A short time afterwards, I met the Holy Family Sisters. Their life inspired me and I, too, had the desire to put myself at the service of the Lord and of his Gospel. Between the ages of 18 and 23, I wavered between saying 'yes' and 'no' to the Call, which I still heard at the very core of my being! The father's two children of the Gospel (Mt 21: 28-32) who were undecided between 'Yes' and 'No' were part of me… My response was also indefinite - "Perhaps! Why not! I'll think about it!"

At a certain moment, however, the Lord's call became strong, intense and clear. Then, for the first time my response was 'Yes' - it was a response full of enthusiasm and fervour, of emotion and certainty. It was a 'Yes' capable of overcoming all obstacles … It meant leaving my mother who was a widow, being misunderstood by those near me, leaving Perpignan for Bordeaux… There was no hesitation! It was that wonderful time of taking the first steps into an engagement! I left my home, my relations and my friends in 1970. I was 23 years old. I joined the Holy Family community at Mirail, Bordeaux.

During the four years of formation which followed, the Call became clear: it came with all its strength and vitality. The 'Yes' continued to supplant the 'No'! In 1974, I made my first vows and I joined the contemplative community at Martillac, because this was where I felt the Lord was calling me.

I began my journey in the contemplative way of life in September 1974. I discovered, and I still continue to discover, that it is Somebody other than myself who shapes my life. In the course of the years, through events and meetings, joys and sorrows, I have learned that to say 'Yes' to the Lord's "Come, Follow me" is, in the words of our Founder, Pierre Bienvenu Noailles, to pledge to live for God Alone in all things. Through all the struggles of life, all the resistances, the desire always remained of loving the Lord with all my heart, with all my soul and with all my strength.

The prophet Ezekiel reminds us that "the Lord's ways are strange!" (18: 25-28). God has accepted my hesitations, my infidelities. He knows what is deepest in each one of us. He remains constant and trusting. He has immense hope in us. He waits. Knowing the clay from which I am made, God has continued and still continues his tireless work of love in me. He will continue to the day of Eternity. "The Lord is mindful of his love, of his mercy. He always leads us in the path of life." (Ps 24, v8) I recognised and celebrated this path at Easter 1981 when I made my final vows. It was a clear and unhesitating 'yes'! It was a 'yes' of love to the God of Love. It was an existential 'yes', taking flesh in my being and life as a woman.

There is one recurring reality in the Bible - that of repentance, conversion, forgiveness. It is impossible to advance on this road of life and truth if we do not recognise our weakness and our poverty. As our brothers and sisters of the Jewish faith say, it is necessary to do 'Techouva' - i.e. to turn away from self, from all our idols, in order to turn towards the Lord.

With all those who have taken this road before or after me - with my Apostolic and Contemplative Sisters - I am learning each day in the school of Jesus, Mary and Joseph to love, seek and desire God Alone in all things, i.e. to give my life totally, without reserve, to the Father in the ordinariness of each day.

Consecrated life is a long pilgrimage of Faith! And we live it in Community. St Paul reminds us how essential in our lives are mutual help, respect and confidence, the gift of self as well as self-forgetfulness. It is there that the 'yes' and the 'no' intermingle, and are sometimes in conflict, without, however, preventing us from journeying together in the footsteps of Christ.

Like all combinations of love and life, the vows of obedience, chastity and poverty - which I regularly renew - are the work of an entire life, of my entire life. They are a 'Yes' without any reserve, but are always lived in Faith and Hope, in poverty and in humility. It is a real, spiritual and passionate adventure to be lived. My 'Yes' is, and cannot be anywhere else except in the 'Yes' of Jesus in his Paschal Mystery. He and he alone is the perfect 'Yes' to the Father in the Spirit.

Today, I can say how my happiness lies in God and in the grace of knowing that I am eternally loved by Him, called by Him to work in his vineyard. Consecrated life is also a story of love which unites us to God and also to a spiritual Family.

To be a Sister of the Holy Family of Bordeaux is a joy for me and, I think I can also say, for my Sisters.