A spiritual charism as a legacy

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Revealing God's Goodness

From the very beginning, the Congregation has been built on this certainty: God is good. Father Terme placed this divine virtue at the very foundation of the work. In his “Rules,” he affirmed that it is from “the infinite goodness of the Sacred Heart of Jesus” that we can hope for the fruits of the retreats.

This intuition quickly became clear: the institute’s mission was not only to organise retreats but also to reveal a face of God. As stipulated in the Constitutions of 1844, the goal was to “make known to souls the richness of the Lord’s mercies.” Already, Father Terme himself constantly exhorted his daughters to look at God from this perspective. “How good God is!” he exclaimed (letter to Sr. Agnes, 21 December 1830), asking “that the novice mistress retrace among her novices the charity, goodness and humility of Jesus among his apostles” (Constitutions).

“Union with God, and confidence in his divine goodness, doing nothing except in God, distrusting self, expecting everything from Him, here is a good way; but we must put it into practice.”

Letter from Father Terme to Sr. Agnes, 28 June 1828

Mother Thérèse: the path to Goodness

Although Mother Thérèse’s spirituality evolved throughout her life, her years in Montpellier (1860-1867) marked an intense focus on this mystery. God was no longer just someone to trust, but became Goodness itself.

Her correspondence with Mother de Larochenégly bears witness to an obsessive meditation that matured year after year:

In 1863, she tasted the peace that “Our Lord, through an effect of his goodness” established in her (letter of 22 January).
In 1864, she contemplates “this infinite goodness that never tires of doing good to his poor creatures without regard for their merits” (letter of 5 October).
In 1865, her vision became absolute. She defined God by his essence: “God is good, yes, He is more than good, He is Goodness itself, I do not want to forget that” (letter of 5 June).

The striking revelation of 1866

This inner journey culminated on 10 August 1866. On that day, Mother Thérèse had a decisive mystical experience: the vision of the word “Goodness” made her grasp its infinite depth. She confided to Mother de Larochenégly that it was “this word Goodness that I had been repeating for a long time.” This text became one of the cornerstones of the Congregation’s spirituality.

This document contains the full text of Mother Thérèse’s letter, accompanied by historical explanations to help understand its full significance.