Flowers of Marie Rivier by Marie Gilbert

MARIE RIVIER A WALK THROUGH THE GARDEN OF HER LIFE - 1

Drawings by Sr Veronique Metivier

MARIE RIVIER A WALK THROUGH THE GARDEN OF HER LIFE First Flower

“Oh, it’s evident that you love God!”

Venerable Mother Rivier, having written to a priest she knew who was suffering from a very painful illness, received this reply from him: Your letter, Reverend Superior, made me forget my sufferings, there being so much charm and delight in what your heart tells me. . . . Oh, it’s evident that you love God! . . .

MARIE RIVIER A WALK THROUGH THE GARDEN OF HER LIFE Second Flower

“It’s precisely because it’s so worn-out that I don’t want you to give it to her.”

A certain sister, who was not yet aware of the spirit of faith of the holy Foundress, came one day to show her an undershirt, saying, “Mother, I think this undershirt is sufficiently worn-out to give to a needy woman at the door.” “It’s precisely because it’s so worn-out that I don’t want you to give it to her,” Mother Rivier replied brusquely. “I’d be too ashamed on Judgment Day if the Lord were to show me such a garment, for to clothe the poor is to clothe him, since he considers done to himself what we do to others.” And then she added, “If we cannot always give something new to the needy, whatever we do give them must at least be decent and properly mended.” At that very moment a better undershirt was brought to the poor woman.

MARIE RIVIER A WALK THROUGH THE GARDEN OF HER LIFE Third Flower

Lovely flowers of faith and charity

During the long harsh winter of 1830, our kind Foundress provided brand new clothes for a considerable number of poor people, especially for: • twelve young boys, in honor of the twelve apostles; • seven little girls, in honor of the blessed Virgin; • a little child, in honor of the Child Jesus; • a man, in honor of St. Joseph; • an elderly woman, in honor of St. Anne; • and, finally, two other men, in honor of our venerated patrons, St. Francis Regis and St. Aloysius Gonzaga. What a lovely bouquet of flowers! Does not this deed bespeak a wonderful life of faith and charity?

MARIE RIVIER A WALK THROUGH THE GARDEN OF HER LIFE Fifth Flower

The tears of Marie Rivier in the face of the atrocities of the French Revolutionists Sister Bernardine, who had lived with Marie Rivier for a long time, related this story of her devotion to the blessed Virgin, which our Venerable Foundress possessed to such a high degree: In 1828, Mother Rivier came to Mèze, where she had assigned me. The people of this town welcomed her with the veneration that her virtue deserved. After having seen each of us sisters individually to rekindle our fervor, she gathered us together several times to give us fiery exhortations on the duties of our holy state of life. Her zeal also led her to give the students important advice which did them the utmost good. And, despite the fatigue brought on by all these activities, when Sunday came along, she did not fail to give the usual Sunday instruction to the young and to the mothers who had gathered for this purpose. In the evening of this same day, a respectable woman of the locality came to see our kind Mother and invited her to visit an ancient abbey nearby where one could see the traces of the revolutionary impiety of 1793. Our Mother accepted the invitation, and the following day she visited the abbey with this woman and several of us sisters; I was one of them. As soon as we reached the place, Mother Rivier wanted to visit the abbey church first. She immediately knelt down when she noticed the altars that had been overthrown and the statues that had either been demolished or defaced, all of which made her recall the terrible things that had happened to religion in our country. We soon saw her crying, her tears falling on the flagstone floor of the sanctuary, like so many other sanctuaries where our lord had been treated so shamefully! We climbed up to the loft to get a better view of the desecration that had taken place, but she didn’t want to follow us. She thus stayed motionless in the same place, filled with grief and sobbing, making amends to the Lord. 8

As we left this church that had been treated so disgracefully, something else caught our attention and broke our dear Mother’s heart. We saw a large statue of the Virgin whose head had been hacked off during the Revolution. That sight immediately brought Mother to her knees once again, as she wailed and cried. Meanwhile, the woman who had invited her to visit this place tried to console her by telling her that heaven had avenged this sacrilege—that soon after the desecration, the one who had beheaded the statue had his own head cut off in a fortuitous accident. But Mother Rivier was totally absorbed in what she saw, and she continued to ask pardon of Mary for this terrible outrage. We had to coerce her in order to draw her away from this dismal place.

MARIE RIVIER A WALK THROUGH THE GARDEN OF HER LIFE Sixth Flower

Caught between two fires! . . . No matter what happened, Marie Rivier always showed remarkable trust in God. One day, as she was busy teaching the little girls of Montpezat, a well-meaning person suddenly interrupted her class to tell her that the dragoons—the soldiers who had just arrived in their area—would be searching the school, and that she had better hide the statue of the Virgin displayed in the hall. The young teacher, who was barely twenty-three at the time, hid the statue out of prudence, but then remained calm and peaceful in God’s hands. Shortly after, a woman came to her, saying, “Mademoiselle, a woman is dying and is begging that you come to assist her. Please come along; she wishes to see you. . . .” Marie Rivier was caught between two fires! . . . what should she do? . . . To dismiss the students ahead of time would be to show fear and distrust— something that did not square with her strength of soul. Delay her visit to the sick woman? . . . but what if she were to die without being assisted? . . . In the meantime, the dragoons will come. . . . Does not prudence require that a teacher be at the head of her flock? . . . Yes, but prudence must yield to the love of God. 10

Putting all her trust in the One for whom she will devote herself to others, she said to her students, “Children, I’m leaving you alone for a moment; be well-behaved and have no fear. But should the dragoons come and maltreat you, this ill-treatment will be the flowers for the crown that is reserved for you in heaven.” Then Marie Rivier left to assist the dying woman, to prepare her soul for the great passage from time to eternity. Her mission accomplished, she returned to school and found the children as quiet and peaceful as she had left them. She had done God’s work and God had done that of his servant: he had kept the soldiers away.

MARIE RIVIER A WALK THROUGH THE GARDEN OF HER LIFE Ninth Flower

“From now until dinner, there is time; put your trust in God.” Poverty was held in great honor at the beginning of our Congregation, so much so that the Mother and daughters often lacked the bare essentials. Now, one day, the sister who was in charge of the kitchen went to our kind Mother Rivier and said, “we have absolutely nothing but soup for dinner. what shall we do?” “From now until dinner, my daughter, there is time,” she replied; “put your trust in God.” The sister returned to the kitchen, but not without worrying, especially when she noticed that the forenoon was slipping away and that the little community of sisters was about to come to the dining room, only to find thin soup and black bread. Nevertheless, she did not dare return to Mother Rivier to tell her how anxious she was. Rather, she said to herself, “Didn’t she tell me to trust in God? . . . but he’s taking so long! . . . There’s so little time between now and dinner! . . .” As these thoughts were running through her mind, there was a loud knock at the door. She ran to open it and saw a woman standing there holding a large basket full of fish. The woman said, “Here, sister, my husband just made a fine catch, and he’d like to share some with you. Go, then, and empty this basket; there’ll be enough for everyone.” After thanking the kind woman and saying good-bye to her, the sister ran with great joy to show the fish to Mother Rivier. “Now, my daughter,” she said, “will you put your trust in God the next time? Don’t you see that he cares for us? Go quickly, and cook the fish; that’ll make us a fine dinner.” The little community had a wonderful treat.

MARIE RIVIER A WALK THROUGH THE GARDEN OF HER LIFE Tenth Flower “Go, my daughter, and pay your debts.” In Thueyts, on the eve of the country fair, the convent treasurer, Sister Thérèse, went to Mother Rivier and said, “Mother, would you please allow me to spend tomorrow in the country?” “But why?” Mother asked. “All our debtors will be coming here to be paid for the provisions I bought from them, and you know that I don’t have any money.” “Daughter of little faith!” Mother Rivier exclaimed. “Do you mean to say that you rely so little on divine providence? Isn’t there time between now and tomorrow? . . . Oh, you have so little trust in God!” And then she added, “No, you will not absent yourself. On the contrary, I want you to open all the doors of our convent and graciously welcome all those to whom we owe money, and pay them all!” Sister Thérèse, a person of great virtue, found no objections, and withdrew. Meanwhile, evening came, but not the money. Sister Thérèse was saying to herself, “These poor peasants will need their money tomorrow, and I have nothing to give them. . . . what shall I do? . . .” The following morning, she was up and about long before the rest of the community, and still preoccupied with her debts, when suddenly she heard the doorbell ring. . . . She opened the door and saw a stranger who wanted to speak to Mother Rivier. “She hasn’t come out of her room yet,” said Sister Thérèse, “but she’ll be here in a few minutes.” “Oh well,” replied the stranger, “here, take this purse to her and tell her to make use of it as she pleases.” Having said this, he immediately withdrew. Sister Thérèse then hurried to give the purse to Mother Rivier and to tell her the whole story, for she was so astonished and so grateful for this unexpected help that had arrived just 14

in time. But Mother Rivier, who had prayed with her usual confidence, was not surprised and was pleased to say to the treasurer, “I hope you’ll have greater trust in divine providence from now on, for it has never failed us. Go, my daughter, and pay your debts.”