Mai and Bert - Holy Family of Bordeaux

Mai and Bert, Holy Family Lay Associates tell their story:

Mai:
I thought about becoming a Holy Family Lay Associate, because following the spirituality of Pierre Bienvenu Noailles, Founder of the Holy Family Association, seemed to me to be a logical development of my Catholic life. I had known about the Holy Family Sisters for many years, as they taught my daughters, and I knew some of the local community as well.

I joined a small group of ladies and began my Formation as a Lay Associate of the Holy Family. After approximately two years I made my Commitment in 1982, and I can say with confidence that this has had a very positive influence on my Faith journey.

After all these years, I know I belong to a very special Family. Locally, we are a group of nine, and meet once a month. Our group of nine meets every month. We know each other very well and we are able to share our bad times as well as our good times with sincerity and confidence. We benefit also from our reflections and discussions, using Scripture and the Guidelines and writings of our Founder to discover God's plan for each one of us. My husband supported me during this time and helped the Sisters locally in many ways. After he retired he also began his Formation as a Lay Associate and made his Commitment about six years ago.

We have both found that being Lay Associates has helped us to deepen and strengthen our relationship with the Lord. It has also helped us to accept more easily other people's point of view.

Bert:
As the husband mentioned above, I fully agree with what my wife has already said. Being together as a married couple and as Lay Associates of the Holy Family in no way impedes our individual Faith journey. My wife encouraged me, not without difficulty, to accompany her and other Lay Associates to Martillac near Bordeaux where our Founder started his Association. It was during that visit when we took advantage of all the opportunities for prayer, reflection, group sharing and Community Liturgies and celebrations that I decided I, too, wanted to know more about Holy Family Spirituality. Both of us have made several return visits to Martillac and have never failed to benefit from the wonderful family atmosphere there.

As Lay Associates, we strive to deepen our love and reverence for the Holy Eucharist, and we aim to witness to our Faith in whatever walk of life or type of work we are involved. Our aim is to imitate the Holy Family of Nazareth described by our Founder as "the gentle image of the Trinity", accepting others as they did and reflecting on their motivation and behaviour. In doing this we have no better example and inspiration than Jesus, Mary and Joseph.


	< Bob and Sue	Jean and Hugh