Sionian Letter from San José, March 1912
Who would have thought that our dear little Tres Rios, which
was so cheerful and full of laughter, was living its last
days! For since the big earthquakes in 1910, relative calm
had led us to believe that everything had returned to an
orderly existence in the world of volcanoes! [,,,] We were
sound asleep when, during the night of February 21, the
eve of Ash Wednesday, we were thrown out of our beds at
2 a.m. by a tremendous jolt, which lasted a similar length
of time as that of April 13 to 14, 1910, but which was not
quite as strong.
During the course of the morning, we had just barely finished
noting the damage done to the house, when two sisters, who
had been sent to Tres Rios by our Mother (M.Christine) to
see what had happened, returned from there dismayed. […]
Our poor little house, which had just been repaired and
totally renovated at the beginning of the holidays, was
totally destroyed! Considering the x’s and y’s
in all directions on the walls, it seems that destruction
raged; not one spot remained intact, enormous openings two
or three square meters large enabled one to see the inside
of the rooms, blankets, furniture, etc. Our Mother’s
room was one of the worst affected; her bed was covered
with enormous bricks, where the statue of Our Lady of Lourdes,
which had been put there before our departure, lay in pieces,
and her painting canvasses were in a terrible state, full
of holes. In the kitchen, the stove had come loose and been
turned on its side; the chapel – above all the dear
little chapel – was in desolate condition. In short,
everywhere you could see destruction and ruin.
It seems that Mère Christine was also shaken by
these events.
Sionian
Letter from San José, June 1912 (written by M. Christine)
The earthquakes are almost constant. And even though we
are gradually getting used to it, like to everything here,
nevertheless, from time to time there is a stronger jolt,
which raises alarm and causes panic. Thus, during the night
before the feast of Corpus Christi, there was again a terrible
catastrophe in the Poas area, destroying several villages
and causing the death of some thirty people. All this seems
like a warning from heaven.
The 25th of October 1912, she write to Mère Gonzalés,
sup. gen:
I began my retreat by reading the new
edition of the rule. I saw with great joy that the few very
wise modifications that were made to complete certain points,
left intact the passage in which Our Father foresaw the
founding of a contemplative house of Sion, given the case
that Providence would provide the Congregation with the
necessary personnel and resources. It seems very strange
to me to have been led by God to speak to you about this.
But the longer I delay, the more He tells me forcefully
to do so (at least that is what I believe I feel in myself).
[…]
So I’ve done my job. Pardon me. You know very well
that I don’t like to get involved in things that
are none of my business. I say that it is none of my business,
although I would accept to be part of this house if you
send me there, just as I would accept to live here until
I die, if you would prefer that. Where this is concerned,
I have no personal opinion.
“It was around 1918 that things became more precise
for me, above all one January 20 during nocturnal adoration.
First of all, to begin humbly, with something small, very
poorly, in some corner of a house of Sion… then later
on, to have a chapel with the Blessed Sacrament exposed
until the time when it becomes possible to have it thus
day and night, so that “the Sun might no longer set
in Sion.” I wrote all this to Mère Gonzalès.”
(Beginning of the contemplative branch)
