St. Claudine Thévenet, foundress of the Religious of Jesus and Mary, encouraged the sisters in her community to live this excerpt from the Pious Association of the Sacred Heart’s Rule of Life: “When we go alone on a long and difficult journey, we soon grow weary … on the contrary, when several go together, they walk with assurance, courage, and fresh support.”
Bearing this in mind, St. Claudine sent the sisters out on mission, and the Religious of Jesus and Mary remain a mission community 200 years after their founding.
In Haiti, one of the present-day mission fields of the Religious of Jesus and Mary, it is imperative to journey with companions because the route is difficult. Haitians speak about moun pa m (“my people”), the people of their social network they can call upon to journey with them. These people may not be blood relatives, but based upon their shared journey, they have developed a strong kinship…
