Novena to Eugénie
God alone acts
1st day
How much I admire the way of the Divine Providence, I bless her and thank her! Well! The souls who seek only God’s will are never deceived. But expect to meet with many trials, the devil, the world wish you harm, but bear up, and when we meet with difficulties, then go to God! There, looking at everything above human views, we can see how God alone acts and guides everything through his creatures. The Good Lord does not need us, but in his boundless goodness, He wishes to need us. So you who follow Our Lord in an intimate way, be thankful for this great grace he grants to you. The world cannot understand this foolishness of the Cross, for we must love Jesus to foolishness. To love Him in that way, we must desire to be treated as Himself has been treated in his love for us. One must leave oneself, one must see the interests of Jesus and the salvation of souls. The “self” must not live in us any longer. Let us be deeply surnatural souls, souls who deny themselves in everything, and who act with a great prudence if they fulfil a duty.
Extract from the letter of Sister Eugénie Caps to Catherine Frentz in Allex, February 14, 1926.
Let the Lord work in us
2nd day
The way to holiness, the true way, is not so difficult at all: let our “self” be aside, put out the self which prevents the Divine action in everything, and which by this makes us unhappy, because the “self” can never be satisfied. But it is delightful to put oneself aside. It may be the sufferings of our friends, undeserved blames or even to agree with those placed on our way to help us go towards God. Oh! Then how many self-denials, and however, if we live in union with God it will be easy to keep the peace promised to those who put their faith fully in God. We must be like a marble statue in front of pain, only, God must be the witness of these arrows made and thrown to humble our pride. Let’s even take this good habit of never complaining, and go as far as that, and when Jesus comes near us to be consoled of the ingratitude of His creatures, we do not tell him our sorrows, but joyfully we make atonement as he asks us to do, and we show Him by our love in action that we live him truly: that is to say welcoming everything as coming from his blessed hand. Oh! Jesus so good, gives us many opportunities to become holy. He gives the graces, and should we not be the generous souls who are grateful for his blessings? Ah! If we really acknowledge the “gift of God”! If we could understand His approaches which compel us to sacrifice ourselves and to move in Him alone! We should smile at each time of the day to please Him.
Extract from the letter of Sister Eugénie Caps to Catherine Frentz in Jouy-aux-Arches, June 20, 1926.
In God our trust
3 trd day
Therefore, remain still and be quiet, look at him who allows so many things. With him things will turn out all right, according to His will. He wants that you forget yourself completely. Let nothing surprise you, let nothing disturb you! Your heart will pass through sad times, there will be times when you will think everything against you, you will feel alone amidst great difficulties, it will be the moment to say to yourself “useless servant” while putting your trust in God alone. God will never abandon you. The works of God develop just in the midst of difficulties, and you will need a courage worthy of the first Christians to overcome them. Courage! Courage! When God wants a holy soul, he moulds her, as he does for a work; he wants her for Him alone. All glory to God. There must be basically true and solid holiness.
Extract from the letter of Sister Eugénie Caps to Catherine Frentz in Montana, November 26, 1926.
The good divine pleasure
4th day
Put your trust in Jesus. Let Him do with you as He pleases. I wish you in God, this calm and this deep peace which the Word brought to us in this blessed night of Christmas. Is not this peace promised to the souls of good will! Aim only at doing the divine pleasure in everything and everywhere. Commit yourself entirely to God, receive everything from His Fatherly hand which strikes only for our good. Let Him act. It is only to do His holy will which counts.
Extract from the letter of Sister Eugenie Caps to Catherine Frentz in Montana, January 7, 1927.
Light as a feather
5th day
Keep on going with confidence, calmness and peace in front of the Lord. Let him guide your boat, He will bring it back to the harbour. If you knew by which ways He led me through! How He taught me to throw myself into His Arms and there it is rest. I will sing eternally the Mercies of the Lord!!! Let us die to ourselves so Jesus will live alone in us; be full of abnegation in everything. Let us keep quiet even when everything seems to collapse, nothing will happen without the permission of God, only His sole Will counts, the rest does not matter. Don’t cling to yourself, to your personal views, sacrifice everything. Live out of Faith, may it be strong enough to move the mountains. We want to be entirely to God, don’t keep anything for ourselves, we must be as light as feathers, we must fly freely.
Extract from the letter of Sister Eugénie Caps to Catherine Frentz in Montana, May 21, 1927.
God wants to need us
6th day
Be still, God has His purposes and they are not ours. God wants to need us, but He does not need us in fact. Be as soft wax between His blessed hands. You are sorely tired on one side, and we are in another; Let us suffer well, the rest does not matter.
Extract from the letter of Sister Eugénie Caps to Catherine Frentz in Jouy, August 30, 1927.
Living by simplifying life.
7th day
God is Father, He knows what is useful and necessary for our spiritual progress. Don’t have a taste for nature, let us live a holy life, life of true holiness! Be united with God, however it may happen, the thought that He directs everything, must be enough for us. It does not matter to suffer, but to suffer well. Let us make Holy our suffering by the joyful acceptance of the Divine Will; it shows itself all day long, and even during all our life. Put flowers on the thorns, so that these last ones will be seen by nobody, but God and our Director. Submit everything to the guide of our souls, obey to him and we will be sure of our way. Let us simplify our life, let us confine it to what is strictly necessary: to do the will of our Father who is in Heaven.
Extract from the letter of Sister Eugénie Caps to Catherine Frentz in Jouy, August 30, 1927.
Availability always renewed
8th day
Jesus will never forsake you. It is so good to put our trust in Him, even if we don’t understand. Jesus knows his children, don’t be anxious. The only important matter is to do His sole good Will. Even after our faults, we must remain quiet, well, we must always seek to grow better. Go ahead with courage and confidence in the way of self-denial and pure love.
Extract from the letter of Sister Eugénie Caps to Catherine Frentz in Montana, April 30, 1929.
Living in intense union with Jesus
9th day
Courage and trust in God always. Put an unshakable trust in Him and you will see how this surrender will be good for your soul. For you too it is bound to happen, it is sacrifice in every way, unite yourself to the Great Victim who sacrificed himself until the death on a Cross for the Redemption. What love, until foolishness… It will be the same for you. We must enter into the secrets of the Father’s love to understand this well. Be deeply united to Jesus, be a soul of prayer, and lights will be given to you!
Extract from the letter of Sister Eugénie Caps to Catherine Frentz in Montana, May 21, 1927.
After each meditated text
We can remember a sentence from the Novena that touched our hearts, then say a prayer of Sister Eugenie, by clicking on Spiritan Prayers, and finally recite a “Our Father” and a “Hail Mary”.
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