Novena for Nicolas Barré's feastday on 21st October
Novena in preparation for the feastday of Nicolas Barré -
a time of prayer from 13th October to 21st October
Nicolas Barré, the founder of the Institute of Infant Jesus Sisters, was born on 21st October 1621 in Amiens, France. He died on 31st May 1686. Just over three hundred years later, he was beatified by Pope John Paul II on the 7th March 1999. His feastday is on 21st October.
If you would like to join in the Novena in preparation for Nicolas Barré's feastday, it runs from 13th October to 21st October. You may wish to set aside time to reflect on some of his writings which you will find if you click the following link: Inspirations from the writings of Nicolas Barre
Or you may wish to make use of the Novena in the website of the Singapore Province, using the following link: http://www.chij-sisters.org/writeups/Novena%20to%20Fr%20Barre.pdf
At the most recent Council of the Institute, Marie Pitcher, the Institute Leader, said:
"Our founder Blessed Nicolas Barré ... was a man of prayer, a man of compassion, who was deeply aware of
the lived experience of those around him. He was in touch with life as it was in 17th century Rouen, in touch with people – the rich and the poor, adults, young people and the vulnerable. His whole life was centred on God. He listened, he prayed and he noticed particularly the plight of the children in the streets. His prayer led to awareness, discernment and action. One step led to another in his response to God’s call in his life. His attentiveness to the promptings of the Holy Spirit, his own human giftedness and the wholehearted response of the young women he gathered around him to teach the children led to the birth of the Institute. Our journey as an Institute continues with this same attentiveness to God’s call more than three centuries later.
"The spirit that Nicolas Barré wanted us to embrace is rooted deeply in the mystery of the incarnation, “We must follow Jesus in all His ways” (FM 10). Contemplation of the Word made flesh in our lives opens our hearts to see as God sees and to respond as Jesus responds. We grow in our commitment and openness to recognising God’s presence and God’s gentle and, at times, challenging guidance in the events of each day. This spirit is echoed in the orientations from the CA, “rooted in the mystery of the Word made flesh, who dwells among us (John1:14), we are called...”.