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To surrender oneself is to follow that spirit of detachment which clings to nothing, neither to persons nor to things, neither to time nor to place. It means to adhere to everything, to accept everything, to submit to everything. - Saint Marie Victoire Therese Couderc (1805-1885)
All I know about St. Therese Couderc is that she founded the order of the Religious Of the Cenacle, (aka the Cenacle Sisters) whose ministry is to give retreats and pray, also, this is the order to which a good college friend belongs. The only other thing I do know is a Filipino translation of her prayer of surrender, the offering of the self, which I set to music, and which the Cenacle Sisters in the Philippines now use as their theme song for their profession of vows.
So it is interesting to read that St.Therese Couderc managed a hostel for women at La Louvesc, France , but after a while, when there were too many people and the place was too unruly and noisy, she asked her superior to change the rules: that they could only give shelter to women who were willing to pray there for several days. And suddenly: a retreat house. When her superior introduced St.Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises, the sisters who came to be known as the Cenacle Sisters found an important element to their spirituality, one that would help them draw the women temporarily staying in their houses to God.
LINK: St.Therese Couderc’s bio.
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