Novitiate for Sisters

16 November 1928: Rome has approved the erection of a novitiate for Oblate Sisters and auxiliaries at Matjieskloof. So we have set to work seriously to establish this foundation. It will cost more than £1000. The mission cannot provide this amount; the little money that we do possess is hardly enough for the maintenance of our missionaries. But our Sisters trust and pray. The first answer to prayer: A French benefactress some time ago donated £500 for the needs of the Port Nolloth mission.
We consulted the Mother House and were given permission to use this money for the construction of the new novitiate. The second answer: the vicariate owns a small house in Springbok, two kilometres from Matjieskloof. A pious lady who died about 20 years ago gave it to us. The house is not worth much:about £300, we estimate. It draws a rent of £48 a year, which just about covers the cost of repairs. I think we shall profit by selling it and putting the 300 in the novitiate funds. A buyer has already come forward: he will pay the amount on the day of the sale. I consulted the Apostolic Delegate, and he authorized me to sell the house. Bishop Fages wrote to us from Rome that he had spoken to the Holy Father about the novitiate to be erected in Matjieskloof. His Holiness gave his hearty approval to the project, especially since native candidates were to be admitted. He donated 30 000 francs, which Bishop Fages sent on to me. I do not think we can make better use of the money than by using it for the novitiate. These 30 000 francs come to 240. So there we are assured of more than the £1 000 needed for our project.
Jesus of Lisieux, your little bride. We have confidence that our prayers will not be in vain. In the church of Matjieskloof they placed a picture of Blessed Teresa and draped it with a curtain dotted with roses. On the first day of the novena the invalid was brought to church and placed in front of the picture of Sister Teresa of the child Jesus. She was taught to say and to repeat often: “Little Flower, obtain for me the grace to walk.” She learned the words well and often repeated them with faith and confidence. After the prayers of novena, Sister françiose Therese brought the child back to her room. On the second day, to the great surprise and joy of all who witnessed it, the sick child stretched out her leg and could stand up. This happened in Sister Françiose Therese’s room. On the third day they again place her in front of the picture and had her stand up. Sister françiose Therese, her protectress, then withdrew several places paces from the child. Holding a picture of the little Flower in her hand, she then spoke to the little one in a trembling voice:”Baby, come fetch this picture.” Wonder of wonders! The child immediately obeyed. She walked forward and took the picture.

“It is impossible to describe our joy and emotion,” wrote Sister Françiose Therese. “To feel the finger of God so close to us is something we shall never forget as long as we live.” She brought the child back holding her only by the hand. The little one walked all the way, a distance
of about 300 meters. There at the Sisters’ house she sat down, got up again and walked like a child who had never been sick. Sister examined her legs and her knees and found them comfortable as those of a child in good health. Friends and distant relations came to see the child; they could not believe their eyes. The child asked for shoes; put them on herself, and walked and jumped like her companions. When she was asked who cured her, she answered:” The little flower.” We shall certainly examine this case of a cure in all its details when we go to Matjieskloof. The doctor of Okiep had seen and treated this child some years before. But he had soon discovered that nothing could be done and so stopped visiting her. I thus advised Sister Françiose Therese to take the child to him and explain how she had been cured. She did so. The doctor remembered that he indeed seen the child three years before. He examined her and declared without hesitation that such a cure was not natural; that the legs and knees could not acquire the necessary flexibility to be able to walk in three days’ time, and that in consequence the cause of so sudden a change was above the powers of nature. Something extraordinary has happened, he said. The doctor is a Protestant. The Monastery of Lisieux has been informed of this event.