Introduction
“Ever since I was a little girl I have been drowning in grace, and even now it’s increasing all the time… Long before I existed, from all eternity, He wanted to be my friend, my brother, my father, my husband… He was the one who loved me first!
… Oh, infinite love of my Jesus, burn my heart with love for you!” (Notebook 34)
“I want to be in the hands of the Good Lord, like a little ball of wax that can be shaped as you wish; offer no resistance, but allow myself to be shaped by the Will of the divine Master: My Lord, I want everything you want, everything the way you want it and for as long as you want it!” (Notebook 32)
“I will achieve great confidence through love, the love and simplicity of childhood.”
If we were playing the portrait game together, who would you think of?
If you answer Sainte Therese of the Child Jesus, you are getting hotter!
But it is not her whom we are talking about, even though she was her contemporary and, like her, distinguished herself by a profound spirituality of spiritual childhood.
Her name is Blessed Eugénie Joubert!
She will be our guide as we discover the path of spiritual childhood.
If you wish, she will be our guide to the path of spiritual childhood that the Lord Jesus invites us to follow in order to reach the Kingdom of Heaven.
Before we follow in her footsteps, let us begin with a brief outline of her life, for those who do not know her (see www.bienheureuse-eugenie-joubert.fr).
Eugénie Joubert was born in Haute-Loire in 1876. She was the 4th child in a Christian family of eight children.
She stood out with her communicative joy, despite the fact that her childhood was marked by the separation of her parents.
Since she was 5, she had been a boarder in a religious institution.
At the age of 19, she answered Jesus’ Call and joined the Sisters of the Holy Family of the Sacred Heart. She made her profession in 1897.
She was sent to the suburbs of Paris. Her short life was devoted to teaching catechism to the very young. Her apostolate was rooted in her religious life which radiated union with Jesus.
She exhausted herself with work; in 1902, she was bedridden with tuberculosis. In the silence of the infirmary, a loving intimacy developed between Jesus and her.
Eugénie died in Liège (Belgium) in 1904, calling out the name of her Beloved.
Our spiritual journey will be as follows:
We will start by defining what spiritual childhood is, then have a look at the virtues inherent in this spirituality before wondering whether spiritual childhood is a small path to holiness. Finally, we will develop the specific nature that Blessed Eugénie offers to the Church by leading us along this spiritual path.
