The course “HEE, Hermitage, School of Educators” culminated once again after the pandemic on Champagnat’s land. This month of July, 85 teachers and accompaniers of the XVII and XVIII promotions traveled to Our Lady of the Hermitage to close their formation. The pilgrims, who came from all corners of Marist Compostela: Galicia, Asturias, Castilla y León and Portugal, were filled with emotion, expectation, a certain nervousness, questions and the desire to arrive soon from Lyon to Notre Dame de L’Hermitage.
They have been days of meeting, of sharing, of discovering, of formation, of getting to know, of living and feeling on the ground what was known by other means; they have been days of celebrating that the dream of Marcellin Champagnat is still alive and has many people ready to give it continuity, so that the illusion becomes a reality wherever each one is; they have been intense days that have been very short for everyone.
Sitting at the table in the house of La Valla, the one that Marcellin prepared with his own hands for himself and the first Brothers; praying and singing to Mary in the chapel of Notre Dame de Pitié, where Marcellin went to ask her for help because vocations were scarce; going down the rocky and steep roads that he frequently traveled, allowed them to discover that, when one is passionate about what one believes in, fatigue and problems take second place.
Celebrating the Word in the church of Rosey, sharing a meal with the Brothers of this community, renewing the promises of baptism in the church of Marlhes, visiting the place where Father Champagnat went to comfort and help the young Montagne, and continuing to travel and discover paths of infinite beauty, even if full of difficulty, helped him to realize that only those who put their trust in God will obtain what they are pursuing.
Getting to know Fourvière and all that it means for the Marist Institution, praying before the image of the Virgin, remembering the promise that Marcellin himself had composed, reading the many testimonies, taking photos around the altar, visiting the cathedral where Father Champagnat was ordained priest and enjoying the charms of the city of Lyon closed a day that added more and more emotions.
In the four previous weeks of the HEE, the Dawn of Life and the Hour 0, little by little, became essential tools in the personal growth of the participants in this formation. The murmur of the Gier river, the bridge under which it flows, the walk of the plane trees, the chapel in the forest, the rock on which the house was built, the silence of the place, the breeze and the singing of the birds were witnesses of the beginning of the day.
To return, to return, that is the feeling of the pilgrim when he has reached the goal and discovers that it was worth giving up certain comforts to achieve the objective. That is the feeling of this group of people who in a few hours will leave the house that Marcellin built.
Thanks to the community of Notre Dame de L’Hermitage for their welcome, for their constant attention, for the company and for helping visitors to discover what it means to stay in these places.
