The blessing of carnival

It all started with an orange. Every Pentecost Monday, I walk through the colorful streets of Estaires (North) to attend the traditional carnival. This year, at the end of the day, I came across men in suits in front of the village hall who were burning piles of straw while throwing oranges to the public. In the crowd, a young man in his twenties manages to grab a piece of fruit. I see him peeling it and distributing quarters around him. We start a conversation. I am in awe of his generosity, and he says he is intrigued to learn that I have already participated in the Dunkirk carnival, an institution in the region for its festive nature. “You, a sister!” I didn’t expect it! » he reacts, rolling his eyes. Growing up in the area, when I was young, I joined these festivities. Then he asks me how I became a nun.

His question amuses me. I am pushed to tell my story. On the day of my profession of faith, I received a call from God, which was reinforced when I turned 18. At the time as a trainee teacher, I felt a pressing prompting from the Lord. “Okay, but not before I’m 25!” I want to enjoy my youth,” I thought. But I understood that He didn’t want me to delay. In order not to give up my profession, I chose a congregation of teaching nuns. Very joyful by nature, I needed a dynamic community. I asked the Lord this condition: that at least three of us enter the novitiate. There were finally six of us. I received it as a sign. Because in the following years, vocations only decreased. Would I have entered then? I don’t think so.

The Lord knows what He is doing. He uses us in times when we least expect it, to lead us to Him. Like on this carnival day when I met this young man. After about ten minutes of discussion, he asked me to bless him. Discreetly, I go to the public square and mark his forehead with a sign of the cross. With tears in his eyes, he confided to me that his dad was seriously ill… I had the impression that the Lord was acting on him through me. Pope Francis’ message then came back to me: “The Church must go out into the streets! » I never heard from this boy but I trust the Lord who was responsible for putting him on my path. Since then, I have continued to pray for him and his family.