Dear Faithful Guards of Honor,
The year is coming to an end and already our eyes are on the Christmas holidays. The poverty of the manger reminds us that material things, of which the Son of God has stripped Himself, are secondary. If we are concerned about material preparations, perhaps we could think first of all about preparing our hearts by taking stock of our various relationships. Christmas is the perfect holiday to renew ties and reconcile. This is the advice that our foundress liked to give to the Guards of Honour of her time, which, in the end, is not so different from ours in this area…
Holy season of Advent with Joseph and Mary humbly walking towards Bethehem…
In communion with all
of you, Geneviève Vignes, coordinator for the Headquarters.
Fraternal
charity
If contacts were always easy, characters perfectly sympathetic, relations constantly amiable, it would be conceivable that loving one’s neighbor is a sweet and easy thing. But it is quite different. We come up against shortcomings, demands, injustices, and sometimes malevolence or attacks such that it takes great Christian courage to practice the Lord’s precept: “Love one another”.
Fraternal charity is synonymous with benevolence, kindness, and devotion to one’s neighbor. It maintains union, peace, joy. It has charms that attract, that touch, delicacy that seduces. Charity is a flower that has its roots in the most intimate part of the Heart of Jesus!
But if the effort it requires is sometimes very painful, the result obtained is infinitely consoling. Often, when thinking about our eternal future, we have wondered if we are in a state of grace. But Jesus clearly told us that we will only be recognized as truly his disciples if we love one another. It goes without saying that, loving our brethren, being united to them by the bonds of fraternal charity, our Lord will consider us as his disciples. Therefore, possessing this life of grace, we can one day hope for the life of glory promised by God.
This precious assurance must stimulate our efforts to practice fraternal charity, to encourage reconciliation and to forgive those who have hurt us. The preparations for the feast of the Nativity lend themselves wonderfully well to this praiseworthy exercise. Let’s not deprive ourselves of it! (Sr. Marie of the Sacred Heart Bernaud)
Some of the main Holidays of the month:
1: St. Charles de Foucauld
6 1st Friday of the month dedicated to the Sacred Heart of Jesus
8: Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception
12: Our Lady of Guadalupe
14: St. John of the Cross
25: Nativity of the Lord and St. Albert Chmielowski – Guard of Honour
26: St. Stephen
27: St. John the Apostle (Plenary Indulgence)
28: St. Innocents
31: Holy Family
Sunday
(1-8-15-22 Sundays of Advent)
- We can benefit from the plenary indulgence by going to confession (8 days before or after the date), by receiving Communion on the feast day and by praying for the intentions of the Holy Father (+ an I believe in God, an Our Father, a Hail Mary) and/or any other prayer that springs from our heart! Indulgence: it is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due for sins, already erased as to the fault, which the faithful, well disposed (and under the determined conditions) receive for himself or for a deceased soul (never a living one). (Code of Canon Law of 1983, canon 992). Plenary indulgences completely free from the temporal punishment due for sins. (Canon 993).
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Our international gathering will take place from 24 to 27 April 2025 in BOURG EN BRESSE, cradle of the Guard of Honour.
Please note all the information you need to participate:
You will find on pages 2 and 3:
* The programme of these days
* The registration form must be filled in and sent to us by email (please note that it does not include accommodation):
* Bank details (IBAN) can be requested by email gdh.paray@free.fr
Without this registration form and payment, you will not be registered.
Deadline to register: February 28, 2025
Accommodation:
It includes exclusively the days and nights of the gathering.
- To book and pay for your accommodation online, click on this link
: - https://congres.ain-tourisme.com/ in French
- https://congres.aintourisme.com/ in English
Transport:
You will have to provide your own transport from the train station or airport to get to the accommodation. This remains at your expense. If necessary, here is a link to the shuttles: https://www.rubis.grandbourg.fr/rubiscityla-navette-du-centre-ville/
On the other hand, during the meeting, a transport service is provided to access the various places of the program (hotel trips, meeting room, basilica, cemetery, Paray le Monial, etc.)
For bookings and stays longer than those of the Meeting, please manage it directly with the hotels, including catering. This service is not covered by the organization of the Meeting.
If this hotel proposal does not suit you, you will find in the Attachment some additional contact details of hotels, gîtes, bed and breakfasts, but you will have to make these trips yourself.
In this case, to participate in the meeting: don’t forget to fill in the registration form, tick the box “I will stay and travel by my own means” and pay your participation of 300 €.
Of course, we remain at your disposal to answer your questions. Phone: 09 51 96 47 90 or gdh.paray@free.fr
We assure you of our prayers.
The entire Headquarters Team
Mother Maria Guadalupe, Sister Celina Garcia de la Mora and Geneviève Vignes
Page 2: Programme of the Gathering
next page 3: registration form for this gathering (which will be validated with your rules – don’t forget to contact us to receive the IBAN of gdh.paray@free.fr)