"Je ne vivrai pas un instant que je le passe en aimant."
["I shall not live a moment which shall not be spent in loving."]
Bernadette Soubirous, 14 year old visionary/saint from Lourdes entered the religious community of Sisters in Nevers at the age of 23. Nevers is about half a day's journey from Lourdes by bus. She spent 12 years in this Convent, never to return to the place where the mother of Jesus appeared to her 18 times. She died at the age of 35 from bouts of asthma which plagued her all her life. Her life was remarkable in its simplicity and joyful living. Here is an image of the chapel, now preserved on the Convent grounds in Nevers where she prayed daily; and a statue of her at the entrance of the present day Convent. I discovered this beautiful quote from one of her letters which captures for me the essence of her short life:
"I shall not live a moment which shall not be spent in loving."
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