Bienheureuse Dina Bélanger
Religieuse de la congrégation des Soeurs de
Jésus-Marie (+ 1929)
Martyrologe romain
Celui qui a trouvé un ami possède un trésor
SOURCE : https://nominis.cef.fr/contenus/saint/10112/Bienheureuse-Dina-Belanger.html
Bienheureuse Dina Bélanger : histoire d’un cœur
ARTICLE
| 22/07/2019 | Numéro 2167 | Par Marie de Varax
Incandescente
Dina ! Cette religieuse canadienne méconnue laissa une autobiographie qui
révéla au monde un cœur de feu, tout entier livré à l’amour dévorant de Jésus
pour les âmes.
« Au Ciel, je serai une petite mendiante d’amour : la voilà,
ma mission ! Et je la commence immédiatement. » Qui a écrit cette phrase ?
Sainte Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus ? Perdu ! Elle est de la main de Dina
Bélanger, une bienheureuse québécoise, très peu connue de ce côté-ci de
l’Atlantique, mais dont la vie rappelle beaucoup celle de la carmélite
normande : comme elle, morte jeune de la tuberculose après moins de dix années
de vie religieuse ; comme elle, se sentant revêtue d’une mission au Ciel qui
poursuit celle commencée sur Terre ; comme elle, enfin, elle a laissé une
autobiographie écrite à la demande de sa supérieure qui dévoile la profondeur
de sa vie mystique et de son union au Christ. « C’est le même témoignage typiquement féminin d’une jeune
religieuse dont l’histoire personnelle, si brève et si limitée, devient
paradoxalement l’histoire la plus passionnante et la plus belle à cause de
l’amour qui la remplit », expose le Père François-Marie Léthel dans la
présentation de cet ouvrage (1).
Fioretti
Dina Bélanger est née à Québec le 30 avril 1897. « Elle est la première
bienheureuse née à Québec », souligne Jacques
Gauthier, écrivain et théologien canadien. « Mais elle perpétue la lignée des grandes figures spirituelles
qui l’ont précédée en Nouvelle-France – le Frère
André, François de
Laval, Marie
de l’Incarnation... –, continuant l’épopée mystique
commencée il y a quatre cents ans. » Elle est la fille unique d’Octave et
Séraphia Bélanger, un couple bourgeois très pieux qui met sa richesse au
service des pauvres et des malades. Dans ce terreau favorable, la petite Dina
« pousse bien droit » et s’épanouit. Elle va très vite engager toutes ses
forces à devenir sainte, aidée d’un tempérament naturellement contemplatif et
solitaire, et de grâces particulières – dès l’âge de 11 ans, elle entend
intérieurement la voix « douce
et mélodieuse » du Christ. Cependant, elle a fort à faire pour
maîtriser une hypersensibilité qui la fait fondre en larmes « pour un rien », et une
grande timidité qui la renferme sur elle-même. Aussi, à 14 ans, elle
décide d’employer les grands moyens et demande à entrer au pensionnat. Coupée
du cocon familial, entourée de jeunes filles de son âge, forcée d’exprimer
émotions et sentiments, le changement est rude, mais, après bien des larmes, « enfin, écrit-elle, [sa] volonté se
fortifia et [elle se consola] ».
« Je te veux à Jésus-Marie »
Attirée de plus en plus par le
Christ, elle fait à cet âge un vœu privé de virginité. Aussi, à 16 ans, à
la fin de ses études, elle pense être prête pour la vie religieuse : mais, la
trouvant trop jeune, ses parents et son directeur spirituel ne l’y autorisent
pas. Que faire ? Dina bénéficie d’une intelligence vive et d’un don pour la
musique, hérité de son père. Elle se remet donc à l’étude du piano, obtient des
diplômes, donne quelques concerts de charité. Ses talents s’affermissent : elle
est choisie pour étudier au conservatoire de New York avec deux autres
Québécoises. La voilà propulsée, de 19 à 21 ans, dans la ville qui ne dort
jamais. Elle y mène en apparence une vie d’étudiante de son âge et raconte avec
beaucoup de gaieté dans ses lettres à ses parents les mille riens de sa vie
achat d’un chapeau, concert d’un pianiste célèbre, examens difficiles en
anglais... Intérieurement, cependant, cachée aux yeux de tous, son union
mystique avec Jésus se fortifie dans la douleur d’une terrible « nuit obscure »
– tentations du démon, aridité dans l’oraison, distractions – qui durera six
années.
Son désir de vie religieuse
s’accroît à mesure que le temps passe. Mais dans quelle congrégation entrer ?
Dina n’a de cesse de demander au Seigneur ses lumières. Enfin, un jour, elle
entend : « Je te veux à
Jésus-Marie » – une congrégation enseignante, ce qui l’étonne, se sentant
plutôt faite pour la vie contemplative.
▶︎ À
LIRE AUSSI : Bienheureuse
Dina, pour la louange de Dieu
Point de manifestations extraordinaires
À 24 ans, le 11 août
1921, la postulante qui entre au couvent de Jésus-Marie de Sillery près de
Québec est une jeune femme au doux visage rond, avec de grands yeux
mélancoliques, à l’air pensif. Sous ces abords réservés, se cache une mystique
de feu. Dina est depuis longtemps une amoureuse passionnée de son Époux divin.
Mais l’adaptation à la vie communautaire et réglée du couvent lui est
difficile, elle qui est habituée à s’abandonner à sa guise à ses élans
mystiques. Elle éprouve même de très fortes tentations : « Parfois, seule à la promenade, il me venait l’idée de
partir sans chapeau ni manteau, ou la nuit de m’enfuir par une fenêtre. »
Elle entend l’Ennemi lui susurrer : « Tu vas vivre ici jusqu’à la fin de tes jours ? Tu vas te
soumettre à ces exigences qui sont autant de fardeaux ? » Elle s’accroche
cependant à sa vocation. Devenue novice, celle qui se nomme désormais Sœur
Marie Sainte-Cécile de Rome se sent appelée à une union telle avec le Christ
que Celui-ci prenne sa place et sauve, « sous le manteau extérieur de son être » et avec le
concours de sa Mère, les âmes du monde – « car les actions de Jésus ont une valeur infinie, un seul
acte d’amour qu’Il offre à son Père pourrait sauver des millions de mondes ». Elle
trouve alors sa devise : « Aimer et laisser faire Jésus et Marie. »
L'abbé Christian Venard
Chez Dina, point de ces
manifestations extraordinaires que l’on retrouve habituellement chez les
mystiques stigmates – sanglants, transverbération, bilocation... « Les parents de Dina et les
religieuses n’étaient pas au courant de sa vie mystique, comme les paroles et
visions intérieures, les stigmates invisibles reçus un an avant sa mort, éclaire
Jacques Gauthier. Elle
ne partageait pas sa vie intérieure, sauf dans son Autobiographie. Elle ressemble à la Petite Thérèse, dont une religieuse
avait dit après sa mort : “Je ne sais ce que l’on dira sur Sœur Thérèse, elle
n’a rien fait.” » Souriante, humble, obéissante, rien ne peut distinguer
cette Sœur enseignante de Jésus-Marie d’une autre.
Le seul fait distinctif est
qu’elle passe de longs mois à l’infirmerie, d’abord à cause d’une fièvre
scarlatine contractée auprès d’une de ses élèves, puis de la tuberculose. Elle
y garde un visage souriant et serein malgré de fortes douleurs, et y expire le
4 septembre 1929, à 32 ans. Son autobiographie, publiée cinq ans
après sa mort, connaît tout de suite un grand succès, au Canada et dans le
monde. Il faut attendre cependant le pontificat de Jean-Paul II pour qu’elle
soit élevée à la gloire des autels, en 1993. « Jean-Paul II a vu en elle un apôtre de
la Trinité et une missionnaire dans sa vie de souffrance. C’est aussi un
beau modèle pour les jeunes comme artiste et pianiste », médite Jacques Gauthier.
En quoi Dina Bélanger peut-elle
être un exemple pour nous aujourd’hui ? « Dans ces moments où notre Église catholique est durement
ballottée, la figure de Dina Bélanger [...] offre une réponse spirituelle
forte », répond l’abbé
Christian Venard. Elle
« nous entraîne à sa
suite à nous livrer entièrement au Cœur de Jésus, pour remédier à la
tiédeur des âmes, en particulier des âmes des consacrés : “[...] Mon cœur
demande de la consolation, et toutes ces âmes, s’occupant d’elles-mêmes ou du
monde, ne me consolent pas...” Dina nous invite donc à cette oblation de nous-mêmes
pour la sanctification de tout le corps de l’Église en général et pour celle
des âmes consacrées en particulier. »
Marie de Varax
(1) Autobiographie, par Dina Bélanger. Préface de
Mgr Maurice Couture et présentation du Père François-édition revue,
corrigée et augmentée, Montréal/Québec, Religieuses de Jésus-Marie, 1995
(ouvrage indisponible).
Jacques Gauthier : « J’ai voulu montrer Dina très humaine »
ARTICLE | 22/07/2019 | Numéro 2167 | Par Marie de Varax
Cet
écrivain et théologien canadien publie un livre d’entretiens à partir de
l’autobiographie de la jeune mystique.
Terrassé par une méchante grippe,
Jacques Gauthier, écrivain et théologien canadien, a tout de même tenu à
honorer notre rendez-vous sur Skype. À l’écran, il apparaît sur fond de livres
et de statues de saints. Jacques Gauthier est l’ami de ces « âmes d’élites qui peuvent à première
vue faire peur quand on ne connaît pas leur humanité », reconnaît-il. Ce
laïc – marié, père et grand-père – a toujours voulu rendre accessible « les choses de Dieu »,
les incarner. Il en est ainsi de Dina Bélanger.
Quand il a découvert son
autobiographie, « ça a
été un coup de cœur, une expérience mystique, un contact intérieur. J’ai été
saisi et je me suis dit : il faut faire quelque chose. Il faut montrer Dina
très humaine. » Après un travail de bénédictin, il publie un
livre sur elle sous
la forme d’un entretien : il lui pose des questions, comme à une amie, en la
tutoyant, et les réponses sont des extraits de son autobiographie, sans aucune
réécriture. Ainsi, on dirait qu’elle nous parle, et cette œuvre exigeante, plus
théologique et moins structurée que celle de sainte Thérèse de
l’Enfant-Jésus,
apparaît, par ce truchement de l’interview, très accessible.
Mais quels atomes crochus peuvent
bien exister entre une religieuse mystique du début du XXe siècle
et un laïc des XXe et XXIe siècles ? « Ce qui nous caractérise tous les deux, c’est la joie »,
répond l’écrivain. La joie – la « couleur de Dieu », comme il le dit joliment – est en effet
centrale chez Jacques Gauthier. « On a besoin de joie, aujourd’hui ! », s’exclame-t-il. Mais d’une joie tout sauf
superficielle et éphémère. « Dina
nous enseigne qu’elle jaillit de la croix. »
On note aussi entre la religieuse
et le père de famille un même amour de la Sainte Vierge – « C’est vraiment la Mère : elle est celle qui nous console,
qui nous enveloppe, qui nous pousse vers Jésus », confie avec son accent
chantant le Canadien et une même âme d’artiste prédisposant à la louange
vibrante du Seigneur. Jacques Gauthier estime n’être qu’au début de son travail
sur la dense et foisonnante spiritualité de Sœur Marie Sainte-Cécile de Rome. « Ce beau témoin, très
transparent », qui
« va au cœur du mystère
de la Croix, de la Trinité, de Marie » pourrait bien être l’objet d’un
autre ouvrage. Affaire à suivre !
Marie de Varax
Naissance: 30 Avril 1897 – Québec, Canada
Profession Religieuse: 15 Août 1923
Décès: 4 Septembre 1929 – Sillery, Canada
Paroles: «Aimer toujours Jésus et de le faire aimer»
Proclamée Bienheureuse: 20 Mars 1993 – Rome, Italie
Fête: 4 Septembre
ELLE A DIT OUI À L’AMOUR…
Toute la vie de Dina est un chant d’amour, une
hymne d’action de grâce à Celui qui l’a appelée et à qui elle a répondu par un
OUI total, sans réserve.
Sa fidélité à répondre à l’Amour par l’amour la
conduit à entrer dans les profondeurs de la Trinité et à devenir « un
cantique de louange à la gloire du Père ». Sa vie est un cantique d’action
de grâces et de louange aux harmoniques insoupçonnées. Elle est un témoignage
de cet amour que résume si bien la devise de sa Congrégation « loués
soient à jamais Jésus et Marie »
Née dans une famille aisée dont elle était fille
unique et qui l’adorait, douée pour les études et en particulier pour la
musique, un avenir brillant s’ouvrait devant elle : de nombreux amis, une
vie sociale agréable, une carrière musicale pleine de promesses. A l’appel du
Seigneur elle laisse tout et répond par l’amour à l’Amour qui lui fait signe.
Enfant et jeune fille, Dina mène une vie
normale ; rien ne semble la distinguer des autres ; elle est gaie,
sociable, amie de la beauté, de la nature, bonne de cette bonté qui va de
préférence vers les plus faibles, les plus démunis. Rien ne laisse deviner la
vie intérieure qui l’habite et qui chante en elle. Déjà elle sent l’appel de
l’Amour et y répond par une devise qui est tout un programme :
« Aimer et laisser faire Jésus et Marie ».
Religieuse, elle s’exercera à « vivre en
esprit de louange, dans la joie du cœur, la liberté d’âme et la
générosité ». « Ne rien refuser à Dieu » est le leitmotiv de ses
journées. Si son activité apostolique est très tôt réduite par la maladie, son
zèle missionnaire n’en est pas diminué pour autant : »Je voudrais parcourir
l’univers et le consumer dans les flammes infinies du Cœur sacré. Néanmoins, je
veux être apôtre selon les desseins de Notre Seigneur ».
Consumée par l’amour plus que par la maladie, elle s’éteint le 4 septembre 1929, en promettant de demeurer au service de ses frères et sœurs de la terre :
«Au ciel, je serai une petite mendiante d’amour :
la voilà ma mission et je la commence
immédiatement ;
je donnerai de la joie».
PRIÈRE
Père très bon, tu as mis dans le coeur de la
Bienheureuse Dina Bélanger le désir brûlant de t’offrir, pour le monde entier,
les richesses infinies du Coeur de Jésus dans ‘Eucharistie, et de vivre, comme
Marie, intimement unie au Christ, son unique amour.
Puissions-nous, comme elle, trouver notre joie à
accomplir fidèlement ce que tu aimes. Et puisque tu lui as révélé ton grand
désir de répandre sur le monde l’abondance de tes grâces, exauce, pour ta plus
grande gloire, la prière que nous confions à son intercession. Amen.
– Avec approbation ecclésiastique –
SOURCE : http://www.genrjm.org/
Bienheureuse Dina Bélanger, notre petite sainte de
Québec
Par Yvette Poirier le jeudi, 01 octobre 2009.
Dans Saints
& Bienheureux
Une histoire d'amour, de grand amour
La Bienheureuse Dina Bélanger, dont le nom en religion
est Sœur Marie Sainte-Cécile de Rome, appartenait à la communauté des
Religieuses de Jésus-Marie, de Québec, fondée à Lyon en 1818 par sainte
Claudine Thévenet. Dina Bélanger a été béatifiée par le Pape Jean-Paul II, à
Rome, le 20 mars 1993. Elle est issue d’une famille canadienne-française de la
ville de Québec, une âme mystique privilégiée de notre siècle. Pendant ses
années de noviciat et de vie religieuse, ses Supérieures, découvrant la
grandeur de son âme et sachant que la maladie la conduirait tôt au tombeau, lui
ont demandé d’écrire l’histoire de sa vie et de son cheminement spirituel. Elle
le fit par obéissance malgré les immenses sacrifices que lui demandait le
dévoilement de son cœur.
Vous trouverez donc dans le présent article de Vers
Demain de larges extraits tirés du livre «Autobiographie de Dina Bélanger», sa
vie racontée par elle-même. Les paroles citées sont entre guillemets.
Puissions-nous suivre la Bienheureuse Dina dans la voie de la sanctification
qui conduit à la céleste Patrie.
Son enfance
Dina Bélanger naquit dans la ville de Québec, le 30
avril 1897. Ses parents, de condition riche, prodiguèrent beaucoup d’attention
à leur unique fille. L’enfant aurait pu être gâtée par l’aisance du foyer
familial, mais ses parents très consciencieux montrèrent à leur chère petite
fille le chemin qu’il faut suivre pour demeurer sainte et pure.
L’enfant prédestinée a été initiée par ses parents à
s’éloigner de toute offense contre Dieu, même la plus involontaire. Dès sa plus
tendre enfance, elle s’efforçait de suivre cette voie. "Je comprendrai,
écrit-elle, seulement dans le Ciel la vigilance, le dévouement et l’amour de
mon père et de ma mère. C’est une des plus grandes faveurs de naître et de
vivre dans une atmosphère de paix, d’union, de charité, de sublimes exemples et
de constante conformité au bon vouloir de la Providence." … "Pour
leur prouver ma reconnaissance envers eux, je n’ai qu’un devoir — et un devoir
très impérieux: devenir sainte. C’est une dette sacrée. Sinon, je n’ai pas de
piété filiale; je ne mérite pas d’être appelée leur enfant."
"Aussitôt que ma langue se délia, maman m’apprit
à prier. … Les premiers cantiques dont j’ai souvenance sont: «Le voici l’Agneau
si doux», etc., et «Je mets ma confiance, Vierge en votre secours», etc. … Je
n’avais que trois ans lorsque maman commença à m’emmener à des cérémonies
religieuses. Outre la messe, je me rappelle surtout les assemblées des Dames de
la Sainte-Famille ..."
Un jour, Dina, âgée de quatre ans, fut amenée par sa
mère à une retraite. C’était durant une neuvaine à saint François Xavier. Le
prédicateur parla de l’enfer et la nuit suivante, dans un rêve, Dina vit des
démons terrifiants, rouges comme le feu. Dina écrira: "Je voudrais
inventer l’épithète la plus misérable pour les qualifier. Je fus terrifiée. Je
considère ce rêve comme une grande grâce. Ayant une si horrible peur du démon,
cela m’inspira une haine égale pour le péché, suggestion diabolique. Maman
n’assista plus ensuite aux autres instructions de cette neuvaine parce qu’elle
me vit trop saisie."
Dans ses premières années, Dina manifesta souvent une
volonté rebelle et obstinée. Cependant, ses parents corrigeaient ce mauvais
comportement par leur vigilance et leur fermeté.
Initiation à la charité
La petite Dina accompagna sa mère dans des visites aux
pauvres. "J’accompagnais maman, écrit-elle, dans ses visites de charité.
Toute ma vie, j’ai vu mes parents ouvrir les mains bien grandes pour secourir
les pauvres, donner d’abondantes aumônes à droite et à gauche, consoler par
leurs paroles religieuses et encourageantes, par des visites multipliées et
prolongées, par les soins les plus empressés — et combien de fois les plus vils
et les plus repoussants —, consoler, dis-je, et secourir les affligés, les
malades souffrants… Leur bonheur a toujours été de donner dans le silence et le
secret."
"Maman fut ma première maîtresse de catéchisme,
assistée de papa. En répondant à mes mille «pourquoi», ils savaient rapporter
le bien au bon Dieu, me parler de la Sainte Vierge, des anges et des
saints."
Ayant plusieurs parentes religieuses, Dina visita
souvent des communautés religieuses à Montréal avec ses parents; c’est en
assistant à une prise d’habit d’une cousine qu’elle ressentit pour la première
fois le désir de devenir une religieuse. À l’âge de cinq ans, préparée par sa
mère, elle fit sa première confession.
A l’âge de six ans, elle commençait son éducation
primaire à la Congrégation Notre-Dame. À l’école, Dina s’appliqua au travail et
à l’étude. Le succès couronnait ses efforts. "Le bon Dieu, sans doute, me
l’accordait, écrit-elle, parce qu’il voyait que je n’aurais pas eu la virilité
des âmes fortes qui savent peiner constamment sans goûter de délicieux
fruits." Un jour, l’institutrice lui demanda qui était sa patronne. Dina
ne le savait pas et elle se dit en elle-même: "Eh bien! je serai sainte,
je donnerai une patronne à celles qui porteront mon nom."
Sa première communion
À l’âge de dix ans, Dina fit sa première communion.
Elle décrit ce grand événement de sa vie: "Cette première union intime
laissa dans mon âme, entre autres grâces, la soif de son Corps et de son Sang,
faim qui allait s’accroître à chacune de ses visites dans l’avenir." Elle
reçut le même jour le sacrement de Confirmation.
Voici ce qu’elle écrit de cette journée mémorable:
"Je devins beaucoup plus recueillie dans mes prières, au point d’éviter à
l’extérieur tout mouvement inutile et de ne pas lever les yeux quand je lisais
dans mon livre de piété. Ma conscience était dans une extrême délicatesse: le
plus léger souffle me faisait trembler, de peur de causer de la peine à mon
Jésus: les petites choses me paraissaient dignes d’une grande fidélité."
À l’âge de 13 ans, Dina se consacra elle-même à la
sainte Vierge selon la dévotion de saint Louis-Marie Grignion de Montfort.
Voici des explications sur sa vie d’esclave à Jésus par Marie qui atteindra son
apogée dans les années vécues dans le sein du cloître: "«Aimer et laisser
faire Jésus et Marie». Voilà l’expression qui me satisfait. Aimer, cela veut
dire l’amour jusqu’à la folie, jusqu’au martyre. Laisser faire, c’est l’abandon
parfait qui suppose l’anéantissement, la destruction de moi-même. Laisser faire
Jésus, c’est-à-dire laisser agir librement le Dieu d’amour; laisser faire
Marie: lui confier aveuglement le soin de réaliser son Jésus enveloppé dans le
manteau de mon être extérieur."
À l’âge de seize ans, elle demanda à ses parents la
permission d’entrer en communauté. Ses parents la considérant trop jeune, lui
dirent d’attendre. Dina, particulièrement obéissante, se conforma à la volonté
de ses parents et de son confesseur. Elle écrit: "Ma devise, «Plutôt la
mort que la souillure», m’apparaissait comme une devoir impérieux. Auprès de
mes parents si chrétiens et sous leur surveillante étroite, je me trouvais à
l’abri du danger, tout favorisait ma piété, le milieu était des plus
choisis."
Études musicales
Depuis l’âge de huit ans, Dina avait commencé des leçons
de piano chez elle sous la direction d’une maîtresse privée. A l’âge de onze
ans, elle reçut un premier diplôme de piano. Elle commençait à être
compétitrice en différentes circonstances. Elle recevait toujours avec humilité
les compliments et attribuait au bon Dieu ses succès. Elle disait à ceux qui la
félicitaient: "Je vous remercie, mais je n’en mérite pas, c’est le bon
Dieu qui a fait cela et je ne suis que son instrument."
Ses études musicales se poursuivirent et elle gagna
rapidement son diplôme. Elle dit: "Ce travail musical me rapprochait de
Dieu; je lui offrais chacune des notes jouées comme autant d’actes d’amour
parfait. Mes pratiques devenaient souvent une méditation, surtout lorsque les
pièces avaient un caractère lent et quelque peu recueilli." Malgré les
succès de ses concerts donnés en public à la demande des œuvres de charité,
elle n’éprouvait que vide et ennui; cependant elle ne le démontrait pas et
recevait toujours avec gratitude les bienveillants encouragements des gens…
Vers la fin de l’année 1915, ses parents et son
directeur spirituel décidèrent que Dina poursuivrait ses études musicales au
Conservatoire de Musique de New York. Pendant les deux années de ce cours, Dina
eut deux compagnes qui plus tard entrèrent elles aussi dans les ordres
religieux. C’était un grand sacrifice pour Dina de se soustraire de la sécurité
familiale et des soins de ses chers parents, mais par esprit d’obéissance, elle
partit aux États-Unis.
Les trois jeunes Canadiennes demeuraient en pension au
couvent des Religieuses de Jésus-Marie. Il y avait une chapelle près de
l’entrée du couvent et Dina visitait et s’entretenait avec Jésus dans le Saint
Sacrement. Elle s’appliquait à l’étude mais avec une prudence naturelle et
sortait très rarement dans le but d’une promenade. Ses efforts étaient toujours
couronnés de succès.
"Mon divin Maître, écrira-t-elle, … me rendait
indifférente à l’appréciation du prochain sur mon compte… Jésus ne voulait pas
que je jouisse de mes efforts, et il permettait que, par ma manière d’agir, les
autres ne puissent pas supposer ce qui se passait en moi."
Durant les trois années qui précédèrent son entrée en
communauté, Dina expérimenta une terrible épreuve spirituelle. Tous ses
exercices spirituels devinrent une source d’aridité, les prières et les
méditations étaient un combat continuel contre les distractions. Malgré cela,
Dina persévéra dans une vie intense de prière, en ne négligeant jamais même la
moindre des dévotions. C’est au début de cette épreuve qu’elle commença à
entendre la voix de Jésus qui lui parlait dans son cœur.
La réparation pour les sacrilèges commis contre
Notre-Seigneur et le zèle du salut des âmes devinrent deux devoirs que Dina
s’engagea à remplir. Pendant le reste de sa courte vie, ces deux thèmes furent
sa grande préoccupation. Ses souffrances et ses sacrifices conduisirent un
nombre incalculable d’âmes au Ciel. Durant ces trois années, Dina continua ses
études en musique, mais à la maison, par correspondance. Pour Dina, cette
période s’écoulait avec beaucoup d’anticipation, parce que son amour pour le cloître
ne cessa jamais malgré les années qui s’écoulaient. Dans l’été 1920, Jésus lui
parla et lui dit de joindre la Congrégation des Dames de Jésus et Marie. Le
jour si longtemps désiré arriva.
Son entrée en communauté
Dina entra en communauté à l’âge de vingt-quatre ans.
La vie postulante de Dina était extrêmement difficile; le démon essayait
toujours de la décourager, de la détourner de sa vocation. Cependant, son union
intime avec Jésus la protégeait.
Après une retraite, alors qu’elle était postulante,
Dina résuma en trois phrases le plan de sa vie nouvelle: "Obéir
aveuglement, souffrir joyeusement et aimer jusqu’au martyre!" Dina
s’accrocha à sa vocation et elle disait souvent que retourner dans le monde
serait la souffrance la plus cruelle. La Mère supérieure confia à Dina
l’enseignement du piano à des jeunes étudiantes et Dina se dévoua à cette
nouvelle tâche avec enthousiasme. Elle voyait l’image de Dieu dans ces jeunes
élèves.
Lorsque Dina revêtit l’habit religieux qu’elle baisa
avec piété et amour, elle prit le nom de Sœur Marie Ste-Cécile de Rome. Elle
adressa cette prière à cette vierge et martyre, patronne des musiciennes: "Sainte
épouse de Jésus, avec toi, je veux moduler: j’aime Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ.
Je veux, pour te faire honneur, une couronne immortelle et noble, comme toi. Je
veux là-haut, être parée des ornements de tes trois titres de gloire.
Prépare-moi une lyre, accorde-la à la tienne. Ensemble, nous chanterons le
cantique de l’amour, nous enchaînerons les accords vibrants dans les symphonies
éternelles, à la louange de l’Éternel."
"Pendant le carême, écrit-elle, Notre-Seigneur me
favorisa des lumières vives sur sa Passion, plusieurs fois, à la méditation. Je
compris mieux son amour immense et celui que je lui devais. Je soupirais après
le moment où je me livrerais à Jésus comme son épouse, par l’engagement de mes
saints vœux. Je reçus la grande permission, et le jour choisi fut le 25 mars,
fête de l’Annonciation de la Sainte Vierge. Heureuse coïncidence!"
Abandon complet à Jésus
Le jour de sa profession, Sœur Marie Sainte-Cécile de
Rome avait comme idéal: «la substitution de Notre-Seigneur en elle». Elle
voulait absolument être unie à lui de sorte que ses pensées, ses paroles et ses
actions vinrent de Jésus et que sa propre volonté lui fût entièrement soumise.
Elle répétait fréquemment son examen de conscience, allait toujours plus en
profondeur …
"Ainsi, je compris comment j’étais apôtre
d’amour, dit-elle. Le divin Mendiant me pénétra de la vérité que les hommes sur
la terre sont solidaires les uns des autres, dans la vie spirituelle comme dans
la vie sociale. J’avais une part de responsabilité envers toutes les âmes du
monde entier, celles qui vivaient à l’heure actuelle et celles qui seraient
créées à l’avenir."
"Voici comment: les actions de Jésus ont une
valeur infinie, un seul acte d’amour qu’il offre à son Père pourrait sauver des
millions de mondes. Donc, si je restais anéantie, le Sauveur, recouvert du
manteau extérieur de mon être, pouvait accomplir librement sa mission
d’apostolat, baptiser et purifier les âmes dans son Sang, les attirer vers la
perfection, les faire courir à l’odeur de ses parfums. Mais, hélas ! si j’hésitais
seulement à demeurer dans mon état de mort, si je désirais, un instant,
renaître à la poussière, alors, j’interrompais l’action de Jésus; à ce
moment-là était-il prêt à distribuer le torrent de ses grâces dans tout
l’univers, et si je mettais un obstacle, je devenais responsable du bien qui ne
s’accomplirait pas à défaut des lumières divines. Le Maître commençait à me
dessiner le caractère de la mission dont il m’avait parlé quelque temps avant
mon entrée au noviciat."
La maladie
Comme sa maladie commençait à progresser, Sœur
Sainte-Cécile de Rome passait plusieurs heures à l’infirmerie. Durant la sainte
Messe, elle recevait des visions des célébrations au Ciel qui transportaient
son âme au Paradis. Elle entendait souvent les chœurs célestes. Elle écrit: "Je
ne peux plus trouver de plaisir dans les harmonies et les mélodies terrestres.
Non ! Non ! Même les plus parfaites ne sont qu’un son à peine perceptible,
manquant de chaleur. Oh ! comme elles sont captivantes les harmonies célestes !"
Jésus continuait de lui demander d’écrire ce qu’elle
voyait ou entendait. Sa compréhension des choses célestes s’accroissait et
aussi son amour de Dieu. Elle livrait plusieurs combats contre le démon et
malgré les souffrances qu’il en résultait, avec les conseils de Jésus, elle
devenait plus vertueuse.
Le salut des âmes
Trois ans après son entrée en communauté, Sœur
Ste-Cécile de Rome prononça le vœu du plus parfait comme le fit sainte Thérèse
d’Avila: "Je prononçai, dit-elle, le vœu du plus parfait dans toute son
étendue, selon les lumières que Notre-Seigneur me donnait, c’est-à-dire je
m’engageais sous peine de péché dans tout et constamment: dans mes pensées, mes
désirs, mes paroles, mes actions, depuis l’ordonnance la plus importante
jusqu’au moindre détail facultatif et intime."
Dieu lui communiqua la soif du salut des âmes. Elle
s’unit à Jésus pour expier toutes les fautes qui étaient commises et pour que
les âmes en danger de damnation éternelle soient sauvées et obtiennent le
bonheur éternel.
Elle reçut des grandes lumières sur la Sainte
Eucharistie. Elle écrit: "Avant-hier, pendant la bénédiction du très Saint
Sacrement, soudain, une douce lumière m’éclaira. D’après ce que Dieu m’a fait
comprendre, depuis quelques jours, la présence de Jésus en la sainte Hostie
s’expliquait clairement pour moi. Hier et ce matin, même compréhension. Le
voile du mystère est déchiré. Il est là, mon Dieu, l’Unité infinie, la Trinité
adorable sous l’apparence d’un petit morceau de pain. Il est là, Jésus avec son
humanité sainte, son Cœur, son Sang précieux, son Âme, avec sa divinité
éternelle; il est là, tout entier, en chaque Hostie consacrée et en chaque
parcelle d’Hostie consacrée." Jésus lui dit: "Tu ne me posséderas pas
plus au ciel, me dit-il, car je t’ai absorbée en entier".
Paroles de Notre-Seigneur
Jésus fit connaître à Sœur Sainte-Cécile de Rome
comment le lien entre les âmes est si important et spécialement pour ceux qui
sont consacrés à Lui dans la vie religieuse: "Je te fais voir toute
la multitude des âmes consacrées jusqu’à la fin des temps, pour te faire
comprendre le rayonnement, même d’une seule âme entièrement livrée à moi, sur
toutes les autres âmes. Tu vois que, par elle, mes rayons s’étendent au loin, à
l’extrême limite, c’est-à-dire que je fais du bien jusqu’à la fin des
temps."
"J’appelle toutes les âmes consacrées à se livrer
totalement à moi, à se laisser remplir par moi, à me laisser agir librement en
elles et rayonner par elles comme je le veux. Je les appelle toutes. Et tu vois
comme il y en a bien peu qui ne me refusent rien. Dans toute cette multitude,
en chaque âme, on ne devrait plus voir rien d’humain, mais me voir, moi seul.
En regardant les âmes consacrées, mon Père céleste ne devrait reconnaître et
voir en chacune d’elles que moi seul. Hélas! c’est bien loin de là!"
"Ma petite épouse écoute, écoute… écoute bien… Si
toutes les âmes consacrées ne me refusaient rien, si elles me laissaient sans
cesse librement agir en elles, toutes les autres âmes seraient sauvées. Oui,
toutes les âmes seraient sauvées. Mon Père céleste, ne voyant dans les âmes
consacrées que moi-même, son Fils bien-aimé, n’entendant que ma voix divine, ne
pourrait rien leur refuser. Par la voix des âmes consacrées, je prierais et je
supplierais mon Père céleste de sauver et de sanctifier toutes les autres âmes
selon sa volonté sainte, et il ne pourrait pas me refuser... Je veux continuer
la rédemption par ma vie dans les âmes. Prie et supplie mon divin Père.
Supplier, cela veut dire prier avec instance, prier sans se lasser, prier avec
l’assurance d’être exaucé. Prie et supplie !" …
"Ma petite épouse, si je vois tomber tant d’âmes
dans l’enfer, c’est sans doute parce qu’elles le veulent, mais c’est aussi à
cause de l’abus que les âmes consacrées font de mes grâces. Prie et supplie,
par ma très sainte Mère et par mon Cœur divin, prie et supplie mon Père céleste
de sauver et de sanctifier toutes les âmes. Prie-le et supplie-le de sanctifier
toutes les âmes consacrées. Mon Cœur aime chaque âme à l’infini. Durant ma vie
humaine et terrestre, je ne pouvais faire davantage pour le salut et la
sanctification des âmes; et depuis, je veux continuer la rédemption par ma vie
dans les âmes. Prie et supplie mon divin Père. Supplier, cela veut dire prier
avec instance, prier sans se lasser, prier avec l’assurance d’être exaucé. Prie
et supplie."
Vœux perpétuels et la mort
Après sept ans de vie religieuse, Sœur Marie
Sainte-Cécile de Rome, prononça ses vœux perpétuels et devint pour toujours
l’épouse de Notre-Seigneur Jésus-Christ, unie à Lui pour l’éternité! Quelle
grande joie, elle ressentit!
La santé de la grande mystique commença à décliner.
Comme elle ne pouvait plus écrire, une des sœurs était toujours à côté d’elle
pour noter ses réflexions et inspirations intérieures qu’elle recevait de
Notre-Seigneur. De son amour de la souffrance se dégageaient de la bonté et des
ravissements dans tous les moments de ses dernières années sur la terre. Même
pendant les souffrances atroces, elle continuait de sourire et sa figure
rayonnait du bonheur d’être capable de souffrir pour son Jésus d’amour. Elle s’envola
pour le Ciel le 4 septembre 1929, à l’âge de trente-trois ans.
Nous citons pour terminer ce paragraphe tiré de la
présentation du livre par le Frère François-Marie Léthel, carme, professeur de
Théologie au Teresianum:
"De même que Thérèse (de Lisieux) avait défini sa
mission sur la terre comme au ciel par ces simples mots: «Aimer Jésus et le
faire aimer», de même Dina pouvait déclarer: «Mon devoir maintenant et mon
emploi dans l’éternité, jusqu’à la fin du monde, est et sera de rayonner, par
la Très Sainte Vierge, le Cœur de Jésus sur toutes les âmes»." (tiré
du livre «Autobiographie de Dina Bélanger, écrit par elle-même». Y. Poirier)
Pour commander le livre:
SOURCE : http://www.versdemain.org/articles/eglise-catholique-romaine/item/bienheureuse-dina-belanger
fidélité de l'amour!
(1)
BÉLANGER, Dina, Autobiographie, Les Religieuses de Jésus Marie, Sillery,
1995, 406p.
(2) Les références bibliques sont de la Bible de Jérusalem.
La mission d’amour de la bienheureuse Dina Bélanger
Jacques
Gauthier | 14 septembre 2020
Elle était pianiste, elle devînt religieuse,
« mendiante de l’amour ». L’Église fête cette « petite
Thérèse » québécoise le 4 septembre.
Le 1er juin 2018, le pape François rappelait aux
directeurs nationaux des Œuvres pontificales missionnaires, que notre vie
elle-même est mission, en lien avec notre baptême et l’appel à la sainteté : « Notre
vie est, dans le Christ, une mission ! Nous-mêmes nous sommes mission
puisque nous sommes amour de Dieu communiqué, nous sommes sainteté de Dieu créé
à son image. La mission consiste donc dans notre sanctification et dans celle
du monde entier, depuis la Création (Ep
1, 3-6). La dimension missionnaire de notre baptême se traduit ainsi en
témoignage de sainteté qui donne vie et beauté au monde. »
Un chant d'amour
Le Christ a préparé très tôt la jeune
québécoise Dina
Bélanger à une mission particulière, celle de manifester l’amour
infini de la Trinité en elle et pour nous, donnant ainsi « vie et beauté
au monde ». Née à Québec le 30 avril 1897 de parents très chrétiens,
elle s’éprend de Jésus dès le début de sa vie. « Jésus m’a mise sur la terre
pour ne m’occuper que de lui », écrit-elle dans son Autobiographie, qu’elle
appelle « Cantique d’actions de grâces ou Chant d’amour ».
À l’aube de ses vingt ans, alors qu’elle était pianiste de concert, Jésus lui
avait dit intérieurement : « Tes connaissances musicales protégeront
ta vocation ; mais tu feras du bien surtout par tes écrits. » L’histoire
de sa vie atteindra une dimension universelle par son authenticité et sa
profondeur.
Douée pour la musique, elle devient une élégante
pianiste de concert, après avoir étudié deux ans au Conservatoire de New-York.
À quatorze ans, la jeune Dina se consacre à Dieu en
faisant une promesse privée de virginité. C’est à cette époque qu’elle
lit l’Histoire d’une âme de Thérèse de l’Enfant-Jésus, qui deviendra
sa patronne avec sainte Cécile. Douée pour la musique, elle devient une
élégante pianiste de concert, après avoir étudié deux ans au Conservatoire de
New-York. Elle entre au couvent Jésus-Marie de Sillery et y fait profession, en
1923, sous le nom de Marie Sainte-Cécile de Rome. La Congrégation des
Religieuses de Jésus-Marie, fondée à Lyon en 1818 par sainte Claudine Thévenet,
a pour mission première de faire connaître et aimer Jésus et Marie par
l’éducation chrétienne.
C’est en grande partie à l’infirmerie de la communauté
que la jeune religieuse vivra sa mission, où Jésus conjugue en elle amour et
souffrance pour le salut des âmes.
Dina n’enseignera pas longtemps la musique, car elle
contractera la scarlatine en soignant une élève. Cette maladie se transformera
en tuberculose. C’est en grande partie à l’infirmerie de la communauté que la
jeune religieuse vivra sa mission, où Jésus conjugue en elle amour et
souffrance pour le salut des âmes. Elle avait entrevue sa mission dès sa
jeunesse : « Notre Seigneur m’apprit que j’avais une mission à remplir. Il me
fit prier beaucoup pour cette mission, me démontra la nécessité et l’importance
de m’y préparer. Il ne me la découvrit pas. Je compris que le salut d’un grand
nombre d’âmes y était attaché » (Autobiographie).
Rassasier l'amour de la Trinité
Dina ressent une grande responsabilité face à la
mission que le Seigneur lui destine, car elle reste libre de correspondre ou
non à la grâce. Elle renouvelle donc constamment à Jésus la ferme résolution de
répondre à ses désirs, lui permettant de se substituer en elle pour y accomplir
la volonté du Père et faire sa joie. « Je comprends qu’il s’agit de ma
mission. Dieu m’a choisie par amour, il m’a donné une mission pour sa gloire à
lui seul. Quelle est-elle selon les plans divins ? – Je l’ignore. Je sais que
Jésus en parle avec la Trinité sainte. Il prie ; je n’entends que cette demande
: Père, ne permettez pas qu’aucun de ceux que vous m’avez donnés se
perde » (Autobiographie).
Lire aussi :
Dina
Bélanger voulait « donner de la joie »
Cette mission sera de rassasier l’amour de la Trinité
par le cœur eucharistique de Jésus, en conformité avec sa devise : « Aimer et
laisser faire Jésus et Marie ». Tout un renversement de perspective. Augustin,
Thomas d’Aquin et bien d’autres théologiens ont surtout montré que Dieu se
donne pour nous rassasier, que la Trinité existe pour notre propre
rassasiement, et c’est vrai. Mais Dina montre que c’est Jésus, substitué à
elle, qui s’offre au Père pour le rassasier.
Cette mission de rassasier l’amour infini de Dieu,
elle ne le vivra pas seulement sur la terre, mais aussi au ciel, à l’exemple de
sa patronne, Thérèse de Lisieux…
Cette mission de rassasier l’amour infini de Dieu,
elle ne le vivra pas seulement sur la terre, mais aussi au ciel, à l’exemple de
sa patronne, Thérèse de Lisieux, qui passe son ciel à faire du bien sur la
terre. « Au ciel, je veux rassasier l’Amour infini du bon Dieu. Pour
réaliser mon idéal, il me faut réaliser les trésors infinis de Notre
Seigneur ; ce bon Maître a dit : Demandez et vous recevrez, eh
bien ! au ciel, je serai une petite mendiante d’amour : la
voilà, ma mission ! et je la commence immédiatement. Jésus, dans son
immense charité, a besoin de se donner aux âmes ; s’il le pouvait, il
épuiserait des trésors de grâces pour chacune d’elles. Oui, je veux
épuiser Jésus infini pour rassasier l’Amour infini ! » (Autobiographie.)
La petite mendiante d'amour
Le caractère universel et ecclésial de sa mission de
mendiante d’amour s’insère dans la nature même de l’Église qui est
missionnaire. Comme elle, Dina n’est pas là pour elle-même, mais pour que Dieu
soit aimé, connu, offert, partagé, rassasié, par les cœurs de Jésus et de
Marie. Elle laisse Jésus la conduire jusqu’au sanctuaire de la Trinité, n’ayant
pas d’autres mérites que ceux de Jésus. Sa mission est d’offrir Jésus au Père,
d’engendrer des âmes au salut. C’est une mission d’enfantement de
l’Église. « L’offrande de Jésus à son divin Père me devient un devoir
plus pressant. Par cette offrande, je me sens comme toute-puissante auprès du
Père éternel, c’est-à-dire que cette puissance est celle de Notre Seigneur à
qui son divin Père ne peut rien refuser » (Autobiographie).
Lire aussi :
L’intimité
eucharistique avec la bienheureuse Dina Bélanger
Le 22 janvier 1927, Dina boit au calice de l’agonie de
Jésus en recevant les stigmates invisibles de ses plaies : « C’est pour
sa gloire et pour les âmes que Notre Seigneur me donne tant de grâces. Depuis
hier soir, c’est comme si j’avais la responsabilité du monde entier. » À
partir de juillet 1929, la jeune mystique n’a plus la force de tenir le crayon
pour noter ce qui se passe dans son âme. Les derniers mots de son
autobiographie sont attribués à Jésus. Ils concernent directement sa mission
d’être une petite mendiante d’amour pour les âmes : « Je t’ai donné mon
Cœur, c’est pour jamais. Tu devras donc distribuer mes richesses par ma très
sainte Mère. » Sa mission dans l’éternité sera de rayonner, par Marie, le
cœur de Jésus sur toutes les âmes.
Je donnerai de la joie
Celle que Jésus appelait « ma petite Moi-même » meurt le 4 septembre 1929 à l’âge de trente-deux ans. Elle avait dit à ses sœurs : « Au ciel, je donnerai de la joie. » Son autobiographie, confiée à dom Léonce Crenier, prieur de l’abbaye de Saint-Benoît-du-Lac, paraît en deux tomes en 1934 sous le titre Une vie dans le Christ. Les éditions et les traductions de l’ouvrage se multiplieront dans des dizaines de pays, rejoignant des centaines de milliers de lecteurs à travers le monde.
Après la mort de la « petite mendiante d’amour », les chrétiens ont spontanément manifesté une grande confiance envers Dina. Plusieurs faveurs ont été obtenues par son intercession.
En Dina se vérifie la parole brûlante de saint
Paul : « Je vis, mais ce n’est plus moi, c’est le Christ qui vit en
moi » (Ga 2, 20). Elle écrit : « J’écoute dans la solitude
la parole de mon Dieu, et je vis d’amour en attendant de m’envoler d’amour. Ou
plutôt, je laisse vivre Jésus en attendant qu’il me ressuscite dans
l’amour » (Autobiographie). Après la mort de la « petite
mendiante d’amour », les chrétiens ont spontanément manifesté une
grande confiance envers Dina. Plusieurs faveurs ont été obtenues par son
intercession. En 1939, dans le petit village de Lamèque au Nouveau-Brunswick,
un jeune bébé était condamné suite à une hydrocéphalie. Selon les médecins, il
ne pouvait guérir ni vivre longtemps. Après une neuvaine à la jeune religieuse
par la famille, l’enfant de neuf mois se rétablit, sans séquelles. La
Congrégation pour la cause des saints reconnaîtra plus tard cette guérison
comme miraculeuse, pour la béatification de Dina.
Le 20 mars 1993, Jean-Paul II béatifie, à Rome, Dina
Bélanger. Dans son homélie, il revient sur sa mission d’amour au cœur de la
Trinité : « Dina Bélanger veut “consumer le monde entier dans
l’amour” ; elle devient apôtre et missionnaire selon le cœur de Dieu ».
Pour aller plus loin lire le blog
de Jacques Gauthier
Je
donnerai de la joie. Entretiens avec Dina Bélanger,
Novalis/Emmanuel,
2019, 206 pages, 17€
Lire aussi :
Cécile,
Grégoire, Dina, Antonio… Ils ont fait de la musique un chemin de sainteté
(also known as Marie Sainte-Cecile of Rome)
Blessed Maria Dina Bélanger
Also
known as
- Dina
Bélanger
- Maria
Adelaide Dina Bélanger
- Marie of Saint Cecilia of
Rome
- Marie-Marguerite-Dina-Adélaïde
Bélanger
- The
“Little Flower” of Canada
Profile
Born to Olivier Octave
Bélanger and Séraphia Matte, Dina, as her family called her, was baptized when just a few
hours old. Her parents had a little boy, Joseph-Simeon-Gustave,
when Dina was 17 months old, but her brother died at three months,
the girl grew up an
only child. Her family was
financially well off, and Dina received a good early education at home;
her mother began teaching her the faith, her prayers and the Sign of the Cross when she was just
a toddler. Dina was a bit high-strung as a child, sensitive with a
tendency to become selfish and combative, but the example of her parents, who
distributed alms to the poor, and visited the sick and bereaved,
refusing all public recognition for their work, helped change her attitude.
She was educated by the Notre-Dame
Sisters at the convent schools of Saint-Roch
in 1903, Notre-Dame de
Jacques-Cartier beginning in 1909 and the Bellevue
boarding school in Québec in the autumn
of 1911; in all these places
she was noted as an excellent student who shied away
from any recognition. She began studying the piano at age 8, and
seems to have been a gifted young musician. Dina received Confirmation and made her First
Communion on 2 May 1907 at age 10; she
later wrote about the day that “Jesus was in me and I in him.” On 20 March 1908, at age 11, she
received a vision of Jesus. On the first Friday in October 1911 she dedicated
herself to Christ and service to the Church, but did not yet know
how she would put it into practice.
Maria Dina graduated
from school in 1914 and became a piano teacher. In October 1916, she and two friends,
both of whom later also became nuns, moved to New York to study piano, music and composition at
the Institute of Musical Art (also known as the Conservatory) there;
she was terribly homesick and had to learn English, but persevered and
graduated in 1918. Beginning March 1917, Dina went through a
period of about six years of the spiritual desert where she would fall into
despair, doubted her calling and sometimes doubting her faith. She left the Conservatory,
returned to her parent’s home, continued her studies by mail and
perform in charity fund-raising concerts; Dina considered herself a mediocre
performer, but audiences considered her an excellent musician. She maintained a
dedication to the the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Sacred Heart of Jesus, led a very ascetic
life, and by 11 August 1921 she had recovered
her faith, zeal, and sense of a calling so much that she joined the Congregation
of Religious of Jesus and Mary in Québec. She began her
novitiate on 15 February 1922 at the convent of Jésus-Marie in
Sillery, Québec, taking the name Sister
Maria di Santa Cecilia Romana; she made private vows on 25 March 1922 and then public
vows on 15 August 1923.
Dina was assigned
to teach music at the convents of
Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse and Jésus-Marie, but tuberculosis, and a bout of
scarlet fever contracted while
caring for a sick child, began destroying her
health, which led to frequent periods in the infirmary. Her superior at
the convent, noting the young nun‘s spirituality, asked
her to write an autobiography;
as a matter of obedience, she did, and the work is still in print. She composed
a series of musical works to express
her experience of mystical union with Christ. Though effectively confined to
the infirmary by this point,
on 15 August 1928 Dina was permitted
to make her perpetual vows. She spent her final days praying, writing in her
autobiography, composing, transcribing musical scores, and
helping to teach music teachers until she finally
became too weak to do anything but pray and contemplate
the life to come. The Salle Dina-Bélanger, Québec Music Festival Dina Bélanger,
and the Collège Dina Bélanger in Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse are named in her
honor.
Born
- 30 April 1897 in the parish of Notre-Dame-de-Jacques-Cartier, part of
the Saint-Roch district of Québec, Canada
- 4 September 1929 in the Jésus-Marie convent, Sillery, Québec, Canada of tuberculosis while contemplating an image of the Eucharistic
Heart of Jesus
- buried on 7 September at the church of the Jésus-Marie convent
- exhumed in 1951 as part of the canonization investigation
- exhumed in May 1990 as part of the canonization investigation
- 13 May 1989 by Pope John Paul II (decree of heroic virtues)
- her parents were still
alive during the investigation, and were interviewed about her life and
spirituality
- 20 March 1993 by Pope John Paul II, celebrated in Saint Peter’s Square in Rome, Italy
- the beatification miracle involved the cure of a hydrocephalic infant, Jules Chiasson, in 1939 in Lamèque, New Brunswick, Canada following a novena to Blessed Dina by the family
Reading
My task throughout
eternity, and until the end of the world, is and will be to radiate, through
the most Holy Virgin, the Heart of Jesus on all souls. – Blessed Dina
Bélanger
She had musical gifts
that have undoubtedly prepared the reception of the divine presence and praise
that goes beyond words. – Pope Saint John Paul II
MLA
Citation
- “Blessed Maria Dina
Bélanger“. CatholicSaints.Info. 4 September 2020. Web. 16
September 2020. <https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-maria-dina-belanger/>
SOURCE : https://catholicsaints.info/blessed-maria-dina-belanger/
Faithful in Love!
(1) The Autobiography of Dina
Bélanger, 3rd Edition, Religious of Jesus and Mary Sillery, 1995,
383p.
(2) The biblical references are from the Jerusalem Bible (French Edition);
freely translated by NAL.
BÉLANGER,
DINA (baptized Marie-Marguerite-Dina-Adélaïde),
named Marie Sainte-Cécile-de-Rome,
Religious of Jesus and Mary, musician, author, and mystic; b. 30 April 1897 at
Quebec, only daughter of Octave Bélanger, a bookkeeper, and Séraphia Matte; d.
4 Sept. 1929 at the Couvent Jésus-Marie in Sillery, Que.; since May 1990 her
tomb has been in the chapel of the provincial house of the Religious of Jesus
and Mary in Sillery.
Dina
Bélanger grew up in the parish of Notre-Dame-de-Jacques-Cartier, in Saint-Roch
ward in the city of Quebec. She received her elementary and secondary schooling
at the convents of Saint-Roch and Jacques-Cartier and at the Pensionnat
Bellevue, all of which were run by the Congregation of Notre-Dame. At the age
of eight she began music lessons with the nuns, who until 1914 remained her
teachers. That year she began studying with Joseph-Arthur Bernier, the organist
for the parish of Notre-Dame-de-Jacques-Cartier. Finding that Dina was very
gifted musically, he spoke to Abbé Omer Cloutier, the parish priest, who advised
her parents to enrol her at the Institute of Musical Art in New York. Thus she
attended this conservatory from 1916 to 1918, living at Our Lady of Peace
residence with the Religious of Jesus and Mary. She achieved remarkable success
in music, particularly with harmony, which requires the kind of mathematical
mind she had inherited from her father.
On her
return to Quebec, Dina lived with her parents, gave brilliant concerts in
support of charitable causes at Quebec, and helped her mother as a volunteer in
their parish. But the call of Christ, which she had heard from youth, led her
to abandon everything and enter the Couvent Jésus-Marie in Sillery on 11 Aug.
1921. She was 24 years old. Assuming the name of Marie Sainte-Cécile-de-Rome,
she took her religious vows on 15 Aug. 1923 and went to the Couvent Jésus-Marie
in Saint-Michel (Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse), near Quebec City, where she
taught music. She stayed there only five weeks, however. After caring for a
sick pupil, she contracted scarlet fever; she had to return to Sillery, where,
because she did not have a strong constitution, the disease developed into
tuberculosis.
From then
on, Dina’s life was spent in love and suffering, interspersed with periods of
teaching music to young people, who found in her a favoured friend of the Lord.
She died on 4 Sept. 1929 at the age of 32, having spent eight years in
religious life.
It was through her autobiography, written at
the request of the superiors of her community and published in 1934 as Une vie dans le Christ, that Dina
became known after her death. The account of her human experience and spiritual
development revealed her as a mystic, a person who to an unusual degree
perceived the presence of God in herself and in the world. According to Pope
John Paul II, “She had musical gifts that no doubt prepared her for the
acceptance of the divine presence and for praise that transcends words.” From a
theological perspective, the mystical life of Dina Bélanger, lived out in the
company of the Virgin Mary, was centred on the mystery of love, and the
symbolism of the heart serves as a guiding theme to convey this experience. In
an original way, she entered into the mystery of the heart of Jesus: the tender
or Sacred Heart, in which she at first “hid.” Then, after much inner torment,
she was introduced into the Heart of the Trinity, and experienced an intimate
union with the Trinity. In a third stage she perceived the mystery of the
eucharistic heart of Jesus and his heart in the throes of death, at which time
a mission to priests and consecrated persons was entrusted to her by the Holy
Spirit. In the fourth and final stage, her life was spent in “the Essence of
the Heart of God.” Thus she experienced Christ-centred spirituality: Dina was
identified with Christ, her “divine Substitute,” whom she offered unceasingly
to the Father in order to bring the redeeming mystery into being on earth. She
enriched the church with a broader understanding of the mystery of love, from
the doctrinal standpoint of the mystical body and the union of the baptized
with the most Holy Trinity. By her prophetic testimony, written at the request
of her superiors, she touched young people, parents, priests, consecrated
persons, artists, the sick, in short, all those who, looking upon her, opened their
hearts to love.
From 1934 to 1953, 43,000 copies of Une vie dans le Christ, published
in French and English, would be sold, as well as half a million excerpts from
it. During the same period the work would be translated in full into German,
Italian, Spanish, and Tamil, and in part into other languages including Dutch
and Chinese. The period of the second Vatican Council would bring the book’s
popularity to a temporary halt, but since 1970 there has been steady interest
in it. And so, the promise Christ made to Dina shortly before she entered the
convent was fulfilled: “You will do good above all by your writing.”
After her death, many favours were obtained
through her intercessions, and diocesan proceedings for her beatification began
at Quebec in 1939. She was beatified in Rome on 20 March 1993. The first
prospective saint to be born in Quebec, the cradle of French Christian
civilization in North America, Dina Bélanger followed in a long line of
spiritual souls and mystics, most of them from France, who for 350 years had
brought glory to the country. Though her whole life was inward and hidden, she
deserves a place alongside the great mystics of its early days, including Marie
de l’Incarnation [Guyart*], Marie-Catherine de Saint-Augustin [Simon*], and Marguerite Bourgeoys*. In her, the “spiritual springtime”
of the country is reborn.
The archival records
concerning Dina Bélanger were unfortunately destroyed in a fire at the Couvent
Jésus-Marie at Sillery, Que., in 1983. After Bélanger’s death, the authorities
of her community had had her manuscript journals transcribed and had turned
them over to Dom Léonce Crenier for publication. The resulting text
appeared as Une vie dans le Christ: Marie Sainte-Cécile de Rome (Dina
Bélanger), religieuse de Jésus-Marie (1897–1929); autobiographie et témoignages (2v.,
Sillery, 1934). This work has
since gone through five French editions and as many in English, and has also
been translated into several other languages.
Among the many books and articles devoted to Dina Bélanger, a partial listing of which appears in Congregatio Pro Causis Sanctorum, Beatificationis et canonizationis servae Dei Mariae a S. Caecilia Romana (in saec. Dinae Bélanger), sororis professae e Congregatione religiosarum Iesu et Mariae (1897–1929); relatio e voti del congresso speciale, 25 ottobre 1988 (Rome, 1988), the following are of particular note: Ghislaine Boucher, Dina Bélanger, Marie Sainte-Cécile-de-Rome, 1897–1929; itinéraire spirituel (Montréal, 1983); H.-M. Guindon, Toute à toi; Marie dans la vie spirituelle de la vénérable Dina Bélanger (Montréal, 1989); Irène Léger, Courage d’aimer: Dina Bélanger, religieuse de Jésus-Marie (en religion Marie Ste-Cécile de Rome), 1897–1929 (Montréal, 1986); Fernand Ouellette, Dina Bélanger (Saint-Laurent, Qué., 1998).
© 2005–2020 University of Toronto/Université Laval
SOURCE : http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/belanger_dina_15E.html
Blessed Dina Belanger -Mystic & Stigmatic (1897-1929) [Mère Marie Ste-Cecile de Rome]
-"THE LITTLE FLOWER OF CANADA"
By: Barb Finnegan
BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD
Blessed Dina Belanger was born in Quebec City, Canada, on April 30, 1897 (five
months to the day before the death of St. Therese of Lisieux). She was the
daughter of Octave Belanger, an auditor and accountant by profession, and his
wife Seraphia Matte. She was baptized the same day in the Church of St-Roch in
the Lower Town of Quebec, receiving the names Margaret-Mary Dina (the latter in
honor of her paternal grandmother). She was an only child. A brother,
Joseph-Simeon-Gustave, was born seventeen months after her, but lived only
three months. Dina inherited from her family, in addition to their Norman
French roots and deep Catholic Faith, a strong will and a love of order and
precision (her father's side) and a pious, reserved and unselfish character
(her mother's side).
Before she was born, her mother prayed earnestly each day at the Elevation of
the Mass, that her unborn child, whether boy or girl, might be a holy
religious, and she offered all her sufferings for the salvation of that soul.
She lost no time in educating Dina once she was born. When Dina was six months
old, her mother would take her tiny hand in hers and make with it the Sign of
the Cross. And very soon the baby learned to do it when she was placed in her
cradle for the night.
As she grew older she would say her prayers leaning against her father's knee,
her head bowed and her hands joined. She loved the 'Angelus' prayer, and
whenever she heard the bell ring while playing outside she would run upstairs
in time to say 'Amen', which was all the Latin she knew!
Madame Belanger took her to church at an early age, not only to Mass, but also
to sermons, novenas, and meetings of the 'Ladies of the Holy Family'. But
as most four-year-olds can be in church, Dina got easily bored by the sermons.
So one day she brought with her a tiny stoneware doll named 'Valeda' to church
and began to play with it during the sermon.
'Put that away', her mother said....and she did. Five minutes later, the doll
made its appearance again. This time her mother confiscated it and put it in
her purse. Once home, Dina was reprimanded for her unseemly behavior. Before
going to church again, her mother hid 'Valeda' in the house so Dina couldn't
find it. Not hidden enough! Dina searched while out of her mother's sight,
found it, stuck it in her pocket, and after her mother was ready to leave the
house, walked with her to church. Then, at the sermon, 'voila!', there was
'Valeda' again! This time, her mother gave her a good 'talkin' to' when they
got home: "We don't bring playthings to church-you'll have plenty of time
to play when you come home'. This time the reproof had effect, and Dina was
'cured' of bringing toys to church!
DINA'S CHILDHOOD
Dina was a mischievous child, and she also had quite a temper. Once when she
was four, she refused to obey her mother. The second time, she flew into a
passion and began a temper tantrum, kicking, screaming and jumping up and down.
Her father, seeing this, rose from the table, took her by the hand, and said
very calmly,
"Come on, let me help you to scream and dance-that way we can get this
done sooner." And he did the exact same thing that Dina did!
Mortified by her father's imitation of the tantrum, Dina stopped, having no
inclination to continue. The lesson took hold, and there were no more temper
tantrums from Dina.
Both parents spent time with her. When her father came in from work in the
evening, he would take Dina in his arms, kiss and fondle her. He spent hours
playing with her and answering her numerous 'Whys?'. His greatest joy was to
spring little surprises on her: a walk, a trip, some small present.
Her mother, being very charitable, would take Dina with her on her errands of
mercy to the poor. Both parents rendered all sorts of services to the poor and
needy, whether they were relatives or complete strangers. They were discreet in
their charity; often they would say, 'Do not put down my name', or, 'This
is for you, but do not say anything about it'.
The Belanger couple encouraged Dina to share with other children. They often made
presents of sweets, fruit and other treats. They accustomed Dina to share with
other what she enjoyed, and to lend her toys willingly. Dina took great care of
her belongings, and put everything back in its place once playtime was over.
After some fifteen year or more, she was able to give away, in perfect
condition, her fragile playthings.
Her parents taught her her catechism, and she was able to read before going to
school at age six. There were a number of relatives who were in religious
Orders, and often Dina would go with her mother to visit them. She says in her
'Autobiography':
'There I observed everything, spoke little, but kept things in my mind. I often
pretended not to understand what was being said, particularly when the remark
concerned me. 'Perhaps she will be a nun too'. Even though the question was put
to me directly, I never vouchsafed to give the information that I wished to
give for the Heart of Jesus, for I heard His call from my tender youth.'
When she made her First Confession, her mother prepared her carefully, then
told her to go to whichever priest in the parish she felt most at ease with,
while stressing at the same time, 'we must see God and not the priest.'
Dina gave the devil a peculiar nickname, a word she made up herself, showing
her contempt for him: 'LE CAPIDULE'. [probably a French-Canadian 'slang word']
She had a dream when she was five: she saw the Child Jesus at the foot of her
bed. He stretched out His arms to her and asked with a smile, 'What would
you like?' She exclaimed, 'Oh! Will you give me Your picture?' It
was close to Christmas; and when she returned from Midnight Mass, she found
near her bed a Nativity set made of colored cardboard. On the bed of straw was
the Infant Jesus, looking up beseechingly and stretching out His arms, just as
in her dream! On seeing this, Dina cried out, 'I knew He would send me His
picture!'
EDUCATION - QUEBEC CITY (1907-1913)
At the age of six, Dina entered the convent school of St-Roch , in the 'Lower
Town' of Quebec City. This school was run by the Sisters of the Congregation of
Notre-Dame, founded by St. Marguerite Bourgeoys of Montreal.
One day, before the start of school, Madame Belanger found Dina telling off the
calendar days with her finger. 'What are you doing?' her mother
asked. Dina replied, 'I want to know how many days remain before I go to
the convent.' 'Why?' persisted her mother, 'Are you anxious to
begin?" 'Oh no,' said Dina, 'I'm afraid of being lonely.' 'All
the better,' retorted Madame Belanger, 'you will find school quite to your
liking.'
Her mother's 'prophecy' was fulfilled to the letter, as Dina states in
her 'Autobiography'; she took a deep interest in school and took to her
studies with a passion.
She was very punctual in her school attendance-she never made illness, fatigue,
family outings, or journeys out of town excuses for missing-or
'skipping'-school. She had a few friends among her classmates. Usually it was
her mother who extended invitations to the Belanger home, because Dina by
nature was reserved and fond of solitude. She was taught to be discreet in
personal matters both at home and at school-she was never allowed to talk in
class or elsewhere of what took place at home, and never to mention anything
but praiseworthy actions of her schoolmates, and always with strict regard for
the truth.
Of a timid and sensitive disposition, the least thing caused Dina to burst into
tears. She was ambitious-in the good sense-and aimed at being the head of the
class. If she lost it, she redoubled her efforts. It was natural for her to
obey her teachers, even in insignificant matters. She never took advantage of
exceptions; for example, she had naturally curly hair, which allowed her to tie
it back with a ribbon. But she conformed to the rules and braided her hair
instead.
One day her teacher asked Dina if she knew her patron saint. 'No', Dina
said, 'do I have one?' 'I think so,' Sister answered, 'I'm
going to look it up.' The only one who had that name was the daughter of the
Biblical patriarch Jacob, in the Old Testament Book of Genesis. There was no
'Saint Dina' on the calendar of the Church, either. So Dina said to
herself, 'Very well! Then I shall be a saint, and be a patroness to those
who will, in the future, be called by my name.' She calls this her 'first
ideal.'
When she was seven, she followed the retreat given to the students. She says, 'Our
Blessed Lord drew me to Himself in a sensible manner. On the third day, I felt
an overpowering love for Jesus. I was so eager to see Him and possess Him that
I besought Him to admit me that very night, to His Paradise. This desire
haunted me persistently. During the night, I was surprised to discover that my
request had not been heeded.'
Our Lord taught Dina to accept gladly the little annoyances and discomforts of
life as well the 'klutzy' accidents [my word] that can happen. On Holy
Thursday, it was the custom to visit the Altars of Repose, in imitation of
visiting the seven churches in Rome. If the weather was nice-this was done in
the daytime before the 1950s-Easter hats and dresses made their appearance
among the ladies and girls. On this particular Holy Thursday in 1920s Quebec,
the melting snow made the streets very muddy and slippery (it was the days
before asphalt paving), and Dina was wearing a pretty new outfit. Suddenly, she
slipped and fell into a puddle of slush! She was a sorry sight in her wet,
dirty, and dripping clothes! Again, did she act the 'drama queen'? No, she
didn't-she was glad, she said, 'because it was God's Will. At the foot of
the stairs leading to the house, I knelt down and thanked God, then bending
over, kissed the ground.'
At school, each student was given her weekly marks for conduct and application
in studies. Since Dina was six, she always received perfect reports. But one
day she got only 'good', instead of the usual 'very good' because she 'lingered
unduly in taking my rank'. She begged her teacher to be allowed to 'buy back'
her good mark, but in vain. The mark stayed on the report card, and still more
in Dina's memory. During the rest of her schooldays no other 'bad mark' ever
appeared on her report cards.
When she was twelve, she left St-Roch convent school and continued her studies
at Notre-Dame de Jacques-Cartier convent, a school recently opened in her
parish and also conducted by the Congregation of Notre-Dame de Montreal. It was
closer to her house than St-Roch. She continued to have success in her studies,
both in the classroom and at the piano. She referred all her successes to God.
At age thirteen, she was admitted to the Sodality of Our Lady at
Jacques-Cartier, and took as her personal motto 'DEATH RATHER THAN
DEFILEMENT'. This was her 'ideal' until she entered the Novitiate at
Sillery Convent. At about the same time, she consecrated herself to Our Lady by
means of the 'True Devotion' of St. Louis-Marie de Montfort (at this
time only a 'Blessed'). This consecration brought her great joy and peace.
When she was fourteen, at the end of her second year at Jacques-Cartier school,
she asked her parents to let her go to boarding school. It would mean
separation, but they didn't hesitate to yield to her request, knowing that it
would be good for her character development. The school was Bellevue Convent,
again another school under the direction of the Congregation of Notre-Dame.
During the summer, her desire for religious life increased. She had a serious
conversation with Father Philemon Cloutier, her spiritual director, on August
15, 1911. She felt a deep loathing for the world, and kept repeating, 'Vanity
of vanities, all things are vanity.' But she was still very young, and he
decided it would be better for her to remain in the world longer with her
parents.
She entered Bellevue convent in the fall of 1911. And she became VERY homesick!
The first Sunday after her arrival, she cried all day! During Mass, she sobbed
and choked, and did the same when she saw her parents in the guest parlor that
afternoon. Monsieur Belanger, touched by her tears, offered to take her
home. 'No thank you,' she said, 'I shall get used to it'. She
continues, 'For fourteen consecutive nights, and then for several weeks, I
gave vent to my grief by fits of uncontrollable weeping. Then, finally, my will
grew stronger and I was comforted.'
Her fellow students were kind to her but she found it trying to live with so
many people. She remarked to her mother once, 'Mamma, it is not easy to
live with other people, is it?' She was used to being alone in her own
room. But being in boarding school drew her out of her solitude. She strove to
be friendly with her classmates.
On the First Friday of October, 1911, as Dina went with the other girls to
visit the Blessed Sacrament, she was prompted to make a private consecration of
her virginity to Our Lord, 'wholly and for all time, and I added,' she
says, 'insofar as this promise was pleasing to Him.'
She didn't like holidays or any prolonged recreation. She had to make at times
violent efforts to take part in noisy games, to the extent of feeling great
physical weakness.
Her teachers testified in later years about her practicing self-denial in order
to live in a group. She was given projects which forced her to take part in
recreations, in entertaining activities. On the other hand, she great timidity
and reserve, but was-according to one teacher-pleasant, an exceptionable
student, and kind towards her companions. And one of her classmates called her
'the divine Dina'.
As at St-Roch and Jacques-Cartier, Dina excelled in her studies at Bellevue.
Yet she had to appear in public at concerts and competitions, with parents and
friends present in the audience. The praises she received at these events cost
her tremendously. She says, 'Jesus endowed me with these sentiments of
reluctance for honors to keep me humble and lowly and to develop my will power,
while He multiplied occasions for me to do violence to myself and conquer my
natural shyness.'
She didn't read much for recreation during her time at Bellevue; her free
moments were usually spent in study. She read only two books: a library book of
a 'Biblical romance (the 'only novel' she ever read), and through the
generosity of a classmate, the 'Story of a Soul', the Autobiography of
[then Blessed] Therese of Lisieux. She loved reading the latter!
At age eight, she began taking
piano lessons from a private teacher, who regularly came to the Belanger home
for four years. She plunged into this activity 'with
great zest, though always in moderation, on account of my health.'
FIRST COMMUNION & CONFIRMATION
In her time, children didn't receive their First Communion before ten years
old-this was around the time of the decree 'Quo Primum' of Pope St. Pius X,
which advocated frequent Communion and lowering the age for children to receive
First Communion at the 'age of reason' (usually seven years old). Dina was
already nine, tall for her age (a 'growth spurt', perhaps?), and was very well
versed in her Catechism to receive at an earlier age. Her mother went with her
to the parish rectory and begged the pastor to be allowed to receive before her
tenth birthday. The priest refused permission; saying it was contrary to
established order. Later on, in her testimony before her daughter's
beatification tribunal, Madame Belanger stated that Dina was deeply hurt by the
refusal. She was disappointed, but decided to prepare for it more ardently.
She received her First Communion the next year, on May 2, 1907, two days after
her tenth birthday. During her retreat to prepare for it, she heard it that 'a
fervent First Communion was a sure passport to Heaven, and a lukewarm one a
ticket to Hell'. Since she wanted to, in her words, 'take the train to
Paradise', she prepared for her confession with the utmost care. She accused
herself of many faults, but she was certain she had not lost her Baptismal
innocence. She expressed an intense gratitude to Our Lord and Our Lady for this
favor. The sentiments she expressed on that day are strikingly similar to those
of St. Therese of Lisieux on her First Communion day.
The same day as her First Communion, Dina was Confirmed (a custom in her day,
perhaps), and was invested in the scapulars. She spent happy hours celebrating
the day with her parents and other family members in her home later that day. A
humorous incident happened to Dina later in the evening that made her realize
the emptiness of earthly things: she had changed from wearing the simple white
dress she had on for the First Communion Mass to a more elaborate one of white
silk and lace. By some 'klutzy'-or 'awkward' as she calls it-movement,
she tore the fancy dress! Yet she had no feelings of regret for doing it....no
'drama queen' here! Instead, she was glad to slip away to her room, away from
the noise of conversation, to dwell on WHOM she received: Our Lord Himself!
In the days after her First Communion, Dina grew more recollected at prayer,
not moving unnecessarily, or taking her eyes from her prayerbook. She had a
very tender conscience. At. this period, she fell prey to the trial of
scruples-again, very similar to St. Therese. But, unlike St. Therese, she had a
wise and holy priest, Father Philemon Cloutier, to help and direct her in this
trial. She found peace of mind and soul in obedience to his counsels.
DINA HEARS THE VOICE OF JESUS FOR THE FIRST TIME
On March 25, 1908, which was Holy Thursday that year, Dina heard the 'voice' of
Jesus for the first time. She says, 'During my act of thanksgiving after
Communion, Our Lord spoke to my soul by means of a new light. This was the
first time I heard His voice so well; interiorly, of course, a soft melodious
voice which overwhelmed me with happiness.'
It was during her two years at Bellevue that she paid her first visit to the
Convent of the Religious of Jesus and Mary in Sillery. While she and her
classmates were being shown through the boarding school, a group of postulants
passed by in the corridor, edifying Dina by their happy, yet recollected
demeanor. She enjoyed her visit, and the friendliness of the nuns and the
students. Little did she know that in just a few years' time she would be a
member of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary!
She still thought of entering the Congregation of Notre-Dame. In May 1913, she
and the other members of the graduating class-seven in all-went with one of
their teachers to the Mother House of the Congregation of Notre-Dame in
Montreal. They attended a Clothing and Profession Ceremony. The trip gave the
girls an opportunity to study their future vocation after having had a retreat
for that same purpose. They were welcomed cordially by the Sisters, but the
ceremony left Dina cold and unresponsive. She says, 'My pious dispositions
seem to have fled, but I paid no need to this and my decision to enter this
Community in the near future was confirmed.'
Her boarding school days were now over. Some of her teachers suggested she
return the next year in view of following more advanced studies at their
College in Montreal. Her parents decided against it; they missed Dina very much
during her two years away, and they weren't very keen on having her go to a faraway
city like Montreal (remember, this was the early part of the 20th century). And
at the same time, they thought that the 'ordinary' course of studies was
sufficient for Dina to follow whatever walk of life she might choose.
Dina was grateful for the experience at Bellevue-for the work and sacrifices of
her teachers she was particularly thankful.
LIFE BEFORE HEADING TO NEW YORK CITY (1913-1916)
Dina spent three years at home with her parents after graduating from Bellevue
Convent. She was obliged to have some social contacts outside of home-she says
she found them 'a burden'. Her mother did allow her some freedom of movement,
however; she trusted her daughter. But Our Lord saw that her desires were
centered on Him alone-He knew her heart.
She drew up a rule of life for herself: morning and evening prayers, daily Mass
and Communion, Rosary; at least ten minutes of meditation in the morning, and
weekly confession. She also included her duties towards her neighbor and
herself. In addition, she examined her conscience each night.
She wanted to add a day's retreat every month, and the recitation of the 'Little
Office of the Blessed Virgin' at least once a week. But she stopped short
of doing these things because she didn't want to appear singular; it was better
that she looked like any other good and pious young girl of her day. She was
naturally reserved, and disclosed what God was doing in her soul to no one but
her spiritual director, Father Philemon Cloutier; but even to him she was
unable to confide everything to him. She says, 'I see now that Jesus
willed it thus. He, my Master, was teaching me, enlightening me, shaping and
moulding me according to His Will.'
Our Lord did continue to enlighten her, usually after Holy Communion, at her visit to the Blessed Sacrament, or at meditation. Yet there were times when dryness and distractions were her lot. When that happened, she says, she 'deplored my misery at the feet of my Good Master and offered Him my abjection.'
She read very little-her director kept urging her, 'read, read'-but she felt
she couldn't find in books the spiritual food she longed for. Our Lord supplied
it for her!
Seven months after leaving boarding school, Dina asked her parents, her
spiritual director, and her pastor for permission to enter the Notre-Dame
novitiate. She was sixteen years old. The two priests thought it would be wiser
to put this off until a later date. Her father testified after Dina's
death: 'This refusal seemed to hurt her, that was evident.' Her
mother went further: 'She cried. But she submitted herself, especially
after she heard her pastor's advice.' The pastor, Msgr. Omer Cloutier,
said that she should not enter before she was twenty-three or twenty-four. She
remained in peace in spite of this decision.
And she remained in the world for the time being. She was 'in the world, but
not of the world'. It was a torment for her to dress in fine clothes and wear
'superfluous' ( as she called it) jewelry-but she wore these things to please
her parents. Thoughts of vanity were far from her mind. She says, 'I often
thought how sad it was that, in the world, one felt obliged to waste such
precious time embellishing this miserable body, so soon to become the prey of
the tomb. How sad it was to spend so much money when so many poor people were
cold and hungry, when religious institutions, missions, lacked financial
resources, and because of that, would too often see their efforts being
paralyzed.'
Social gatherings? She continues, 'I was grateful to be invited; I was
sensitive to the friendship or the courtesy of the people I knew. But I would
refuse on the slightest pretext. If I accepted, I experienced a certain
distaste.'
She does admit, though, that she enjoyed many happy times in smaller, more
intimate hours with friends and relatives.
So she was not what one would call 'worldly'. Thanks to her mother's careful
training, Dina presented herself as a perfect young lady 'in the world', even
if her heart belonged to 'God alone'. And so she would refuse the offer of a
human love, no matter how pure and beautiful it might be.
During this time, Dina became involved in her parish. She joined the 'Tabernacle
Society', where she, her mother, and other ladies would help make or embroider
Church vestments. The meetings would begin with a short spiritual reading which
Dina would find helpful.
She also became a member of the 'Apostleship of Prayer', which spread
devotion to the Sacred Heart. She helped to distribute the monthly prayer
leaflets. Her mother was also a member. In addition, she continued to help her
mother in visiting the sick and the poor, something that was done since her
early childhood.
When the First World War began in 1914, the seventeen-year-old Dina offered
herself to Our Lord 'in a spirit of reparation and love in order to give
Him some consolation and save souls.' She was especially distressed 'at
the moral evil threatening the world.' And a little later, she offered
herself as a 'victim of Divine love.'
Her piano studies continued. She received a 'Superior Class' certificate,
a 'Laureate', and lastly a 'Teacher's Diploma'. She took lessons from
a Quebec musician, Monsieur Arthur Bernier, who was organist at her parish,
Notre-Dame de Jacques-Cartier, from 1914 to 1917. M. Bernier was also a friend
of the pastor, Monsignor Omer Cloutier, a humanist and a friend of the arts,
particularly of music. The priest greatly appreciated Dina's musical talents.
She says, 'Toward the end of the year 1915, the matter of having me study
piano in a conservatory abroad began to be serious. New York was the designated
city, and the house of the Sisters of Jesus and Mary, 'Our Lady of Peace', the
ideal place to live.' Her parents were at first concerned, especially her
mother. (Dina tried to reassure her, saying, 'Oh, Mamma, I could have
flirted here, going to and fro on messages, nothing would have been
easier.') They examined the advantages and the pitfalls. Msgr. Cloutier
strongly advised them in favor of the plan. She wouldn't be going alone-she
would have two other girls from Quebec as companions, and she would be staying
in a residence run by nuns. So her parents consented, and gave her the present
of two years' study (eight months each year) in New York.
What was her opinion of herself as a musician? She had a certain measure of success;
but the applause she received only tended to convince her of her incapacity.
She did admit that God had endowed her with a certain talent, 'but I aimed
at so sublime, so unattainable an ideal that I know I did not merit so much
praise. I accepted it, as a proof of the indulgent good nature of my friends. I
felt myself utterly deviod of talent. Lack of sureness, a defective memory, a
nervous touch were some of the defects I clearly perceived. Every false note I
struck went straight to my heart and I would exclaim: 'That is an example of
what I can do!' My self-centered soul, hiding its ardent emotions, let my icy
fingers race over the keyboard without awakening harmonies, vibrant chords. I
had not the knack of accompaniment, still less the living breath of
improvisation.' She often put the question to Our Lord, 'Why so much
study?' She had so little talent, she though. She frequently invoked the help
of St. Cecilia, the patroness of music and musicians!
Once she was given the joy of, as she calls it, 'a slight failure'. [an
understatement if ever there was one!] In a crowded hall, she closed a literary
and musical program by playing the future national anthem 'O Canada' (written
by fellow Quebecois Calixa Lavallee). Instead of repeating the last line ('O
Canada, we stand on guard for thee'), she only played it once! [one can only
imagine the silence that fell in the hall!] EVERYONE NOTICED IT! She
says, 'I was very grateful to God for that small humiliation. It was
something better to offer Him then the beautiful bouquets with which I had been
presented.'
NEW YORK CITY (1916-1918)
Dina left Quebec City in October 1916 with her father and her two companions.
He wanted to know where she was staying and how far she would have to travel to
the Conservatory. The two Quebecois girls who accompanied them, Bernadette
Letourneau and Aline Marquis, were also going to study at the same school as
Dina. Dina knew Bernadette more than she did Aline. The Belanger and Letourneau
families were from the same parish in Quebec (Notre-Dame de Jacques-Cartier)
and knew each other from participation in parish activities. The two girls also
studied together for a short time. Aline met Dina in musical circles.
'Our Lady of Peace', run by the Religious of Jesus and Mary, was founded in
1902 on West 14th Street in New York to provide a safe place for girls and
women coming to the big city to study or work. It was comfortable, up-to-date
and attractive. Nine stories high (therefore not a 'skyscraper'), it had a roof
garden with a view of New York harbor. There was a chapel on the ground floor,
and the Sisters took care of the residents' needs and served their meals in the
dining room. There was a social life for those who cared for it, and other
religious services outside of daily Mass.
When the girls arrived, it was found that there were only two rooms avaiable-a
single room and a double room. Dina always slept alone, except for her two
years at boarding school, and was fond of solitude. Her father suggested that
Dina offer Aline the single room, and she and Bernadette would take the double
room. Later on, when other rooms were free, they could each have a single room.
But it was providential that Dina and Bernadette roomed together. They became
close friends-almost like siblings. They shared the bond of being alone
together in a foreign country, as well as all the joys, the loneliness of being
away from home and family in Quebec....as well as their frequent fits of
laughter! And in the end, both entered on the same day the Congregation of
Jesus and Mary in Sillery, and made their First Profession side by side!
Bernadette outlived Dina by many years, dying in 1977 at the age of 77 years.
She is buried in the Community cemetery at Sillery Convent. Aline also became a
nun, entering the Congregation of Notre-Dame in Montreal.
When her father left New York, felt the pains of homesickness. To halt those
feelings, she immediately got down to work at her studies at the Conservatory!
There she had speak in English, study in English, and understand in English!
(one of her professors said to her at her first lesson, 'I did speak
French a long time ago, but I have forgotten it') She says, 'It was
comical sometimes, particularly in the first few days. Happily, pianos sound
the same in all lands although the names of the notes follow linguistic
caprices.' She learned English as a second language while in school in
Quebec, but among her parents and friends she always spoke French.
She loved her teachers-one of them was Walter Damrosch, a well-known musician
and composer of the day. He and the other members of the Conservatory faculty
took great interest in all their students.
Dina wrote 280 cards and letters to her parents during her two years in New
York. They were filled with affection, vitality, enthusiasm, and cheerfulness.
She would tell of experiences such 'New York' things as riding the subway, and
going shopping at Macy's-she was fascinated by the escalators she saw there!
She made a reference to World War I, then raging at the time, in something of a
tongue-in-cheek way: 'Good morning, dear parents. You may sleep in peace,
knowing that if the Germans come here I shall not wait to meet them. As the
United States and Canada are allies, communications remain open. As we [her
two companions and herself] are young girls it will not be supposed that
we are deserting the country to avoid having to join the army. I am not at all
worried.'
She and her two companions would play innocent tricks on each other and laugh
uproariously in the process. For example: one evening Bernadette heard loud
peals of laughter coming from Aline's room. She ran to see what happening, and
found Dina and Aline helpless with laughter. Dina had seated herself on Aline's
bed with an open umbrella over her head, waiting for Aline's arrival. When
Aline came in and turned on the light, she let out a shriek of terror! And of
course, all three laughed till the tears came!
Dina told her parents in one of her letters from New York, 'How we laugh!
If the Americans form their opinion of French-Canadians in general from the
specimens they have at 14th Street (the address of 'Our Lady of Peace'),
they will have to grant to that race the virtue of gaiety cultivated to the
superlative degree.'
There were opportunities for leisure time for Dina and her companions outside
of the Conservatory; but she was extremely prudent with regards to the concerts
and other cultural events that were available. She saw performances at Carnegie
Hall by famous artists such as the Polish piano virtuoso Ignace-Jan Paderewski
and the Italian tenor Enrico Caruso. She went to the movies once or twice,
according to Bernadette Letourneau's later testimony. They went to a French
play once. And Dina's reaction on coming out of the theater after seeing the
play? 'I am so happy to be out of there!' Anytime she went out-to
concerts, movies or plays-if she had any doubts as to the moral content, she
always sought advice from well-informed people before attending, usually from
priests.
Dina kept to the same prayer schedule that she had at home, only now she
indulged in longer meditations. She appreciated the fact that she was staying
in a convent, with a chapel where Mass was said daily and other liturgical
ceremonies took place. Yet she also went to Mass in at least two New York
churches according to her letters: the Jesuit Church of St. Francis Xavier, and
an unnamed 'Church of the Assumptionists'. In the chapel of 'Our Lady of
Peace', she spent many an evening, close to Our Lord in the Tabernacle.
During her two years in New York, she went home to Quebec for the Christmas
holidays. The joy of reuniting with her parents equalled their sorrow when she
left. Once, in the spring, they came to visit her in New York. And in her
second year, her father came alone and unannounced, to spring a surprise on
her. Dina was probably referring to this latter visit when she wrote to her
mother, 'At seven-thirty I had an interview with Mr. Belanger. Do you
happen to know that gentleman?'
The temper that she had displayed as a four-year-old was not dead yet. One day,
the Sister in charge of 'Our Lady of Peace' made a curt remark about the 'dry
and nervous way' Dina played the piano in the 'social room'. The nun also
said that it 'annoyed those around her'. Taken by surprise at this, Dina arose
from the piano bench and went straight to her room. Bernadette, seeing her as
she burst in, noticed how pale her friend looked and asked what was wrong. Half
an hour later, Dina was crying. She says, 'Why? Because my nature would
fain to give vent to anger and my will refused the slightest complaint. My
judgment admitted that the person was right, the remark was fair. My pride was
wounded and it cost me a mighty struggle to keep them in abeyance. Grace
triumphed, however, and peace settled down in the assurance that I had not
given my dear Master [Our Lord] any pain.'
Dina passed all her courses at the Conservatory. Bernadette did, too-'a
graduate pianist as well as organist', as Dina wrote in a letter to her
parents. It's presumed that Aline passed hers as well. They left 'Our Lady
of Peace' filled with gratitude for the kind hospitality of the Sisters of
Jesus and Mary. One of the nuns gave her a medal of the Sacred Heart, with the
injunction to wear it always. Dina took the simple request as a literal command
and put it around her neck. She wore it till her own Profession as a Religious
of Jesus and Mary. But at the time of her departure from New York, she had not
the remotest thought of entering the Congregation of Jesus and Mary.
As a graduation gift, her father made her a present of a piano: a 'Knabe Baby
Grand'. It was picked out in a piano store in New York while Dina was still in
the city. The piano arrived in her home in Quebec on July 2, 1918. She was in
the countryside at the time it was delivered. She came home the following day, eager
to try out the new instrument. 'I had hardly entered the house,' she says,
'I was alone, when I was inspired to restrain this natural urge. I knelt down
and prayed with fervor, asking the blessing of God and His Blessed Mother on
this piano....the time it took to whisper these prayers allowed me to feel the
sting of mortification dart through my whole being. Then I became, as it were,
insensible, and I felt I could give myself the satisfaction of trying my new
instrument, for my joy had been sanctified and blessed.'
This piano is now in the 'rebuilt' Convent of Jesus and Mary in Sillery.
LIFE IN THE WORLD BEFORE ENTERING RELIGIOUS LIFE (1918-1921)
In June 1918 Dina finished her two years' course at the Conservatory and
returned to Quebec. These years were spent with her parents, living the
ordinary life of a young Catholic girl in the world. That was what 'the world'
saw.
She experienced the 'dark night of the soul', where she entered spiritual
aridity and dryness. This started while she was still in New York. Spiritual
exercises became occasions for distractions and struggle. But she was still
faithful in doing, and even increasing them. She gave twenty, then thirty
minutes for daily meditation-she had no permission to extend it any longer.
There was ten minutes of spiritual reading,-often from 'The Imitation of
Christ' (again, another 'connection' with St. Therese of Lisieux). Daily
Rosary or the 'Little Office of the Blessed Virgin', or at least
'part' of the latter. She made frequent use of short ejaculatory prayers. She
made the Stations of the Cross, and a daily visit to the Blessed Sacrament. To
get all of these things in during the day, she curtailed her hours of sleep.
At times, the 'voice' of Our Lord, which she had 'heard' since she was eleven,
made itself heard within her soul. He brought before her, through the 'eyes' of
her imagination, images that were new to her. She was always afraid that these
came from the devil and not from God. 'Yet,' she says, 'I was
fully convinced that the teachings were those of my Master; whatever
treats of obedience, humility and self-denial can come from no other
source.' She noticed that Jesus spoke to her soul only when she was
perfectly calm. If she was not, He would soothe her and inspire her with
sentiments of humility and contrition for her faults; then she was able to
understand His mysterious language.
One day, she asked Him not to let her be deceived by the devil. She says, 'He
explained how I could always recognize the difference between His divine voice
and that of the tempter who so loves to play the role of imitator and deceiver.
The Savior makes Himself heard only in hours of deep recollection, peace and
silence. His voice is soft, so soft that in the soul all must be hushed; it is
a melodious voice; while that of the devil is noisy, abrupt and discordant and
his words are uttered in the midst of agitation and tumult.' She uses a
French-sounding word, 'brusquerie' !
In addition, Jesus gave her for guide and light the 'Host' and the 'Star'--the
'Host' was Himself, and the 'Star' His Own Blessed Mother. he showed her a path
bordered with thorns, which He wanted her to walk in, after He first walked in
it. She says, 'At the outset, the trials were not numerous [symbolized
by the thorns]; but as I advanced they increased in numbers, in order to
be faithful, I was not to allow myself to be dismayed by any suffering. The
path was narrow and grew narrower as it became more and more infested with
thorns. The latter were to become so thick and tall as to nearly choke up the
route. I had to push them aside as I advanced. What matter the scratches when
one's destination is Heaven!'
The Host and the Star, representing Jesus and Mary, remained as a beacon
constantly over her path. At the end of the road, at the summit of a mountain,
there was a gate, the gate of Heaven, In a few short years Jesus and Mary would
open this gate to Dina, and fill her soul with delight!
All this took place in her imagination. but the 'picture' was clear and
distinct. She saw them more clearly than she would have with the eyes of the
body. When she wrote this in her 'Autobiography', she no longer felt
the 'thorns' of trial, for 'love has blunted them and destroyed them.'
For clarification's sake, Dina explained the expressions she used to describe
her mystical experiences ('I saw', 'Jesus spoke to me' , etc.)--'They signify
that I saw in my imagination; Jesus spoke to me with that interior voice that
every soul hears in moments of profound recollection when favored with divine
consolations.'
Around this time Our Lord disclosed to Dina that He had a 'mission' to entrust
to her. She says, 'He exhorted me to pray fervently and pointed out the
necessity of serious preparation, but did not reveal what this task would
consist. I understood nonetheless that the salvation of a great number [of
souls] would depend on my generosity and fidelity.' He also taught her
(again by using an image) the great value of grace, and how each grace received
is like a link in a chain--unfaithfulness to grace snaps a link and breaks the
chain.
Dina felt a tremendous responsibility-by her own fault she could compromise her
'mission'! She was conscious of her nothingness (a trait common with many
mystics). She relied on His love and His goodness. Our Lord said to her, 'I
wish to make use of you because you are nothing; I wish to prove My power by
your weakness.'
Our Lord instilled into Dina a great desire for contempt and humiliation. She
made this prayer every morning: 'My God, grant me the grace of being
scorned and humiliated as much as You desire me to be, and may all who despise
and humiliate me be in no way blameworthy. If You desire that I should taste no
more joys on earth, I am willing to forego them.' When she made this
offering, Dina thought she was renouncing every earthly joy; but as soon as her
soul desired nothing 'but sacrifice', she was filled with happiness. She
says, 'Such is the secret of Divine love.'
It was usually in church and
on Friday that Our Lord enlightened Dina; especially during Exposition of the
Blessed Sacrament (like St Gemma Galgani) , but there were other times too. One
First Friday, as she prayed before the Blessed Sacrament, she seemed to see a
great multitude of souls rushing to their eternal damnation. She was made to
see that she should console Our Lord in His great grief, and pray for the
conversion of their poor souls (like Sister Josefa Menendez).
Her thirst for martyrdom increased, and with it an intense thirst for
self-denial. Under obedience, Dina relates some of these mortifications: never
showing preference for any kind of food, taking what she liked least; turning
her eyes away when passing by a confectionary shop (VERY prevalent in
French-speaking Canada!); not drinking when thirsty; sleeping on a hard pillow;
not crossing her feet at the ankles; accepting candy when offered but not
touching it when alone. Are these childish? On the surface, maybe-but the
scoffers and skeptics out there try for a single day what is most perfect in
everyday circumstances, and how much strength of will it requires to endure
what some spiritual writers call 'a martyrdom of pinpricks'!
While all this 'interior' life was going on, Dina became a Third Order
Dominican. After a year of probation, she made her profession, and took the
name of St. Catherine of Siena. This name was granted her only after she said
that her birthday was on the Feastday of St. Catherine (April 30 on the
'Traditional' Roman Calendar-now April 29 on the Modern Roman Calendar).
She often invoked the help of St. Joan of Arc (then newly canonized when Dina
wrote her 'Autobiography'). St. Joan was very popular in the Quebec of her day,
and she asked for the help of the 'Maid of Orleans' to be faithful to her
'mission'.
Dina continued her courses in harmony, through a correspondence course with the
New York Conservatory. She still did 'regular' practicing on the piano, this
time without lessons. It was here that she got the idea of taking Jesus as her
Professor. She says, 'I carefully prepared my pieces for a certain day. It
seemed to me that at the appointed hour He was there, ready to give me my
lesson. At other times, I felt His presence with me, too, but not exactly in
the same manner. Before playing in public, I always invoked Jesus, Our Lady,
the Angels and the Saints to listen to my pieces. I paid more attention at such
times, if possible, than when before a visible audience. After playing each
piece, I listened interiorly and received the criticism and judgment of my
divine Teacher. When I was practicing, I pretended that I was in the presence
of the Angels and thus I raised the worldly them of my pieces to a higher
plane.'
She gave many recitals at this time. Before each one, Jesus would ask of Dina
the sacrifice of her success and inspired with a real sense of failure. She
submitted to His wishes and begged of Him the grace of not simply making a
'little' mistake that would pass unnoticed by everyone, but the humiliation of complete
failure!
Yet she wondered-and indeed she asked this question to Our Lord-'What can be
the object of my musical studies?' He answered, 'Your music will
protect your vocation, but you will do good particularly by your
writings.' She was surprised at this! Jesus continued, 'Yes, in the
convent, you will devote yourself to literary work.' She was mystified by
this; but it was fulfilled in the writing and publication of her 'Autobiography'.
Her desire for religious life grew by the summer of 1920. She wanted to enter
the Novitiate after boarding school in 1913, but her parents and her spiritual
director Father Philemon Cloutier asked her to wait. Now she was twenty-four,
and it was time to make up her mind. She no longer felt attracted to the
Congregation of Notre-Dame de Montreal. Personally, she was attracted to the
contemplative life. In August 1929, she spent a week with the Nursing Sisters
at the Hotel-Dieu Hospital, where she attended a Clothing ceremony. She loved
it-the grille of the enclosure appealed to her; but on the other hand, her
studies were proof that God wished her to enter a teaching Order. Her choices
narrowed down to three: the Congregation of Jesus and Mary, the Ursulines, and
the Society of the Sacred Heart. She preferred the Ursulines for the cloister,
which they still had at that time. She went to the Monastery in Upper Quebec
City to seek information, where she was kindly received. Still she hesitated.
She sought her answer from Our Lord in prayer, to know His Will. Then He said to
her, 'I want you in the Congregation of Jesus and Mary.' [or
'Jesus-Marie', as it's familiarly known in French]. She replied, 'Whatever
You like, my Good Master. You know I have little attraction to teaching, but I
want to obey Your call and go where it may please You.' His reply is
significant: 'You will not teach long.'
On September 4, 1920, Dina's confessor, to whom she had spoken, told her she
might leave the world in six months, or a year at most, and a week later it was
decided that she should apply to the Convent of Jesus and Mary at Sillery, a
suburb of Quebec. She went with Bernadette Letourneau, her New York companion,
to meet their future Novice Mistress, Mother St. Elizabeth. After meeting and
speaking with the two young ladies, Mother went straight to the chapel to thank
Jesus and Mary for these two promising additions to the Novitiate! As a matter
of fact, when she was made Novice Mistress in November 1920, Mother St.
Elizabeth asked Our Lord that she might have 'a Saint' among her Novices....little
did she know that 'Saint' would soon be among them in the person of Dina
Belanger!
Now it was left for Dina to inform her parents of her decision to enter the
convent, and to prepare them for the coming separation. It was heartrending for
Monsieur and Madame Belanger, but they accepted with true Christian
resignation: 'Since it is God's Will, we are ready to embrace it!' As
the time grew closer, they multiplied their attentions to her. It was not to
dissuade her from her decision; on the contrary, they fully accepted it. In
June, 1921, they gave her a last gift: a trip to Niagara Falls. She loved
it-the trip made her raise her heart and mind to God in thanksgiving for the
beauties of His creation.
Finally, August 11, 1921 came. She left her home in Lower Quebec City forever.
Her father and her mother accompanied her to Sillery. They gave back to God the
child they received from Him. (After Dina entered the convent, her parents
moved to Sillery to be closer to her. They remained in Sillery until their
deaths in 1951-Madame Belanger-and 1952-Monsieur Belanger).
ENTRY INTO SILLERY CONVENT-THE POSTULANCY (1921)
The day Dina entered Sillery Convent, August 11, 1921, was a day of sacrifice
both for her and her parents. As stated at the end of Part 5, the Belanger
couple, who were profoundly Christian, willingly gave their daughter to the
service of God in the Congregation of Jesus and Mary.
Dina says that on her entrance day, 'her soul was filled with darkness and
repugnance, yet she had scarcely crossed the threshold when an inward force
made her say, 'THIS IS HOME'. These words were not inspired by any
'natural' feeling-she 'felt' nothing, groping her way in darkness of spirit.
In the evening, she received her postulant's 'mantilla' (headdress), which she
accepted with great piety. Next day she attended a Clothing ceremony and a
Profession, but her dryness persisted-she was, she said, 'indifferent as a
rock'. The only thing that touched her was the kiss of peace that was given by
each member of the community to the newly professed and the new novices.
Before she entered, she felt that convent life 'presented one continual
series of struggles against natural inclinations and tastes, and this had
delighted me.. But the devil was waiting.' He whispered to her, 'Do
you think you can live here to the end of your days? Are you going to submit
yourself to all these burdensome regulations?' It was a terrible conflict.
She watched the other nuns, and was filled with admiration at seeing their
happiness and their recollection; and thinking of their virtue, she said, 'Surely
each one of them is a great Saint.' Then the devil showed her an abyss
between their perfection and her own piety. She fought this temptation with Our
Lord's help, saying, 'Why can I not imitate them? They are frail creatures
like myself, and Jesus will help me as He helps them.' Then the devil made
use of another weapon.
Almost all of the spiritual exercises were done in common, and Dina would be
obliged to pray aloud and use set formulas for prayer instead of being able to
speak to Our Lord intimately. She says in response, 'What a deceitful
trick! Religious life is the state of prayer: everywhere, at the religious
exercises, at work, or at rest, Jesus and the soul are one.' Prayer in
common eventually became a consolation to her, and the union of holy souls
filled her with confidence.
But homesickness persisted. She spent sleepless nights struggling with
temptation; but she protested to Our Lord over and over again that she would
remain faithful to her vocation (very similar to Sister Josefa Menendez at the
beginning of her religious life). During the day, there were distractions to
keep her mind off her loneliness. One day she had very discreet witnesses.
Passing by the chicken yard, she cried out impulsively, 'You dear
creatures, you are in your own home, make the most of it!'
Sometimes when out walking on the grounds by herself, she would feel a strong
impulse to go home just as she was, without hat or coat, or escaping at night
through a window. She knew instinctively that these were the devil's
temptations, and she held onto her vocation just as she did to her eternal
salvation. To have to return to her home would have been a cruel trial; but as
it happened during her boarding school years, her homesickness lasted several
weeks and caused her to cry very much.
She received the grace to practice perfectly the recommendations that were
made. One of her fellow Sisters [probably her Novice Mistress, Mother St.
Elizabeth] states, 'In one of our first conversations [after her entrance]
she spoke of her practices of devotion. I made her clear to her that on
entering a religious Order, the act of self-donation replaced all private
practices and it was better to follow the spiritual exercises of the Rule and
the customs of the Congregation. She accepted my point of view and endeavored
to conform her conduct.' So when 'interior silence' was mentioned, Dina
made a complete 'truce with the past'-she severed all ties to her memories
of her life in the world. She was even prepared to give up her cherished music
and never play another note, if that was God's Will!
Postulants did not join the Novitiate during the first three or four weeks, but
they were sometimes invited to spend recreation with the novices. Dina was
edified by their charity, their cheerfulness, and their constant smile. She
says, "I soon learned the secret of the soul that has surrendered
itself to Jesus and now radiates the beauty and goodness of the Beloved. In
observing each novice, the encouraging thought I already mentioned recurred to
my mind: 'What others have done, cannot I do?' " A sign hanging in
the Novitiate impressed her greatly and seemed to be addressed to her
personally: 'If you begin, begin perfectly'.
The retreat she made before entering the Novitiate gave her much light and
consolation-her worries vanished and she rejoiced over everything. The meditation
that struck her most was on 'fidelity to little things'. She says, 'I
was imbued with the thought that I should never be able to practice abnegation
[another word for 'sacrifice'] in important things if I did not generously
accept small sacrifices.'
She received two graces in this retreat. First, she seemed to begin a 'new
life'. She plunged her past life into the Precious Blood of Jesus and drove it
from her mind. The break with her former life was so complete that she felt as
if she had died and had been reborn.
A FAVOR FROM THE LORD
The second favor was very remarkable. Dina was praying in the chapel at dusk on the last night of the retreat. Jesus spoke to her, filling her with love and with peace. 'Then,' she says, 'my good Master took my heart-picking it up as when one removes an object, and replacing it by His Sacred Heart and the Immaculate Heart of Mary. That was another 'picture', but there certainly took place in me a divine transformation that no pen could ever describe; I was lost in sentiments of gratitude and humility. I no longer had to look outside myself for the Host and the Star, Jesus and Mary, for I possessed Them within me. Since that moment, I have acted and loved with the Heart of my Savior and that of His Blessed Mother.'
She summed up in three phrases the plan of her 'new life': blind obedience, to
suffer joyously, and love unto martyrdom.
She made every effort to observe the Rule and follow the recommendations made
to her, but she made awkward blunders and involuntary mistakes [she was human
after all!]. Those were times when she would say to herself, 'I was much
better in the world than I am now!' Her actions did not always coincide
with her desires, which was a source of humiliation to her. Dina strove to
acquire the habit of greeting every person and every event with a smile. Her
own natural expression was somewhat melancholic [as judged by some of the
photographs that accompany this article]; but Jesus made her understand that
true inward joy is reflected on the face, and He taught her the act of smiling
always. As a result, every testimony gathered after her death mentioned her
'sweet habitual smile.'
Her first teaching experience was in giving music lessons. She would represent
Jesus at the age of each student, and she gave her lessons as carefully as if
He were physically there beside her. One of of her former students likened her
to a 'porcelain vase'. The student continues, 'That is what I felt during
my music lessons and every time I came in contact with her. I used to envy, and
long to imitate, her perfect simplicity, her humility, the unconscious charm of
her gentle manner which nevertheless did not hide her strength of
character.' [we will see an example of this 'strength of character later].
The student ends by saying, 'There is a Saint for you!'
THE NOVITIATE (February-August 1922)
Now a novice, Dina (now Mother Marie Ste-Cecile de Rome-'Mother' a title given
to the Sisters who taught) continued giving music lessons. She loved all her
students dearly, but with a 'spiritual' love. She looked on them as 'living
ciboriums where the Trinity dwelled'' if she had preference, it was for
those who found it hard to study or keep to the rules.
She continued her musical training, as well as at literary work, which she was
to asked to through obedience. She tried composing poetry, and her humble
efforts, were corrected carefully and with patience, which 'covered me
with confusion', she says. 'I often racked my brains long and
ineffectually to write four lines which were not without fault. Dictionaries
were referred to constantly. I was far from possessing at that moment the
facility that Jesus granted me later on, and that He had foretold when I was
still in the world.'
She was still shy and reserved by nature, and it was hard for her to confide in
anyone; but right from her entrance she found a true mother in Mother St.
Elizabeth, her Mistress of Novices. 'Jesus alone knows,' she says, 'the
treasures of love He puts into the hearts of those who are charged with leading
us to Him, guiding our first steps and strengthening our wavering will.' While
she was still a postulant she felt an all-too-human attachment to Mother St,
Elizabeth, and she asked Our Lord to make her overcome this natural attachment
at once. He gave her to understand the purity, the sweetness, and the strength
which should characterize her attachment to her Mistress. She was to see in her
Mother Mistress only Jesus or Our Lady. She says, 'People in the world
often think that our lawful affections grow cold within convent walls. No, it
is there that they attain their full maturity. It is there that friendship,
freed by grace from all self-seeking, blossoms out into the real flower of
charity.'
Sometimes in her relations with her fellow novices, she felt that she often
hurt them in spite of her good will not to do so. It was deeply humiliating,
making her feel powerless she was of herself, and ashamed of receiving so much
kindness and attention from all her Sisters.
At this time she made a 'pact' with the Angels guarding the Tabernacles of the
world to replace her everywhere and always in adoring Jesus in the Blessed
Sacrament in her place. Later on, as her mystical life deepened, she heard Mass
in union with them in a special manner. She also 'supernaturalized' her meal
times, imagining she was eating in the Holy Family's presence and being served
by Angels.
In her annual retreat in August, she was haunted by the desire to make the 'Vow
of Greater Perfection' after hearing that St. Margaret-Mary Alacoque (the
visionary of the Sacred Heart) made such a vow in her lifetime. She aimed at
making this vow later on (she was not permitted to make it during this time of
her novitiate), trusting absolutely in God. She wrote these words to sum up
this retreat: 'I want to be a Saint! With the help of Your grace, O Jesus,
I will become one.'
During her Novitiate, there was some talk of sending some of the Sillery
novices to finish their novitiate at the American Jesus and Mary house in
Highland Mills, New York (Archdiocese of New York, now called 'Bethany
Retreat House and Thevenet Montissori School'). In Mother Ste-Cecile's time, it
belonged to the Canadian Province of Sillery, and it had been opened for
English-speaking candidates.
Before the Superiors in Sillery announced the names of those who were going to
Highland Mills, Mother Ste-Cecile offered herself to God as one of them, if it
was His Will. She knew how her parents would feel about her separation and
departure for America a second time; but on this occasion God accepted her
offering and left her where she was.
She changed her motto after the August retreat, feeling that her schoolgirl 'Death
rather than defilement' didn't suffice anymore. She made up a new one that
incorporated the Names of Jesus and Mary: 'Jesus and Mary, the Rule of my
love, and my love, the rule of my life.' Later on, she found her
definitive motto: 'Love, and let Jesus and Mary have Their way.' 'Aimer
et laisse faire, Jesus et Marie' in French.
In the fall, she spent some time in the infirmary. While recovering, she tried
writing verses, holding her crucifix in her right hand while writing so that
Our Lord would guide her pencil 'and set His stamp on my writings', as
she says. To her great surprise, ideas sprang into her head and the rhymes came
without bidding. But when she was with others, she didn't do this, so as not to
attract attention and appear singular---then she got 'writer's block'!
She says with regards to this, 'Our Lord was beginning to realize His
words, 'You will do good by your writings.' He is pleased to make me
write in the solitude of the infirmary where He favors me with greater
illumination. The work is so much His that often I scarcely know what I am
writing; I am impelled by a gentle yet powerful force so that when I read over
the pages I am continually surprised at having expressed ideas without having
conceived them!'
She prepared fervently for Christmas, but when the day came she was filled with
spiritual darkness. Yet, when she made her Communion thanksgiving, she made a
promise: 'My God, I wish to perform my every action with the greatest
possible perfection. I wish to refuse You nothing.' However, even after
making this promise, she did not hear Our Lord's voice. He was putting her
faithfulness to the test by leaving her in this 'dry' state.
Her union with Our Lord increased until one day He said to her, in an 'exchange
of names', 'It is I Who am acting in you and by you. In the future you
will be called JESUS; but when you commit a fault or do something silly that
will be your own action and you will be called CECILE.'
'At these words,' she says, 'a feeling of dignity overwhelmed me, coupled with
a profound of my nothingness. Since then, when my conscience reproaches me with
nothing I know it is the work of the Divine Artist; but when I recognize my
thoughtlessness or my defects, I hear a voice saying, 'It is Cecile who
has done that!' '
Our Lord asked her to console His Heart in reparation for the outrages He
received in the Blessed Sacrament. He also designated a number of souls to win
for Him in the course of her day. She says, 'Our Redeemer longs to pardon
and forget. He often awaits only a gesture or a thought of love on our part to
grant to some sinner the extraordinary grace that will snatch him from Satan's
toils.'
One morning, after listening to the reading of the day's meditation, Mother
Ste-Cecile couldn't concentrate on it. She realized this was Our Lord's doing,
and let Him do His Will. He wished to be comforted (again, much like Sister
Josefa Menendez in her experiences). She saw His Heart bruised and beaten by
numerous hammers that fell roughly on Him. He showed His Heart to her, pierced
by a number of darts that were driven into It by a greater or lesser depth.
Each blow of the hammer, each prick was an insult caused by sin. Then she saw
It wounded by numerous needles-small for the most part, very small.
He said to her, 'These are the indelicacies of religious souls; oh! how
the pinpricks make Me suffer, coming as they do, from the souls I love best!' (another
similarity to Josefa Menendez).
She saw His boundless sorrow, and it filled her with compassion and love. She
was deeply touched by it, and wondered at the thought that we can console Him,
miserable creatures that we are!
Her hunger for Holy Communion increased. A day without receiving Our Lord was a
dreary, bleak day whose hours dragged on. She entrusted her preparation for
Communion to Mary. As she approached the altar rail in the chapel, she pictured
the ciborium surrounded by the seraphim, either in deep adoration or expressing
their fiery love by heavenly music. She heard such wonderful singing, the sound
of which made the most harmonious earthly pieces seemed discordant in
comparison. She received Jesus from Mary's hands. Led by her Heavenly Mother,
Mother Ste-Cecile returned to her place, imaging herself to be surrounded by
Angels forming the Court of the Divine King. During her thanksgiving, Mary
often spoke for her. Mother Ste-Cecile only had to listen, uniting herself to
Our Lady in contemplating and loving her Son.
Another day Jesus invited her to remain continually in retreat in His Heart,
applying herself always to the closest possible union with Him. This did not
distract her from her exterior occupations, however; He didn't want her to be
so 'preoccupied' with Him to the extent of neglecting her duties as a
religious. She walked in His presence, always keeping Him company while He
acted through her. An example of this is the following incident: one day she
was at a picnic on the grounds of the convent. She played games, talked and
laughed like everyone else. But her 'inner gaze' was still fixed on Jesus,
keeping Him company all the while.
To all the extraordinary graces He gave Mother Ste-Cecile, Jesus added the gift
of contemplation, saying to her, 'I love you with a love of predilection [a
word meaning 'preference']; My little spouse, you are a privileged soul.'
She understood that such graces brought with them a serious obligation of
faithful correspondence (once again, like Sister Josefa Menendez), and
recognizing her weakness, she felt that love was her only resource.
Mother Ste-Cecile loved
following the common life of the religious in everything, but Jesus willed that
she should be deprived of it. She feared exemptions yet she was
often obliged to ask for them. It was humiliating for her to ask, she didn't
'singularity'. Then she realized that it was beneficial in the religious life
to be guided by one's Superiors.
It was time to know the names of who were to be professed. Mother Ste-Cecile
was suffering at this time a severe interior trial (whatever it was is not known),
when Our Lord said to her, 'You will make profession; and a year later, on
the Feast of My Mother's Assumption, I shall come and claim you by death.'
She was filled with joy! It was in May 1923 when she received this
message-fifteen months separated her from her eternal union with God in heaven!
She began to count down the weeks and the days.
The awkward 'blunders; she did seemed to increase. She says, 'It was good
for me that they humiliated me as I deserved, and on account of that I prized
them; but I was often very inconsiderate towards those to whom I owed most
respect and who were very kind to me. That proves what I was like! I used to
tell Jesus how sorry I was and ask Him to repair my blunders, and to console
those whose feelings I had hurt.' Her delicate conscience made her see her
failures in their worst public light; for all testimonies after her death spoke
of her deep politeness and thoughtfulness of others.
During this time, as she prepared for her Profession, Our Lord gave her two
Patronesses, to take care of of her as a sister: St. Cecilia and St. Therese of
Lisieux [at this time still a 'Blessed']. St. Cecilia was in charge of the
'exterior' part of her life, teaching her to be an apostle (as she did on earth
when she brought her husband Valerian and his brother Tiburtius to the Faith),
watching over her work as a teacher, her various other jobs around the convent
and other 'external' works. St. Therese guided her in her 'interior' life,
showing her the path of 'love and abandonment' that characterized the French
Carmelite's earthly life [Therese was a Norman, the same part of France that
Dina's parental ancestors came from]. Both Saints were under the direction of
Jesus and Mary, as well as Mother Ste-Cecile's own Guardian Angel. She says, 'It
seemed to me that my two Patronesses bent towards me and took me by the hand to
lead me on, according to the designs of my Divine Spouse.'
As she prepared for her Profession, she wished to offer her Spouse a gift, and
began to prepare her symbolic 'wedding basket'.
In describing this 'basket', she says, 'I desire to offer to Jesus, on the
day of my Profession, a basket of purest gold adorned with pearls and rubies
which are to be purchased by my acts of poverty. In the center of the basket, I
wish to put the monogram of 'Jesus-Marie' [the coat-of-arms of the
Congregation] wrought in brilliant diamonds by the perfection of my
actions. In the basket there must be lilies, the beautiful virtue of chastity;
red roses, acts of love of God; white roses, acts of charity towards my
neighbor; lilies of the valley, acts of humility. For verdure [greenery] there
will be ferns, represented by my acts of obedience and mortification. I bed my
Mother Mary to offer the basket to my beloved Spouse; and in return, I shall
multiply my acts of devotion towards her.'
As she approached her retreat before Profession, she was roused to great
fervor; but when it began, the instructions did not move her. The devil even
made use of them to try to upset her. Our Lord wanted her to remain in
'darkness' while He worked on her spiritually; but when August 15, 1923 came,
He gave her everything that would make her Profession a happy one! Her parents
were present, the Ceremony was conducted by her former pastor Msgr. Omer
Cloutier, the Mass was said by one of her cousins, and her former spiritual
director Father Philemon Cloutier was also present. And next to her, professing
the same vows, was her friend Bernadette Letourneau, now called in religious
life 'Mother St-Omer de Luxeuil'.
'At last,' she says, 'I was a Religious of Jesus and Mary! On my
breast, the cross [which the Sisters still wear today]; at my waist,
the blessed Rosary. I now belonged forever to that institution which I
cherished as the hand that led me to this blessed sanctuary of peace and love.
O Jesus, make me worthy of the title I bear. Help me to pay the debt of
gratitude I owe to my Congregation; fashion my soul Yourself, according to the
spirit of 'Jesus-Marie', a spirit of charity, humility and obedience which is none
other than the Spirit of Love. Act in me with Your sweet Mother to the praise
of these Sacred Names.' [the motto of the Congregation is, 'Praised
Forever be Jesus and Mary']
Interiorly, her Profession Day had its joys as well, but she was powerless to
express them. She only said, 'The Blessed Virgin presented my basket to
Jesus, Who in turn had a gift for me, one that concerned my soul. He let me
choose it myself as on the day of my Clothing. I should have desired a chalice
but this time I was no longer allowed to ask for suffering. My Divine Spouse
smiled at my act of obedience and offered me a shining chalice overflowing with
the gems of His Passion, much richer, more splendid than that of my Clothing
Day. My joy was unspeakable! I could express my gratitude only by the wordless
canticle of my love.'
She concludes her Novitiate by saying, 'I could not leave my beloved
Novitiate without pledging myself by a written promise to be faithful to the
lessons implanted in my soul. I felt my gratitude, profound as it was, to be
incapable of repaying the gifts I had received, so I left the duty of paying my
debt to the Eucharistic Heart Itself [the chapel of the Novitiate was
dedicated under this title], and to Our Immaculate Lady.'
LIFE AFTER PROFESSION (1923): TEACHING, ILLNESS, TRANSFORMATION
Now a young Professed, Mother Ste-Cecile de Rome began her active life. She was
sent to the convent school at St-Michel de Bellechasse, a small town up the St.
Lawrence River from Quebec City (the school still exists, now named 'College
Dina-Belanger' in her honor and in her memory). She remained there for
five weeks, teaching music. After that, she was recalled to Sillery, again to
teach music. She contracted scarlet fever from nursing a student who had the
disease, and had to go into quarantine. The after-effects of this highly
contagious disease would eventually lead to tuberculosis, which caused her
death six years later.
At first, Mother Ste-Cecile was distressed to have to be isolated from the rest
of the community. It was not a cause for rejoicing to be inactive while her
Sisters had to take on her work in addition to their own [something that anyone
in today's work force can attest!]. To be deprived of community life, and live
by oneself day and night in one room....that was from a 'human standpoint'. But
from the moment of her isolation she discovered that Jesus was doing her a
great favor: He had withdrawn her from active work and placed her in total
solitude in order to work in her soul by Himself.
He began by depriving her of Holy Communion for ten days. She longed for the
'Bread of Angels'! Every day she heard the priest pass by her door, bringing
Our Lord in the Blessed Sacrament to the other sick Sisters' rooms. She called
out to Him inwardly with deep desires but submitted cheerfully to His Holy
Will. His kindness granted her a consolation in return. She would make a
'spiritual Communion' at the same time the rest of the community approached the
altar rails in the chapel for their sacramental Communion. It seemed to her
then (this was an image in her mind) that an Angel brought her an invisible
Host, which she received as from a priest's hand, and she made her thanskgiving
as usual.
On one of these morning Jesus said to her, 'From now on, I shall give you
the grace to feel My Presence within you; that is to say, you will enjoy the
sensible Presence of God.' She says, 'Immediately, the life of the
Blessed Trinity manifested Itself to me with a sweetness, a peace, and a love
that cannot be described.'
After her personal adoration of Him present within her, she had the inspiration
of gathering together a 'Court' for Him. She asked Jesus whom He would like at
His court. He wished for Our Lady, St. Joseph, her Guardian Angel, St. Cecilia
and St. Therese to keep Him company, to always think of Him and to love Him.
This way He wouldn't be forgotten or alone in her heart when her human frailty
might distract her from His presence.
She would ask Him each day, 'My dear Jesus, whom do You want at your Court
today?' Our Lady and the other four Patrons already mentioned were always
present, but besides them Jesus would other Angels and Saints. Examples: St.
Elizabeth of Hungary (her Novice Mistress' namesake as a religious), St.
Stanislaus Kostka (patron of the Novices), St. Aloysius Gonzaga (patron of
youth), St. John the Evangelist (patron of virgin souls), St. Catherine of
Siena (Dina's name when a Third Order Dominican), St. Joan of Arc (patron of
'faithfulness' to Dina's 'mission'), St. John Berchmans (another patron for
novices), and the Saints whose feast was on the calendar for the day. Later on,
Mother Ste-Cecile would make a general intention to invite ALL ANGELS and ALL
SAINTS to form the Court of her Beloved King, and remain there always.
On November 1, 1923, All Saints' Day, she was allowed to receive Our Lord
sacramentally-she knelt at the doorway of her room to receive Him in Holy
Communion. She thanked Him with joyful tears. She abandoned herself more and
more to Jesus' divine action. She sought as her 'ideal' the 'substitution of
Our Lord for self'. She felt that Our Lord and she were one, that He made use
of her faculties, senses, and members; that He thought, willed, acted, prayed,
looked, worked, spoke, wrote taught-in a word, He LIVED in her. All she had to
do was to contemplate Him and say always, 'Jesus, I love You', just like
like her Saintly friends in heaven.
On November 3, Our Lord asked her for a retreat of ten days, during which He
would, as she says, 'destroy all that was purely natural, human and
earthly,' within her by a series of mystical transformations. It came to a
climax on November 13, 1923 (Feast of St. Stanislaus Kostka, patron of
novices). This is what she wrote:
'Jesus showed me a high altar with a bright fire burning on it: this was the
Altar of His Love. In His hand I saw my heart, my own heart that was taken from
me when I was a postulant; He made me look at it as it to give me the
opportunity to abandon myself once more to Him freely and entirely, then He
placed it on the altar; the fire wrapped it in flames, and I saw it consumed to
the last fiber. There remained nothing of it, absolutely nothing.[She
continues] 'Then Jesus invited me to go up to the altar myself. There were
five steps to climb in honor of His Five Wounds. What went on within me is
beyond description. I felt as it were, my nature overtaken by repulsion, in
revolt against this; in my soul there was peace and happiness. I placed my foot
on the first step, the second, and kept on in a spirit of abandonment. I soon
reached the center of the altar. The flames moved apart on each side of me and
did not touch me. The good Master, His eyes always upon me, made me open my
arms as on a cross; immediately, the flames rushed upon me with violent
intensity, but they were, nonetheless, moving slowly as they consumed my entire
being. As this divine fire consumed me, it seemed to me that my being
shuddered, moaned, and finally, it appeared to be dead at the moment of its
complete destruction. When there was no longer anything to burn, the fire
subsided and went out. In the center, there remained some ashes. Jesus drew
near, breathed on them and reduced them to nothing. Finally, THERE WAS NOTHING
LEFT OF ME.' [emphasis mine]
The result of this stupendous experience was Jesus alone would now be acting in
Mother Ste-Cecile de Rome. Her humanity would be as a 'cloak' to conceal Our
Lord within her. He had 'substituted' Himself for her!
During her time of isolation in the infirmary, she missed a whole series of
religious feasts. She would have loved to be at the beautiful ceremonies in the
chapel and the community gatherings. But once again, Our Lord gave her a
wondrous compensation.
That happened on November 22, 1923, the Feast of her Patroness in religion, St.
Cecilia. Again, this is what she wrote:
'Jesus said to me at the hour of Mass: 'Since you cannot assist at Holy
Mass in the chapel, come and hear St. Cecilia's praises chanted in
heaven' . I seemed, forthwith, to be transported to heaven where I
listened to harmonies of a sweetness and sublimity unknown to earth. Then a
multitude of Angels and Saints intoned a hymn to the praise of the Eternal God:
GLORIA IN EXCELSIS DEO! Innumerable instruments accompanied it and continued
without interruption during the SANCTUS, SANCTUS, SANCTUS, DOMINUS DEUS
SABAOTH. PLENI SUNT COELI ET TERRA GLORIA TUA. HOSANNA IN EXCELSIS! which
followed. Oh! those only to whom the Lord deigns to grant the grace can
understand these contemplations! The SANCTUS in particular surpassed all that I
could imagine of ineffable and inebriating harmony. I heard the voices of
children, of confessors, of holy women, of apostles and martyrs; I harkened to
voices incomparably more beautiful, sweeter and richer than the former. These
were the virgins who follow the Lamb wherever He goes. The different choirs
alternated or blended into a sweet melody. This was followed-the instruments
continuing always-by a marvelous paen of thanksgiving to the Lord glorified in
St. Cecilia, a triumphant hymn in honor of this illustrious virgin. The hosts
of Angels and Saints saluted her and praised her; then the music grew very soft
and St. Cecilia alone intoned her song of love and gratitude to her Spouse.
What pure, vibrating accents they were! The chorus took up the hymn and brought
it to a conclusion.
[She continues] 'At that moment Jesus said to me: 'Mass in over, it
is time to go back to earth.' I murmured my thanks, opened my eyes and
looked about me. After listening, I realized that the Holy Sacrifice had just
ended in the chapel below. It was over then! I could no longer enjoy the music
of earth. Oh! the rapturous melodies of heaven! Through these pure waves of
sound echo the eternal charity of the Thrice-Holy Trinity; in the voice of each
Angel and each Saint vibrates the enkindled breath of the Holy Ghost.'
While she was still in isolation, she received 'visits in writings' through the notes sent by her Sisters. And when the community took walks outside during the recreation times, they would have little talks with Mother Ste-Cecile as looked out of her window. She likened herself as 'Jesus' captive....His little dove imprisoned in the cage of His love.'
Our Lord had much to say to her during her time in the infirmary. He said to
her, 'You are a little privileged soul. Let Me do what I like in you; let
Love do Its work.'
He asked her not to put her signature on anything she wrote (if others did so
in copying and added her name it was not her fault). He said, 'Because
this work is Mine, not yours; you no longer exist, you can do nothing.
Inspiration and facility in writing are My resources. I was your hand, which is
My property, to tell souls that I love them with a love they do not understand,
and to beg for their love, to quench in some measure the thirst of My Heart.'
Usually the quarantine for infectious diseases like scarlet fever was forty
days, but Our Lord arranged that the doctor should order another nine days'
seclusion. One day He said to her: 'I am going to send you another
disease.' She accepted this, not knowing what the implications were. He
continued, 'You will return to the infirmary, where I want to make you
write. You will write until the month of July, then the task will be finished
because you will suffer too much. I want to make known in writing the intense
love with which My Heart burns for souls; I want to complain that I am
forgotten, rebuffed; I want to plead for love as a beggar pleads for a crust of
bread; I love souls so much, yet very often I am not understood and not loved.' (this
was fulfilled in the writing of her 'Autobiography')
On December 7, 1923, Mother Ste-Cecile de Rome was finally discharged from the
infirmary, with permission to resume her music lessons and some other duties with
the students in the boarding school in Sillery (study hall and corridor
supervision). The hidden suffering she had was thinking of Our Lord's
sufferings, and all the outrages committed Him, and the lack of trust and love
He met in souls.
RELIGIOUS LIFE (1924)--TEACHING, MORE ILLNESS, WRITING HER AUTOBIOGRAPHY
At the beginning of January 1924, Mother Ste-Cecile de Rome resumed her
teaching duties. Her illness, however, threatened to become more serious. After
a rest period in the infirmary, her condition seemed to improve. The sacrifice
of teaching and of being with her much-loved students would be only temporary.
In February, she was asked by her Superiors to return to St-Michel de
Bellechasse until the end of the school year in June. Our Lord said to her, 'Go
to St-Michel-you will not be there long, you will be back in April.' And
so it happened-on April 2, 1924, Mother Ste-Cecile, once again ill, returned to
the infirmary in Sillery.
Her local Superior, Mother Marie St-Romuald, soon recognized the exceptional
qualities of Mother Ste-Cecile de Rome. Her talks with the younger Sister
convinced the Superior that this was an exceptional soul, very close to God,
and so she sought permission from the Provincial Council to ask her (under
obedience) to write the story of her life. At first the Councilors
refused-Mother Ste-Cecile was so young. They thought of the danger to her
humility. It was contrary to the spirit of their Mother Foundress, St. Claudine
Thevenet (1774-1837), who urged her spiritual daughters to adopt this saying
from 'The Imitation of Christ': 'LOVE TO BE IGNORED AND TO BE COUNTED
AS NOTHING!'
Nonetheless, Mother St-Romuald tried again, and this time she said to the
Councilors, 'Our Lord will look after her humility.' With this
sensible argument, the permission was given.
So during a private interview, Mother St-Romuald said,
'You will write your life, Sister.'
'Do you wish me to, Mother?' Mother Ste-Cecile asked.
'Yes, Sister, it is my wish,' was the reply.
'Very well, Mother. I will do what you ask,' was the last word.
'She obeyed so simply that I did not suspect the heroism implied for her in
doing so,' the Superior later said.
This conversation took place in February 1924. Mother Ste-Cecile de Rome was
going back to St-Michel de Bellechasse at the end of the month. She began
the 'Autobiography' while at St-Michel.
As Mother Ste-Cecile wrote, the Superior collected the 'notebooks' one by one,
and put them in her desk drawer without reading them. The first part of the
book was finished in June 1924. Resuming it again under obedience, she
continued writing until July 1929, when she became too ill to write any longer.
Our Lord told her, 'You will do good by your writings.' She never
dreamt that this was the fulfillment of His words!
She had not lost her very reserved nature (and remember, she promised Our Lord
at the start of her religious life 'not to think of the past'). Yet she wrote
out of duty, simply and without reservation. She made this admission to her
Superior on her deathbed: 'Mother, when you commanded me to write the
story of my life, I made the most heroic act of my whole existence.'
As stated, she began her 'Autobiography' while at St-Michel. She met
again the students whom she loved and was devoted to, and spread her good
influence among them as among the students in Sillery. One former student
remarks,
'At the singing lessons for the youngest pupils, as I was the smallest, and
very frail and sickly, Mother used to put me sitting on the edge of her piano,
to save me from the fatigue of standing all the time. This gave me great
pleasure.'
But Mother Ste-Cecile was also capable of displaying firmness whenever
discipline or convent regulations were at stake! This same former student
relates this incident:
'One day-I must have been about five years of age-I declined to eat my soup.
Mother Ste-Cecile de Rome insisted. I stubbornly refused. In a tone that left
no doubt as to her intention of carrying out her threat, she admonished, 'Mademoiselle,
you shall not leave the refectory until you have eaten your soup.' Realizing
that I couldn't get my way, I gave in.' [Imagine how that 'threat' must
have sounded in French!]
The Superiors intended on having Mother Ste-Cecile stay at St-Michel till the
end of the school year in June. But her health was giving them cause for alarm,
and returned to Sillery on April 2 and was back in the infirmary again.
She suffered greatly (some of the illnesses she had in her religious life were:
tonsillitis, heart trouble, swelling of the arms and legs, and tubercular
glands on the neck). Her 'human nature' groaned at the pain and the tears
flowed, but her will remained firm. Once she said to her Superior, 'Mother,
please order me to love God.' And when she heard the reply, 'Yes,
dear Sister, I order you to love Him as much as He Himself desires, I order you
to love Him even unto folly', Mother Ste-Cecile's eyes shone with joy.
On the other hand, her Mistress of Novices, Mother St. Elizabeth, feared the
danger of pride in her former charge. To this, Mother Ste-Cecile
responded, 'Mother, I don't see what I could be proud of. I am such a
wretched creature, as you well know. The closer Our Lord comes to me, the more
He makes me see my misery, and what happens to me is not my action but Our
Lord's action. I realize how culpable I would be if I committed the smallest
infidelity. I have a big responsibility. Pray that I may love God very much. I
have such a great desire to love Him.'
Now we come to a very mysterious-if not controversial-part of Mother
Ste-Cecile's religious life: the so-called 'Deception of August 15, 1924'.
When she was still at St-Michel (and even before this, while awaiting her First
Profession in 1923), she remembered what Our Lord told her, 'On the Feast
of my Mother's Assumption, I shall come to claim you by death'. From late 1923
until the summer of 1924, Our Lord kept intimating to Mother Ste-Cecile how
many 'days' she had of life on earth-or so it seemed. When Christmas 1923 came,
she heard Him say to her, 'This is the last Christmas you will spend on
earth; next year you will be in heaven.'
She was already back in the infirmary by the time she finished the first part
of her 'Autobiography' on June 30, 1924.
As August 15 drew closer, she continued to confide in Mother St. Elizabeth, the
Novice Mistress (Mother St. Elizabeth and Mother St-Romuald the Superior of
Sillery Convent were the only ones who knew about the 'inner life' of Mother
Ste-Cecile). Mother St. Elizabeth was not too keen on her writing her 'Autobiography',
fearing the inroads of pride, as has already been stated. But the Novice
Mistress had no say in the matter. She said, 'If Mother Superior orders
you to write, then you must obey her.' And yet Mother St. Elizabeth grew
more and more perplexed with Mother Ste-Cecile as the latter kept revealing to
her the communications from Our Lord. She even went so far as to say, 'You
know, you do not look like a dying person!' All the same, Mother St.
Elizabeth knew that Mother Ste-Cecile was a good religious and close to God.
She reserved her own personal judgment, saying to herself, 'I may be
mistaken; perhaps Our Lord WILL come for her.'
Then August 15 came, and Mother Ste-Cecile was still on earth-SHE DID NOT DIE!
On that day, Mother St. Elizabeth came by the infirmary to check in on her.
Mother Ste-Cecile was not too ill physically even if she was not confined
there. Noon came-nothing happened. Then came the evening....and Mother
Ste-Cecile was still alive.
NOW the Mistress spoke her mind! She rebuked her former charge, saying, 'See
how we can work ourselves up! See what lengths we can go if we give in to our
imagination!'
What was Mother Ste-Cecile's response? She simply said in a tone of deep
humility, 'That is true, Mother-I have been mistaken.' No excuses, no
explanations....just those few words....'I was mistaken'.
What happened? Was she the victim of her imagination-or even worse, a tool of
the devil? She certainly wasn't a victim of illusion-the words she heard from
Our Lord were too clear, too concise. She was a woman of good sense and sound
judgment-such a prolonged illusion would be hard to admit. And if she WAS a
victim of her imagination, she would have tried to explain it away and justify
herself. But she didn't-she simply said, 'I was mistaken'.
One thought (according to Dom Leonce Crenier, a French-Canadian Benedictine who
wrote a detailed early biography of Dina Belanger) was that she was deceived by
the devil on this. Dom Crenier says, 'Yes, she might have been deceived....Our
Lord might have permitted it for her future benefit.'
The most probable thought (again, according to Dom Crenier) was that Our Lord
was referring to a 'mystic death, that kind of death that makes one cease to
live after a human fashion and introduces one to a life after the divine
fashion, which is an anticipated beatitude.'
So, what did Mother Ste-Cecile de Rome do after August 15, 1924? Did she lose
her courage-did she 'give up'? No, she didn't. She made this heroic act of
surrender on the very evening that the Novice Mistress rebuked her, a grace of
the mystery of Our Lady's Assumption. She says, 'I didn't dwell either on
the wish to see or on the wish to understand. I tried to make a more perfect
act of surrender, a pure act of love; and I began all over again a totally new
life; yes, I repeat, a new life.' In appearance she was the same; her
fellow Sisters did not see or remark on any outward change in her, but in
reality she she experienced a profound transformation.
All this time she was also undergoing a deep interior darkness. She had desired
to make 'The Vow of Greater Perfection' before her First Profession. Permission
had been denied then, and she accepted in obedience. Now, as August had gone
into September, and still she was in spiritual darkness. But on October 2,
1924, the Feast of the Guardian Angels (and the exact anniversary of her
private vow of virginity at fourteen), she received permission to make this Vow
in its fullest extent!
She made the Vow the next day, October 3 (Feast of her beloved 'sister' St.
Therese of Lisieux on the 'Older Roman Calendar'), after receiving Holy
Communion in the infirmary. The joy she felt was like on a day of 'spiritual
espousals'.
She says, 'The obligation of the Vow was constant, having application of
every moment and embracing thoughts, words, desires and actions. Obedience was
the chief rule of greater perfection; for instance, when there was the choice
between a voluntary mortification and a natural satisfaction recommended or
merely desired by [my] Superiors, [she] considered it more perfect to choose
the latter, since their will was for [her] the Will of God. When obedience was
not at stake, self-denial seemed the more perfect.'
The Vow became an exercise in humility for her. It gave her a whole series of
humiliations-imperfections, stupid mistakes. They proved how weak and wretched
she was. Whenever she became aware of an imperfection she would say to Our
Lord, 'This is what I can do of myself! I give You this failing and leave
to You the task of repairing it, and for that I love you, oh! so much!' Then
she would take her crucifix and kiss the Sacred Wounds.
RELIGIOUS LIFE (1925-1928)
From August 15, 1924 on, Mother Ste-Cecile de Rome could be described as being
on an 'interior journey'. She became more and more 'interiorized', eventually
reaching into the depths of the Blessed Trinity Itself.
But she still struggled with interior darkness. The devil still roamed about
her, 'but he cannot', she says, 'even graze me with the tip
of his sullied wing; I am lost in God and the Holy Spirit works on without
interruption in me. I do not know the nature of this action; there is always an
element in the operation that escapes analysis.'
Her constant prayer was in offering Our Lord to His Father through Mary and the
'Spirit of Love' for ALL men, present and future. Our Lord told her that this
offering pleased Him very much and contributed to the salvation of a large
number of souls.
She understood now that the 'mission' given to her so long ago would go on ever
when she was gone from this life. Through Mary, she would bestow the love of
the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus on the whole world until the end of time. She
said, 'I will be a little mendicant [beggar] of love.'
She was able to go to St-Michel de Bellechasse in July 1926 for a fifteen-day
rest. It was here that Jesus began to speak to her about consecrated souls.
She became the confidant of the suffering Jesus. On September 2, 1926, she
heard Our Lord as her interiorly, 'Would you like to taste the chalice of
My Passion?' She answered, 'Oh! yes, Jesus. How good You are!' He
repeated, 'Do you want to taste it?' Her response was, 'My
Jesus, You are fully aware that I am not only willing, but that is my desire.'
At that very instant she was given a cruel interior suffering which penetrated
her whole being, a suffering which she could not describe.
The 'chalice' that Our Lord gave her at intervals from this time onwards was a
participation in the sorrows of His Agony in the Garden of Olives. When He gave
her this grace she did not 'see' an actual 'physical' chalice even with the
eyes of her imagination; but she knew with certainty that Jesus was about to
share His sufferings with her.
(Her Novice Mistress, Mother St. Elizabeth, whom Mother Ste-Cecile continued to
confide, was asked later on by Dom Leonce Crenier, OSB, whether this state of
suffering was visible to others. She replied, 'Yes, at such times Mother
Ste-Cecile de Rome wore an expression of intense sorrow; she was very pale,
even her lips were white. But as she was ill, those who did not know about her
interior life simply thought she was feeling worse. Now when I recall this
expression on her face, I find she became, as it were, another Christ.')
She heard Him say, in the sufferings of His Agonizing Heart:
'Very few souls wish to sympathize with Me in My Agony.'
'Very few souls, even consecrated souls, know how to sympathize with the Agony
of My Heart'.
'I confide precious secrets to souls who are willing to console Me in My
Agony.'
'If religious souls only knew! But alas, they do not know! Some do not know
because they are afraid to know. They are afraid of being obliged to give up
some of their attachments....I do not call all consecrated souls to
compassionate My Agony sensibly and in a special manner. I grant this favor to
certain souls that I Myself choose. But I call all consecrated souls to console
My Heart by obedience, regularity, perfect observance of the Rule, and care to
perform every action perfectly through pure love of Me.'
Every Thursday evening, at the request of Our Lord, she was to make a Holy Hour
to console the Agonizing Heart of Jesus.
DINA RECEIVES THE INVISIBLE STIGMATA
At the start of 1927 Mother Ste-Cecile's health grew worse and she had to
return to the infirmary in Sillery. On February 2 a great temptation assailed
her not to tell everything that was going on interiorly. Only her spirit of
fidelity and obedience enabled her to overcome this, and to write of the
following grace. These are her words:
'On January 22 [1927], a Saturday and the Feast of Our Lady of
Fourviere [the Patroness of Lyon, France, the birthplace of St. Claudine
Thevenet, the Foundress of the Congregation of Jesus and Mary], we had a
closing ceremony of the Forty Hours Adoration. During my meditation before the
Blessed Sacrament exposed I suddenly felt myself enveloped in profound peace. I
was already conscious of the Presence of my Divine Master, but this was
something more than the ordinary union of Thursdays and Fridays. [sharing
in the 'chalice' of His suferings].
I felt that Our Lord was granting me a great favor: the Stigmata of His Sacred
Wounds. From His Divine Heart flames radiated on the feet, hands, and heart of
my annihilated being. The Blessed Virgin applied these flames to my hands and
feet, and Jesus imprinted on them the Stigmata of love of His Sacred Wounds. He
was granting me one of my most cherished desires, but He astonished me by
granting it at this moment when I was not expecting [it] and in this manner
which I could never have imagined.'
The Stigmata remained invisible as she wished. No one could see them. But after
her death, the infirmarians testified before the Beatification Process that
they noticed an expression of pain on Mother Ste-Cecile's face when her hands
and feet were rubbed. Mother St. Elizabeth stated that the feet became so
sensitive that it was impossible to rub them as before-the pain was too severe.
It was around this time that Our Lord began calling her 'My Little
Own-self'.
Mother Ste-Cecile de Rome had arrived at a point where nothing could distract
her from the thought of Our Lord. Her union with Him increased her desire to
suffer with Him and for Him.
She received revelations from Our Lord about His love for priests and
consecrated souls. How was she to console Him and His Heart? By love and by
sacrifice, by constantly acting according to His good pleasure.
He said concerning priests:
'My priests ought to be other Christs. Many of them are eloquent and have much
human learning, but they lack the fundamental science, holiness. Certainly they
are united to Me by sanctifying grace, but they do not live intimately united
to Me by self-denial and pure love.
'My priests! My priests! I love them so much and so many of them love Me but
little....I call them to be other Christs; that is their vocation.'
'My priests rule the entire religious society. If they were all really holy,
their mere presence anywhere, in church, in the street or elsewhere, would make
people think of Me. They would draw souls to Me. On meeting them people would
think, 'This is another Christ passing by'. '
One time He even showed her the horrible state of a priest's soul stained by
mortal sin!
He also assigned her a particular intention for each day of the week:
Sunday: Day of reparation
Monday: Day of thanksgiving
Tuesday: For the Congregation of Jesus and Mary
Wednesday: For religious vocations
Thursday: For consecrated souls
Friday: For all souls
Saturday: For priests
As the years went by, Mother Ste-Cecile penetrated new depths of the knowledge of
God, Who is infinite.
On August 5, 1927, Our Lord said to her: 'Come into the Infinite Garden of
the Trinity, where only a few privileged souls may enter'.
On Christmas Day, 1927: 'Come into the Enclosed Garden of the Heart of the
Most Holy Trinity.'
And on January 21, 1928: 'Come My Little Own-self, let Me lead you into
the Sanctuary of the Most Holy Trinity.'
He explained to her each of these different 'dwellings' where she was united to
the Trinity, in a new and far more intimate way. She says, 'But in truth,
I do not know how to express in words these divine phenomena, nor describe the
nature of these celestial habitations.'
Then she was transported into ''The Tabernacle of the Most Holy Trinity.' She
says, 'I found myself as it were in an immense furnace of delight. The
last expression, 'an immense furnace of delight' is indeed inadequate; but more
and more I find myself unable to express in human language what I discover in
the depths of the Infinite'.
She formed the habit of offering Our Lord to the Heavenly Father for the salvation of souls. She did this many times a day as she went about the convent (when her health permitted it), using the following formula: 'Eternal Father, through Mary and Your Spirit of Love I offer You the Heart of my Jesus...or the Agonizing Heart of Jesus....in thanksgiving....in reparation for consecrated souls.....etc.'
On April 22, 1928, Our Lord led her into new depths, 'into the Essence of the Heart of God, the very Essence of the Divinity,' she says. He told her, 'Here My Father must see Me incessantly, see Me alone, in your place.'
In this state of union with Our Lord her happiness was undoubtedly very deep,
but it was accompanied by great suffering. At times she felt very fatigued and
in spite of her interior joy, the tears would come into her eyes. This life of
constant self-denial caused her many struggles. As she began to decline
health-wise, her physical tiredness increased and she was at times tormented by
temptations to discouragement. Often she was unable to restrain her tears and
she found herself sighing aloud at times. These occasions gave her
opportunities to humble herself, and she strove to 'always smile', as Our Lord
told her. She was still fearful of illusion, of being the victim of her
imagination. But she found her refuge in being obedient and completely open
with her Superiors.
On August 15, 1928, she made her Perpetual Vows. During her retreat for Final
Profession, the devil tempted her to discouragement, even to the point of her
leaving religious life when her Temporary Vows expired! She asked herself if
she was a good religious. She saw her faults and failings as innumerable, and
was tempted to lose confidence in God's Mercy. But Our Lord said to her, 'Do
not look at yourself. Have
confidence in My Mercy. It is precisely because you are weak and wretched that
I have chosen you.' (an 'echo' of what Our Lord constantly said to Sister
Josefa Menendez)
She wrote this when she made her Perpetual Vows: 'I am the spouse of Jesus
forever! I belong forever to my dear Congregation of Jesus and Mary!
MAGNIFICAT! How can I thank my God worthily? May I now become a holy religious
for the glory of God and the honor of my Institute!'
LAST YEARS (1928-1929)
Her health continued to decline after she made her Perpetual Vows. She was
tempted to discouragement as stated before, but Our Lord encouraged her in the
depths of her heart....and once she even heard the voice of Our Lady doing the
same!
She continued writing her 'Autobiography', but it became harder for her to
remember everything Jesus said, especially when the communications were
lengthy. She sometimes begged Him, 'Dear Jesus, make me remember all
that!' or, 'My Jesus, You will have to write that down Yourself
because I shall not remember it all!' And so, as a concession to her
weakness, Jesus in His Mercy allowed her to take notes as soon as He finished
what He was telling her, because she was still under obedience to write down
all He told her.
Christmas 1928 was her last one on earth. She was able to attend Midnight Mass
and receive Holy Communion. When Our Lord came into her heart she renewed her
'Vow of Greater Perfection' forever. She did this in aridity and dryness of
soul, however; Jesus was silent, but she felt a supernatural joy in having this
bitter suffering to offer Him.
As she grew weaker and weaker, the entries in the 'Autobiography' became
short and far between. On May 14, 1929 she felt so weak that she thought she
was going to die. She feared being alone at night, but she didn't want to
disturb anyone by crying out. She abandoned herself to Our Lord; then she felt
His presence at her bedside, and she heard Him say: 'I am going to spend
the night with you; I shall take care of you.'
Her last words in the 'Autobiography' are on July 29, 1929. She was
thinking of the kindness of her Superiors and the charity of her Sisters in
their care of her in her illness. She was distressed at not being able to repay
them properly. So she asked Our Lord about it. And He said:
'I will pay your debts Myself.'
'You will pay them as God?' she asked.
'Certainly, I shall pay them as God,' He answered. 'I shall pay them
with My Heart. To each person who has done you the least service or given you
the slightest pleasure I shall give My graces in return. But beside that, in
heaven you will pay your debts yourself. I have given you My Heart, It is
forever yours. You will distribute My riches through My Holy Mother.'
LAST ILLNESS AND DEATH (1929)
As has been said, Mother Ste-Cecile de Rome spent much of her religious life in
the infirmary of Sillery Convent. She suffered from the after-effects of
scarlet fever; she had a tonsillectomy (the doctors had to use artificial respiration
to bring her to); she had heart trouble and swelling in her arms and legs, and
tubercular glands began showing themselves on her neck. In the spring of 1926
she began to show symptoms of pulmonary tuberculosis. When that happened, she
was put in a separate area of the infirmary that was reserved for that
disease-far more advanced treatment than that given to St. Therese of Lisieux,
who had the same illness!
When she was well enough, she continued writing-not only her 'Autobiography',
but she also composed songs for community events, short plays for the
Novitiate, letters for her Superiors or for Sisters too busy or unable to write
their own letters. It was amazing how large was her written output! She never
shirked a duty or refused a service-her response was always, 'It is I who
am obliged, Mother.' Even when diagnosed with tuberculosis and was
undergoing treatment, she was still able to accomplish some hours of work each
day.
When she was confined to bed, she remembered her 'Vow of Greater Perfection'
about not doing 'any unnecessary involuntary movement of the body'. She
kept absolutely still in bed. As a result, her legs became swollen, purple and
extremely sensitive to the touch. One day, one of the other nuns asked her how
much she was suffering lying in the same position all the time. She replied
that it 'rested' her, and added in a teasing tone, 'That is my employment,
to be at ease in my bed!'
On April 29, 1929, her thirty-second birthday, she was moved to the
tuberculosis isolation ward of the infirmary for good. When her New York
friend, Bernadette Letourneau (Mother St-Omer de Luxeuil), went to the
infirmary, she was told by the nun in charge, 'Come and see Mother
Ste-Cecile de Rome before she leaves.' Mystified, Mother St-Omer followed
her. There, in a wheelchair, was Mother Ste-Cecile, ready to go to the isolation
ward! Mother St-Omer couldn't hide her emotion. So Mother Ste-Cecile said in a
teasing tone, 'Well, is that the way you treat me on my birthday? Where
are your courtly bows, your compliments?' Regaining her composure, Mother
St-Omer offered her greetings and well-wishes for her birthday, and they
exchanged a few friendly words. The infirmarian, sensing the emotional
atmosphere, took over the situation by saying, 'It is time to go, are you
ready?' Mother Ste-Cecile nodded her assent, and with her statue of Our
Lady of the Assumption in her arms, was taken to the isolation ward, where she
stayed until she died.
Three days later, Mother St-Omer visited her in her new room. And when the end
of the school year came in June, she obtained permission to visit more often.
In July Mother St-Omer could not keep back her tears at seeing her beloved
friend Dina suffer. Mother Ste-Cecile looked at her tenderly and said gently, 'Weep
as much as you like, have no fear of fatiguing me. I understand; if I were in
your place, I would not only cry, I would scream!'
The other Sisters would come to visit her when they could. Being around her was
like being on a retreat! Even visitors from other houses of the Canadian
Province remarked on the holy atmosphere that pervaded Sillery Convent....a
saintly soul WAS living there!
Mother St-Cecile never complained, never made any fuss if she was forgotten
when it came to serving her at mealtimes. She drew no attention to herself when
the cooks forgot to send her something from the kitchen. She offered the
sacrifice to Our Lord, until the kitchen Sisters begged Mother St-Romuald to
command Mother Ste-Cecile under obedience to ring the bell when things had been
forgotten.
But even she would say, 'Serve me after the others, Sister. You have much
to do and I can wait.'
She was not fussy, fond though she was of order in her surroundings. She made a
similar remark when the Sister in charge of cleaning her room rushed in full of
apologies: 'Please do not be distressed, Sister, it will do just as well
later.'
When visitors came to see her, she was always cordial to them; but she always tried to steer the conversation away from personal concerns, and focussed on those of the visitors. She constantly tried to smile in the face of suffering; if a rare instance of irritation crossed her face, she would humbly ask pardon: 'How like me that is! Pray for me, I beg of you.'
Three days before her death, she said to the infirmarian, 'I will help
you, Mother, I will help you.' 'Thank you!' the nun replied, 'you
will be my heavenly assistant!' And she fulfilled that 'position' very
well after her death!
[Deathbed photo of Mere Marie Ste Cecile de Rome- Infirmary of Sillery Convent,
1929] In the weeks before her death, one of the Sisters would always come and
pray the Rosary by Mother Ste-Cecile's bedside. This caused the dying nun to
say one day, 'Holy Communion is my bread, the Rosary, my dessert!' [I
love this saying of hers!]
Her parents, who had moved to Sillery when their daughter entered the convent,
came to see her. One day her father said to her, 'We have had many Masses
said for your recovery, we have prayed much....but it seems that you are not
helping us a great deal.' Her only reply was, 'Papa, I want only
God's Will.'
On September 3, 1929, the day before she died, her parents came to spend a few
minutes with her. Her father had his Rosary beads in his hand and was weeping.
Her mother gave her a few drops of water to relieve her thirst. Mother
Ste-Cecile was smiling at them. When her parents left, Mother St. Elizabeth,
who was with her, asked, 'Did your parents' visit tire you?' She
replied simply, 'To see them suffering.'
She asked for prayers, saying, 'Pray that I may be faithful to the end.' In
the days before her death she received the Last Sacraments (Extreme Unction and
Viaticum). Those at her bedside said to each other, 'Did you notice how
lovingly she kissed the crucifix?'
Then she made Mother St. Elizabeth come closer to her, and she murmured, 'Mother,
I heard a voice saying to me fifteen times, 'Bienheureuse, bienheureuse.' (Blessed,
blessed)
Still fearing illusion, the Novice Mistress said, 'Oui, vous etes bien
heureuse de mourier.' (Yes, you are very happy to be dying) The 'play on
words' is evident in the French. This reply did not effect Mother Ste-Cecile at
all--she wanted to be faithful in telling everything right to the very end of
her life.
On the morning of September 4, 1929, she had an attack of weakness, which
lasted all through the litanies, the Rosary, and the prayers for the dying. The
pain around her heart was so severe that she felt as it were being cut out of
her chest. During this time she fixed her eyes on a picture of the Eucharistic
Heart of Jesus that hung opposite her bed.
Two hours before she died, she heard someone say, 'Have courage!', and she
replied in a tone of conviction, 'JESUS IS PRAYING.' The smile that
lit up her face was so extraordinary to those present that they wanted it
photographed! (This is probably the origin of the famous 'deathbed photograph'
of Mother Ste-Cecile) She remained conscious to the very end.
About two o'clock in the afternoon Mother St. Elizabeth and Mother St-Omer were
saying the Rosary aloud by her bedside. Mother St-Cecile followed moved her
lips in response. At the fifth decade, the recitation was interrupted so as not
to tire her; but the dying nun raised her beads at eye level beseechingly as
though requesting the continuation of the prayers.
When the Rosary was done, she said, 'There is something in my eyes.' The
symptoms of death were showing themselves!
Later she said, 'My eyes are fading out! .... 'Death is coming for me!' she
exclaimed with joy. Turning to the Novice Mistress and to her friend, she
smiled at them both-a pure, angelic smile which they would never forget.
Around three in the afternoon, she grew worse. Her last words were, 'I AM
SUFFOCATING!' The Mothers, summoned in haste, reached her room in time to
receive her last breath. She died sitting up in bed, head thrown back, eyes
fixed on heaven-she died in the exact same position as her beloved St. Therese!
The date of her passing from this life was September 4, 1929.
No sooner had she died than an angelic expression settled on her features, and
a radiant smile, like hers in life but much more joyous, lit up her face. She
was thirty-two years old, and in the eighth of her religious life.
She was buried on September 7 in the convent cemetery, in the presence of a
large number of relatives and friends from Quebec City.
When the other houses of the Canadian Province heard about the communications
Mother Ste-Cecile received, they were at first puzzled. But it gave way
to 'an enthusiastic hymn of thanksgiving, expressing itself in a renewal
of fervor and an outburst of friendly rivalry in the pursuit of perfection.'
EPILOGUE:--AFTERMATH---INVESTIGATION, ADMIRATION, GLORIFICATION (1939-1993)
As soon as Mother Ste-Cecile de Rome died, letters and messages of admiration
and veneration came from all sides: from priests who knew and directed her,
teachers and classmates who were edified by her, relatives and friends who held
her in great esteem.
Her 'Autobiography' was published in the years after her death. Two
successive Cardinal Archbishops of Quebec City (Rouleau and Villeneuve) wrote
glowing letters of recommendation. Messages poured into Sillery Convent from
all over the world; from priests, religious, monks, nuns, Superiors from
various communities and from young people. Many favors, both temporal and
spiritual, were being granted through her intercession.
[Original headstone and tomb, Cemetery of the Religious of Jesus and Mary,
Sillery Convent, Quebec. Small headstone (top) 1929-1951, Large tomb slab
(bottom) 1951-1993]
Beginning in 1939, the Archdiocese of Quebec City began its investigation into
the life, virtues and writings of Mother Marie Ste-Cecile de Rome. Her body was
exhumed from its original grave in the convent cemetery, identified, and placed
in a new tomb at another part of the cemetery in 1951.
On February 13, 1961, her Cause was sent to Rome.
On July 13, 1982, her Cause was introduced at the Vatican.
On May 13, 1989, Dina Belanger was declared 'Venerable'.
On July 10, 1990, the cure of a New Brunswick man, Jules Chiasson, from
hydrocephalus ['water on the brain] as a baby in 1939 was approved.
And on March 20, 1993 (the day before the Canonization of her Congregation's
Foundress, St. Claudine Thevenet), Dina Belanger-Mother Marie Ste-Cecile de
Rome-was made 'Blessed' by Pope John Paul II.
Her tomb is now in the Chapel of Sillery Convent. Tragically, the convent
building that Blessed Dina knew was destroyed by fire in May 1983. It was
rebuilt, and her relics were placed in the new Chapel prior to her
Beatification. A small museum is also there, with photos and other belongings
of Dina.
Her Feastday (in the Archdiocese of Quebec and the Congregation of Jesus and
Mary) is September 4.
SOURCES FOR DINA BELANGER ARTICLE---PRINT AND PHOTOGRAPHIC
'IN DINA'S FOOTSTEPS' -published 1994, by the Religious of Jesus and Mary,
Quebec City and Montreal. Written by Sister Ghislaine Boucher, RJM. Translated
into English by Sister Florestine Audette, RJM
'THE COURAGE TO LOVE'-published 1986, by the Congregation of Jesus and Mary,
Rome, Italy. Written by Sister Irene Leger, RJM. Translated by Sister
Marie-Therese Carlos, RJM
'A CANADIAN MYSTIC OF OUR DAY'-published 1946, by the Congregation of Jesus and
Mary, Sillery, Quebec, Canada. Written by Mother Mary Saint Cuthbert, RJM
'CANTICLE OF LOVE-AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF MOTHER MARIE STE-CECILE DE ROME, RJM (Dina
Belanger)-published 1961, Quebec, Canada. Translated from the French by Mother
Mary Saint Stephen, RJM
'UN VIE DANS LE CHRIST' (an early French biography of Dina
Belanger)-publishing date unknown. Written by Dom Leonce Crenier, OSB (in
reference to the 'Deception of August 24, 1924, and the testimony of her Novice
Mistress about the 'chalice of suffering' and Dina's physical reactions to it)
Pictures for this article were purchased by me (Barb Finnegan) at Sillery
Convent in 1994 and 1998. Photographs were made by me during the same visits.
The Profession photo of Dina (full-length) came from the book, 'PRAISED FOREVER
BE JESUS AND MARY', published 1993 by 'Editions du Signe', Strasbourg, France.
Written by the Congregation of Jesus and Mary for the Beatification of Dina
Belanger and the Canonization of St. Claudine Thenevet on March 20 and 21,
1993. The 'deathbed photo' of Dina was copied from the book, 'A CANADIAN
MYSTIC OF OUR DAY', listed above. (*Note: you can click on the photos in this
article to enlarge them)
About the Author: Barb Finnegan comes from Upstate New York. Her interests
include travel, reading, music, dogs, and her Catholic Faith-especially the
Saints!
-The webmaster would like to offer a heartfelt 'thank you' to Barb
Finnegan for this extraordinary article. May God reward her for her efforts in
His regard.
Prayer to God through the intercession of Blessed Dina Belanger (from the
back of a holy card by the Congregation of Jesus and Mary)
"Father of everlasting goodness, You put into the heart of Blessed Dina
Belanger the burning desire to offer You on behalf of all mankind, the infinite
riches of the Heart of Jesus present in the Eucharist, and to live, like Mary,
closely united to Him whom she loved with an undivided heart.
May we, like her, find our joy in faithfully doing Your Will, and since You
revealed to her Your great desire to pour out upon the world the abundance of
Your graces, hear the prayer which we make for Your greater glory, and which we
entrust to her intercession. Amen"
-With ecclesiastical approval
"This is what I can do of myself! I give You this failing and leave to You
the task of repairing it, and for that I love you, oh! so much!" -Blessed
Dina Belanger
SOURCE : https://www.mysticsofthechurch.com/2010/09/blessed-dina-belanger-mother-ste-cecile.html
Maria Dina Adelaide Bélanger, nacque il 30 aprile 1897 a Quebec, Canada; figlia dei coniugi Ottavio Bélanger e Serafina Marte, fu praticamente figlia unica, perché un fratellino nato 17 mesi dopo di lei, morì verso i tre mesi di vita.
In famiglia e fra le coetanee, fu sempre chiamata Dina; di natura piuttosto sensibile e violenta, fu educata dai genitori con una pedagogia efficace e saggia; le condizioni della famiglia erano agiate, per cui essendo figlia unica e senza problemi economici, avrebbe potuto crescere anche egoista e capricciosa.
Ma l’esempio edificante dei suoi pii genitori, l’educò ad un comportamento diverso; come Dina raccontò nella sua Autobiografia, essi erano dotati di grande generosità, soccorrevano i poveri con discrezione e in segreto distribuivano molte elemosine, consolavano i derelitti, con parole d’incoraggiamento e di religiosità, con visite frequenti e non affrettate; e Dina già da bambina, accompagnava la mamma nelle sue visite di carità.
A sei anni, cominciò a frequentare la scuola delle “Suore di Notre-Dame” e poi per le classi secondarie, la scuola “Jacques Cartier”; a 10 anni il 2 maggio 1907, fece la Prima Comunione e ricevé la Cresima; scrisse di quel giorno: “Gesù era in me e io in Lui”.
Successivamente, quando scriverà l’Autobiografia, Dina Bélanger, descriverà le varie tappe del suo percorso spirituale, che la porterà ad un’unione mistica con Cristo e noi qui citeremo di volta in volta, qualche sua nota.
Il 20 marzo 1908, quindi ad 11 anni, un Giovedì Santo, ebbe un primo colloquio con Gesù, “Era la prima volta che capivo così bene la sua voce, interiormente, si capisce, voce dolce e melodiosa che m’inondò di felicità”.
Nel 1911 e per due anni, perfezionò la sua formazione culturale, presso il Convento Pensionato Bellevue delle “Suore di Notre-Dame”; agli esami si classificò prima; il 1° Venerdì di ottobre del 1911 volle consacrare la sua verginità al Signore, perché già da allora aveva nel cuore, il forte desiderio di donarsi a Lui.
Aveva una spiccata attitudine per la musica e fin dagli otto anni, aveva iniziato lo studio del pianoforte; a gennaio 1914 conseguì il diploma di “classe superiore” e a giugno dello stesso anno, quello di professoressa di pianoforte e subito dopo ebbe l’abilitazione all’insegnamento.
Per il suo particolare talento musicale, Dina Bélanger, a 19 anni, nell’ottobre 1916 si trasferì per due anni a New York, presso le Suore di Notre-Dame, per perfezionarsi al Conservatorio nello studio del pianoforte e in armonia e composizione; le note del Conservatorio, che la riguardano, portano la menzione “Eccellente”.
Come per tante anime elette, che nei primi tempi della loro vocazione religiosa, hanno conosciuto il tormento del dubbio e la “notte passiva dei sensi”, anche per Dina si presentò tale fase, che durò sei lunghi anni, a partire dal marzo 1917; le lotte intime erano terribili, il maligno tentatore scatenava la sua violenza, instillava dubbi e sconforto in continuazione, ma Dina, aggrappata al Cuore di Gesù, confidava in Lui per superare quel periodo.
Nel 1918 tornò in famiglia e si iscrisse ad un corso di piano e di armonia per corrispondenza, seguendolo per tre anni; alternando lo studio con concerti in favore delle opere di beneficenza; il suo nome nei programmi era quello di un’artista e gli applausi alle sue esibizioni erano calorosi.
In quegli anni dedicati allo studio di perfezionamento e ai concerti pubblici e privati, Dina non smise mai di concentrarsi nella sua vita ascetica, intessuta di note mistiche, senza lasciarsi distrarre dal suo originario ardente desiderio di donarsi a Cristo.
E l’11 agosto 1921, decise di entrare nella “Congregazione delle Suore di Gesù e Maria” a Quebec; una Istituzione fondata nel 1818 a Lione in Francia, da santa Claudine Thévenet (30-3-1774 – 3-2-1837).
Dopo il postulandato, il 15 febbraio 1922, ne vestì l’abito religioso, prese il nome di ‘Suor Maria di Santa Cecilia Romana’ e iniziò il noviziato a Sillery.
Già un mese dopo, il 25 marzo 1922 le fu concesso di fare i voti privati di povertà, castità e obbedienza; la gioia provata da suor Maria di S. Cecilia, fu grande, perché finalmente si era potuta consacrare al Signore, senza la minima riserva, totalmente e senza ripensamenti; la professione pubblica dei voti, fatta il 15 agosto 1923, non fu altro che una conferma della sua gioia, provata già intensamente con la professione privata.
Per il suo titolo di studio, ricevette poi l’incarico d’insegnare musica nel convento di St. Michel e in quello di Sillery; ma la sua debole costituzione fisica e il male in incubazione, la costrinsero a lunghi periodi di cura in infermeria.
Fu in questo periodo, che la superiora locale, colpita dalla sua spiritualità, le chiese di scrivere la sua Autobiografia; suor Maria accettò per obbedienza e a partire dal marzo 1924, cominciò a scrivere quelle note, che ci hanno permesso di penetrare in una vita interiore di grande ricchezza.
Il 15 agosto del 1924, sentì il Signore dirle: “Farai la professione e poi, dopo un anno, proprio il 15 agosto, nella festa dell’Assunzione di Mia Madre, verrò a prenderti con la morte”.
Suor Maria pensava alla morte fisica, invece era la morte mistica; difatti da quel 15 agosto si sentì assorbita in Dio; “Dio ha assorbito il mio essere tutto intero; annientata in Cristo Gesù, vivo per Lui nell’Adorabile Trinità la vita dell’eternità; Lui, Cristo Gesù vive al mio posto sulla terra”.
Dal 1923 al 1927, scrisse dieci composizioni musicali, che esprimono le sue esperienze di unione mistica: Il 9 aprile 1926 riprese l’insegnamento della musica, e il 10 luglio andò a St. Michel, per un periodo di ritiro e di riposo, ma la tubercolosi che la minava, nel gennaio 1927 prese il sopravvento, costringendola a tornare in infermeria.
Ciò nonostante, fu ammessa ai voti perpetui, che poté pronunciare il 15 agosto 1928; la spiritualità della giovane suor Maria di S. Cecilia Romana, s’inseriva perfettamente in quella della Congregazione di Gesù e Maria, spiritualità cristocentrica e mariana, che ha la sua fonte nell’amore del Cuore di Gesù e del Cuore Immacolato di Maria e che è centrata nell’Eucaristia.
Fra alti e bassi, caratteristici della malattia, e con brevi periodi trascorsi in comunità, alla fine il 30 aprile 1929, suor Maria entrò definitivamente in infermeria, rimanendovi fino alla morte; vivendo una vita di unione perfetta con Dio, sopportando ogni sofferenza, rassegnata nel Signore; finché poté, continuò dal suo letto a dare consigli alle maestre di musica, componendo e trascrivendo spartiti musicali.
Morì il 4 settembre 1929, nel convento Jésus-Marie a Sillery, Quebec, a soli 32 anni, dei quali otto di vita religiosa, circondata dalla fama di santità e di virtù non comuni. La salma fu tumulata nella chiesa del convento suddetto.
Dina Bélanger (Suor Maria di S. Cecilia Romana), è stata proclamata Beata il 20 marzo 1993 da papa Giovanni Paolo II; il giorno dopo fu proclamata santa la fondatrice della sua Congregazione, Claudine Thévenet.
Aveva promesso alle consorelle: “In cielo sarò una piccola mendicante d’amore; ecco la mia missione e la comincio immediatamente, donerò la gioia”.
Autore: Antonio Borrelli
