20th of December 2009

Dear Friends

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
You are all present in our prayers and especially those of you for whom the joy of Christmas will be one lived in faith rather than with a feeling of joy.  In the midst of your trials, may the Child Jesus be close to you through his graces of faith and of hope.
Please find enclosed a calendar from the Basilica which announces some great news: next year, we are going to open up a jubilee year to celebrate 125 years of perpetual adoration here!
Yes, 2010 will mark the 125th anniversary of the beginning of that perpetual adoration which started on the 1st of August 1885.
At that time, adoration did not take place in the Basilica itself, but in a small temporary chapel which was on the building site where the Basilica was being built (the Basilica was only consecrated in 1919).
Since the 1st of August 1885 that prayer of adoration has never stopped and it accompanies the continuous prayer that Jesus offers for us, seated at the Father’s right hand.
This next year is thus going to be dedicated to celebrating this anniversary, from the 4th of June 2010 through to the 1st of July 2011.
We hope to organise several big gatherings for the important feast days, especially for the Feast of the Sacred Heart (4th-6th of June 2010 and the 1st of July in 2011), Holy Week (17th-24th of April 2011) and Christ the King (21st of November 2010).
We hope to send out invitations to all the parishes which are dedicated to the Sacred Heart across the world.  If you happen to know of any such parishes in your country, please don’t hesitate to send us their address so that we can invite them!
If ever any of you have hidden talents which would enable you to help us to translate documents and leaflets from French into another language, we would be most grateful for any help that you could offer us.  Please let us know!

We have also enclosed the invitation to the celebration of the vows of 7 of our young sisters which will take place here in the Basilica on the 9th of January 2010.  May the gift of their life be for each one of you a sign of hope.  These sisters pray for you; please pray from them.  May God grant them fervour and faithfulness all throughout their life.

We hope to see you again soon.  Until then, may God keep you in his loving care.

Sr Marie Mechtilde
For Prayer and Penance