Blessed Eugénie, tell us about spiritual childhood!
Conclusion
“Devote yourself wholeheartedly to spiritual childhood”
“Devote myself wholeheartedly to spiritual childhood; the Holy Spirit draws me to it, for this is the path that Our Lord desires for me. For others, He marked out a different path; for me, everything is there… Our Lord loves me with a special love; why this love of infinite mercy, why this path of gentleness along which He wishes to lead me?
Only love can answer this question: He loves me just because He loves me!
So, I must let myself be carried by Him, by the Most Blessed Virgin: They don’t want me to walk alone. I will go much further with Them.”
(SEJ p.151)
We have just followed Blessed Eugénie and travelled with her along a beautiful path, the path of spiritual childhood.
A gentle path in the footsteps of the Lord Jesus.
Spiritual childhood is so rich, so small and so great that we are filled with wonder, while perhaps saying to ourselves in our hearts: it is beautiful, but I am quite incapable of it… So, let us turn to our dear little Sister, let us ask her to take us by the hand and lead us step by step. A small step in trust!
Like her, let us be convinced that it is precisely because we are weak and fragile that Our Lord Jesus wants us to let ourselves be carried by Him and by the Most Blessed Virgin.
Without them, we can do nothing!
They do not want us to walk alone. We will go much further with them!
APPENDIX: Blessed Eugénie’s poem (SEJ pp.68-70)
Like a little one sleeping
Without listening to the wind,
Knowing that their mother is watching over them
To preserve them from evil and noise:
So, I want in my misery
Without fear or worry,
Entrust everything to my Mother’s heart
Whispering low: ‘Thank you!’
Like a toddler trotting along,
So little and yet not falling,
For their mother is there, bending down
To guide their every step;
So, I want in my weakness
Rely on my mother’s love
And hide all my littleness
In this Heart, foretaste of heaven.
Like a docile toddler
At the slightest word from their mother
Who knows how to make everything easy,
Smiling at their naive enthusiasm;
So, I want to let myself be
Without feeling any embarrassment,
When my loving Mother
Wants to carry me in her arms.
Like a little child giving themselves
Without calculating or thinking,
Since they know how to live thanks to their mother:
Could such support weaken?
So, I want to practice
The gentle abandonment of hope,
Trust my Mother,
Wait for every gift from Her heart.
Like a little child beaming,
Unaware that the world is dark,
Since their kind Mother
Shows them what they need to know;
So, I want — great skill,
To know nothing more here on earth
Than through the eyes of my Mother alone,
Certain that I am not mistaken.
Like a little one waking up,
Tweeting their naive happiness,
While their mother is watching over
Their first cries, the impulse of their hearts…
So, every dawn I want to
Smile at my Mother in Heaven,
Find in her love once again
A ray sweeter than honey.
Like a little child repeating
The same lesson over and over again,
A perfect lesson from their mother,
Repeating it in their own way;
So, I want, during my whole life,
To repeat, like them — oh joy!
The lesson that my tender Mother
Will kindly place into my heart.