastica on the occasion of the 50th Anniversary of the Congregation, during the month of February 1974:
Dearest Sr. Scholastica Happy feastday! I never wrote to you for this occasion, but I remembered you each year to the Lord. This year is the 50th feastday not only for you, but also for all the dear Sister Disciples. I remember as if it were today when we first met as new members in ‘22. Then on February 10, 1924, for your first investiture! All, because I lived it all in my soul.
A fiftieth is truly a great thing. This, especially for you, means, allow me to say it with all my heart and sincerity, countless special blessings, signs of a special love for Jesus, isn’t that true? It means fifty years of unconditional fidelity to your special vocation, can we desire anything greater? Recall that famous month of January to the Divine Master in which Primo Maestro gave us the meditation on obedience every morning, and then a few days later he chose you. I remember it well. How many things since then; certainly you would not have thought of the evolution that came - all signs of God’s love, for the future of the Sister Disciples. What can I wish and pray for at this time? Increase daily in the internal possession of Him. Pray to him for me – that we may allow ourselves to be possessed ever more by the Holy Spirit who is love. If you will, greet all those I knew before ‘32. I know you all and I remember all of you. Many greetings to all. Especially all of those I knew, pleasant memories, to those I loved and continue to love. This is also for all the Sister Disciples. Remember me in your adorations. I count on them. Thank you. Pray for all the FSP that the Lord may assist us in being faithful to our vocation. With affectionate greetings and an embrace, Affectionately, Sr. Brigida Perron
These are only a few images which open the way to understanding the depth of relationship as a “Family”. What it means to “love one another”, contemplating the marvelous project of God unfolding in our history; that reveals the presence of persons capable of suffering with those who suffer and rejoicing with those who rejoice.
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