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Excerpt |
After
AdèleMonograph 47
Franca Zonta, FMI
Translated by Joseph Stefanelli, SM
381 pp., $8.00
Toward a Merger
“Once upon a time there was a Third Order. . . . “
No doubt there are some now who think of the Third Order in terms of a fairy tale or legend, something which once was but is no longer. They think of it as a reality which once existed but which succumbed little by little to time, and which history snuffed out. This has been the fate of numerous congregations which found themselves on the way to extinction and whose last members joined some other order, more or less similar. The charism of the original group is lost, buried in the past. All that remains is a history and a memory.
` This was not the case for the Third Order of the Daughters of Mary of Auch. Although examining the final years of the Third Order does not properly fit into the time frame of this study, it seems desirable to do so. Having followed its history thus far, it is important to look also at this concluding phase. The Third Order is like a “tributary stream” flowing into and losing itself in the “great river.” It is also important to balance, where necessary, the impression many still have that “Once upon a time. . .An Old Dream
How did the notion arise of a merger between the Daughters of Mary of Ausch and those of Agen? When, and why? These are the first questions to arise, and it may come as a surprise to discover that this was an old idea, a desire having its roots in the heart of Mother Aimée Lacoste. It was not the result of the persecution which broke out early in the 1900s against the teaching orders. This latter event only brought to maturation a dream which had been cultivated for a long time.
It has already been seen how, as in any good family, little difficulties and inevitable misunderstandings had developed from time to time between the two branches of the Institute. It was becoming more and more evident that the principles regulating the relationship between the two needed to be modified.ed.
Who would be better situated to give suggestions and appropriate advice than one who, while being in the family, was also not involved in the issue? This person was Good Father Simler, the Superior General of the Society of Mary. He had already played a great role in the rapprochement between his own religious family and the Daughters of Mary. He was the first to dedicate himself seriously to the relationship between the sisters of Agen and those of Auch. . . .. .
Having been asked his advice by various parties, Father Simler spent more than a year reading, studying, reflecting, examining the various Constitutions, and questioning and listening to those involved. He gathered information from anyone who was able to provide it. Above all, “We addressed ourselves to the Immaculate Virgin, Our Lady of the Pillar and Mother of Good Counsel, who was the first foundress of all these works and who remains their guardian and directress.”Click here to view Table of Contents