My name is Sr, Thérèse of the Holy Face (a reference to the face of Christ for the uninitiated). I am a French national from Guadeloupe (West Indies). I have been a member of the Community for 20 years. Jesus came and plucked me from university in Paris where I was studying mathematics.

From early childhood I received a basic religious education. When I left my island for mainland France I entered, at every level, into a phase of autonomy to which my faith was not imune: what  sort of a Christian was I?  Who was Christ for me? What importance did the Eucharist have in my life? Was it simply a tradition I had to carry on with?

With all these questions going through my mind, I came across a prayer group which became the channel of a significant spiritual experience. I discovered a living God not at all distant from my life. I can share two elements of that experience: in front of Jesus exposed in the Blessed Sacrament I tasted God’s infinite love for me, I had met Someone who loved me in a unique way. Furthermore, when a few members of the prayer group prayed for me, I saw my whole life in an instant and was made aware of God’s faithfulness at various moments of my life. I had touched something of God, something great and beautiful that nothing and nobody could rob me of. Not only was I convinced of God’s existence but I knew from within that He was in me and with me.

Faced with such Love a calling to religious life (first experienced at about 12 years of age) resurfaced in my heart: a desire to give my whole life to God in order to love Him and make His Love known.

During the time of discernment that followed I providentially met a person at the Faculty who was going on a retreat with the Community. I decided to go on that same retreat as well to find out God’s will for me. I have not been disappointed!

I was struck by the liturgy, the fervent praise expressed in this community, the quality of fraternal life, the beauty of God emanating from the very simple quality of life, as well as its  evangelisation outreach. I, therefore, chose the Community because it was apparent to me that my great desire to give myself to God could find its full expression in a life where contemplation and mission intermingled so strongly.

Religious life for me is a means to love to the full. It is a way that shows that God exists and that it is worthwhile to consecrate one’s whole life to Him. Every day I learn to surrender and let myself be enlightened by God and to become ever more available and ready to make Him known and loved. “The wind blows where it will. You hear the sound it makes but you do not know where it comes from, or where it goes. So it is with everyone begotten of the Spirit (Jn 3,8). To follow Christ is an adventure : letting God constantly surprise us and remaining open to renewal in the Spirit…

 Sr Thérèse of the Holy Face

I was born in Kazakhstan. Surely it isn’t often  one comes across a text in French about someone coming from so far away.

My family wasn’t a practising one.It was a difficult situation, for my mother was Orthodox and my father Muslim. However, at the age of seven, I was baptized in the Orthodox Church. Nevertheless, we never spoke about God at home.It is the dramatic event of my brother’s death (I was 16 at the time) which started my family along the path of faith. The thought of an eternal life to come was a consolation to us.

My godfather, a Catholic, encouraged us to join him in church. The priests had formed a team of young people to whom they entrusted little missions. Very quickly I spent most of my free time in church whilst still continuing my accountancy studies. I experienced great joy when participating in all those activities (at Mass, catechism, evangelization, etc.)

In 1999 the Community of the Beatitudes launched their first Youth Festival in Kazakhstan. During a prayer vigil I felt Jesus was calling me to consecrated life, although I had plans of getting married ! The sister who prayed with me expressed in her prayer exactly what was in my heart ! However, I told her : “Just for today” !

I asked to spend some time with other friends in the house that had just opened in Kokchetav. I felt at home ! It is during adoration in the Community chapel that I ENCOUNTERED Jesus and felt the great love He had for me.

Today, after seventeen years of life in community, I give thanks to the Lord for having called me and I discover every day the beauty of a consecrated life within the Community of the Beatitudes. Life with Jesus is a daily adventure, full of unexpected events, surprises, happiness and I give thanks to the Lord for all that He is continually doing in my life.

If doubt fills your heart; don’t hesitate, don’t be afraid, Jesus will fulfil your expectations and give you a hundredfold !

Sr. Klara Misericordia

I’m a New-Zealander of English origin. I was sixteen months old when we left England for New Zealand, a country my father fell in love with in the course of his maritime journeys.

In my youth my aspirations were more of an artistic nature with an attraction to the fine arts. For different reasons this dream never came true.I went through different types of training which allowed me to work whilst seeking my vocation. At the time I was already thinking of a consecrated life… but where ?

I had to wait for God’s hour! This time of somewhat painful waiting proved necessary to learn not to turn away when confronted with God’s silences. After a 6-year search I received the answer I was waiting for. In a prayer group a video on a ”new community” in France was making the rounds. A German/New Zealand couple in touch with “that community” in Germany desired the Community to be known in NZ I discovered young people experiencing an intense life of prayer and what’s more there were consecrated artists present ! That is how I discovered the “Community of the Beatitudes”.

It needed something strong and somewhat out of the ordinary to convince a rather timid soul to leave everything/ family, work, country, culture and language to follow the call received in her heart and set sail toward the unknown.

Today my heart is full of gratitude. In Him I have learned to live a new, ample, free life : the life of the Kingdom. I have become a citizen of that Kingdom searching the way in my heart that I may live ever more deeply in that Kingdom and communicate it to all around me.

The advice I would give is to always listen to our heart’s aspirations : they are the desires God implants in us, and He can do all things for He is with us and on our side !

Sr. Claire of Assisi

Born in Grenoble, I entered the Community aged 23.

When I was confirmed at the age of 16 I experienced a true outpouring of the Holy Spirit which changed my life. In a mysterious way I heard God say to me: “Sandrine I trust you to proclaim me to others!” This was serious .I felt great peace and joy, an inner conviction that I had to commit myself to God and his Church.

I started studying in Paris: philosophy followed by secretarial training. During that time I joined a missionary fraternity: a prayer group of young people with whom I had the joy of sharing my faith and participating in evangelization missions. I experienced God’s power in my daily life.

Two unforgettable experiences deepened within me the desire to give my life as a religious :

• a humanitarian experience with “rag men” in a Cairo slum in Egypt with Sr. Emmanuelle whose testimony impressed me so much : give everything for others !
• and a second experience during an incredible week of prayer and sharing with thousands of young people from the whole world during the Youth Festival in Medjugorje. At the end, I was no longer the same ; it was as if the Lord was telling me: “If you follow me I will fulfil you.” I knew I could count on His Faithfulness, so I said “Yes” to Him. Having decided, immense was my joy !

Two years before, during a Holy Week retreat with the Community of the Beatitudes at Nouan-le-Fuzelier, I remembered saying “Lord, if one day you should call me to consecrate my life to you, it is here I shall enter !”

My calling to the Community of the Beatitudes was so strong that one year later I asked to enter and that was twenty six years ago ! So much for God’s sense of humour !

To love in giving and giving with love !

Jesus fulfils the heart of those who give Him everything. As for the hope within me, I have not been disappointed !

  Sr. Claire Sandrine

We got married in 1993 and have three children.  We are Belgian nationals, of flemish origin and live in Flanders (Belgium).

We met the Community as « tourists » while visiting the Abbey of  Saint-Martin-du-Canigou. We were immediately struck by the joy, the beauty of the liturgy and the communion of all states of life.

In our spiritual quest we had been searching for quite a while ! And it is in the Community that we truly met Christ ! Whaoo ! What a change in our life. We discovered a diversity, both in prayer and in spirituality : Byzantine Vespers, entry into the Shabbat, Israeli dances, Charismatic Renewal, Carmelite spirituality. The international dimension of the Community broadened our vision of the world tremendously..

What we like in the Community is this equilibrium between a contemplative life and an active mission orientated outreach. It is expressed both through inner quiet prayer, adoration before the Blessed Sacrament and through praise and charismatic prayer.

What lovely unity !

Bart and Veerle

I’m Austrian and have been in the Community of the Beatitudes for 22 years. Before following the Lord’s calling I was a law student intending to train as a diplomate. The Lord made good use of my attraction for different countries and cultures by calling me as His ambassador to… Peru, to proclaim His love as a missionary.

How did it come about ? My path toward consecrated life started with a Mass celebrated by the Community of the Beatitudes in Lisieux. Touched by the beauty of the liturgy, by the joy of its consecrated members singing and dancing before God, I immediately knew that Jesus was inviting me to join in that joy.

A consecrated sister gave me a booklet on the Community’s mission in Peru. It must be said that I had been looking for quite some time for a location to experience a missionary activity. That is when my adventure with Jesus started.

After working as a « volunteer » I decided to join the Community in Peru. Having worked on several evangelization projects in different countries, I am now back in Peru. I can only admire God’s faithfulness, His love for me which sustains me and the joy of having given my life to Jesus.

I can see every day the marvels God achieves in the lives of the poor who cry out to Him. Jesus is present : He consoles the afflicted, He strengthens the weak, He heals the broken-hearted, where there is despondency He gives hope. My joy is to be His little instrument, a witness of His mercy and of the joy experienced when giving one’s life to Jesus !

Sr Eva of Jésus

My name is Sr, Thérèse of the Holy Face (a reference to the face of Christ for the uninitiated). I am a French national from Guadeloupe (West Indies). I have been a member of the Community for 20 years. Jesus came and plucked me from university in Paris where I was studying mathematics.

From early childhood I received a basic religious education. When I left my island for mainland France I entered, at every level, into a phase of autonomy to which my faith was not imune: what  sort of a Christian was I?  Who was Christ for me? What importance did the Eucharist have in my life? Was it simply a tradition I had to carry on with?

With all these questions going through my mind, I came across a prayer group which became the channel of a significant spiritual experience. I discovered a living God not at all distant from my life. I can share two elements of that experience: in front of Jesus exposed in the Blessed Sacrament I tasted God’s infinite love for me, I had met Someone who loved me in a unique way. Furthermore, when a few members of the prayer group prayed for me, I saw my whole life in an instant and was made aware of God’s faithfulness at various moments of my life. I had touched something of God, something great and beautiful that nothing and nobody could rob me of. Not only was I convinced of God’s existence but I knew from within that He was in me and with me.

Faced with such Love a calling to religious life (first experienced at about 12 years of age) resurfaced in my heart: a desire to give my whole life to God in order to love Him and make His Love known.

During the time of discernment that followed I providentially met a person at the Faculty who was going on a retreat with the Community. I decided to go on that same retreat as well to find out God’s will for me. I have not been disappointed!

I was struck by the liturgy, the fervent praise expressed in this community, the quality of fraternal life, the beauty of God emanating from the very simple quality of life, as well as its  evangelisation outreach. I, therefore, chose the Community because it was apparent to me that my great desire to give myself to God could find its full expression in a life where contemplation and mission intermingled so strongly.

Religious life for me is a means to love to the full. It is a way that shows that God exists and that it is worthwhile to consecrate one’s whole life to Him. Every day I learn to surrender and let myself be enlightened by God and to become ever more available and ready to make Him known and loved. “The wind blows where it will. You hear the sound it makes but you do not know where it comes from, or where it goes. So it is with everyone begotten of the Spirit (Jn 3,8). To follow Christ is an adventure : letting God constantly surprise us and remaining open to renewal in the Spirit…

 Sr Thérèse of the Holy Face

I was born in Kazakhstan. Surely it isn’t often  one comes across a text in French about someone coming from so far away.

My family wasn’t a practising one.It was a difficult situation, for my mother was Orthodox and my father Muslim. However, at the age of seven, I was baptized in the Orthodox Church. Nevertheless, we never spoke about God at home.It is the dramatic event of my brother’s death (I was 16 at the time) which started my family along the path of faith. The thought of an eternal life to come was a consolation to us.

My godfather, a Catholic, encouraged us to join him in church. The priests had formed a team of young people to whom they entrusted little missions. Very quickly I spent most of my free time in church whilst still continuing my accountancy studies. I experienced great joy when participating in all those activities (at Mass, catechism, evangelization, etc.)

In 1999 the Community of the Beatitudes launched their first Youth Festival in Kazakhstan. During a prayer vigil I felt Jesus was calling me to consecrated life, although I had plans of getting married ! The sister who prayed with me expressed in her prayer exactly what was in my heart ! However, I told her : “Just for today” !

I asked to spend some time with other friends in the house that had just opened in Kokchetav. I felt at home ! It is during adoration in the Community chapel that I ENCOUNTERED Jesus and felt the great love He had for me.

Today, after seventeen years of life in community, I give thanks to the Lord for having called me and I discover every day the beauty of a consecrated life within the Community of the Beatitudes. Life with Jesus is a daily adventure, full of unexpected events, surprises, happiness and I give thanks to the Lord for all that He is continually doing in my life.

If doubt fills your heart; don’t hesitate, don’t be afraid, Jesus will fulfil your expectations and give you a hundredfold !

Sr. Klara Misericordia

I’m a New-Zealander of English origin. I was sixteen months old when we left England for New Zealand, a country my father fell in love with in the course of his maritime journeys.

In my youth my aspirations were more of an artistic nature with an attraction to the fine arts. For different reasons this dream never came true.I went through different types of training which allowed me to work whilst seeking my vocation. At the time I was already thinking of a consecrated life… but where ?

I had to wait for God’s hour! This time of somewhat painful waiting proved necessary to learn not to turn away when confronted with God’s silences. After a 6-year search I received the answer I was waiting for. In a prayer group a video on a ”new community” in France was making the rounds. A German/New Zealand couple in touch with “that community” in Germany desired the Community to be known in NZ I discovered young people experiencing an intense life of prayer and what’s more there were consecrated artists present ! That is how I discovered the “Community of the Beatitudes”.

It needed something strong and somewhat out of the ordinary to convince a rather timid soul to leave everything/ family, work, country, culture and language to follow the call received in her heart and set sail toward the unknown.

Today my heart is full of gratitude. In Him I have learned to live a new, ample, free life : the life of the Kingdom. I have become a citizen of that Kingdom searching the way in my heart that I may live ever more deeply in that Kingdom and communicate it to all around me.

The advice I would give is to always listen to our heart’s aspirations : they are the desires God implants in us, and He can do all things for He is with us and on our side !

Sr. Claire of Assisi

Born in Grenoble, I entered the Community aged 23.

When I was confirmed at the age of 16 I experienced a true outpouring of the Holy Spirit which changed my life. In a mysterious way I heard God say to me: “Sandrine I trust you to proclaim me to others!” This was serious .I felt great peace and joy, an inner conviction that I had to commit myself to God and his Church.

I started studying in Paris: philosophy followed by secretarial training. During that time I joined a missionary fraternity: a prayer group of young people with whom I had the joy of sharing my faith and participating in evangelization missions. I experienced God’s power in my daily life.

Two unforgettable experiences deepened within me the desire to give my life as a religious :

• a humanitarian experience with “rag men” in a Cairo slum in Egypt with Sr. Emmanuelle whose testimony impressed me so much : give everything for others !
• and a second experience during an incredible week of prayer and sharing with thousands of young people from the whole world during the Youth Festival in Medjugorje. At the end, I was no longer the same ; it was as if the Lord was telling me: “If you follow me I will fulfil you.” I knew I could count on His Faithfulness, so I said “Yes” to Him. Having decided, immense was my joy !

Two years before, during a Holy Week retreat with the Community of the Beatitudes at Nouan-le-Fuzelier, I remembered saying “Lord, if one day you should call me to consecrate my life to you, it is here I shall enter !”

My calling to the Community of the Beatitudes was so strong that one year later I asked to enter and that was twenty six years ago ! So much for God’s sense of humour !

To love in giving and giving with love !

Jesus fulfils the heart of those who give Him everything. As for the hope within me, I have not been disappointed !

  Sr. Claire Sandrine