To be MISSIONARY,
in the Way of Mary the Immaculate

"The apostolate among the pagans was given us, it seems to me, by the Blessed Virgin as an exterior means of manifesting our gratitude" .

Mary of the Annunciation is necessarily, in God's plan which she accepts with complete freedom, Mary of the Visitation and of the Magnificat : she has scarcely welcomed the absolute Gift, the Son of God who in her womb became the Brother of all men, when she answers to a very discreet invitation of the Holy Spirit and "runs" (Luke 1:39) to bring Him to others with joy: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord..."

Life is being communicated, Joy shared with those to whom God sends her. For the first Christian, this is the MISSION "in THANKSGIVING and for THANKSGIVING" since Elizabeth herself will be filled with the Holy Spirit and will bless God by loudly proclaiming His wonders.

Before having any specific apostolic project, the Holy Spirit inspires DÉlia TÉtreault to be THANKSGIVING "in her own name and in the name of all men". This, in itself, is a privileged way of evangelizing "by THANKSGIVING" since it is an eloquent testimony of Jesus Christ's resurrection, of His triumph over death, of His liberating presence at the heart of all humanity.

But since it is also the perfection of Love, THANKSGIVING tends necessarily and irresistibly to spread like a flame, which of its very nature lightens and warms. "A grace that opens not onto others risks being an illusion".

"It is by the apostolate that we express our gratitude. We ourselves cannot be satisfied with a life of prayer, our apostolic vocation obliges us to action, to struggle for God's interests and for the salvation of souls ". (11-28-28)

The apostolate, apostolic life, for Délia Tétreault, is to be missionary, and above all this has clearly signified, since the beginning, the propagation of the faith among the pagan nations... "Each subject, like the Society itself, should never lose sight of the fact that her sole purpose in this world is the glory of God and the salvation of souls at all costs, even that of one's life". (Draft of 1902)

To a candidate who requested her entrance on June 3, 1910, she answers: " must first tell you that our Institute was founded for the foreign missions and our works are those that the propagation of the faith in pagan countries comprises."

To the Superior and her assistant in Canton, first foundation of the Institute, she specifies: "You must refuse the school of Shameen (European children). The Society having been founded only for the purpose of helping pagan nations, it must in no way stray from its goal."

Délia maintained this definite orientation toward the mission ad extra in the face of all oppositions: "We are missionaries, our purpose is to go on mission. Some go sooner, others a bit later, that's all." (11-30-28)

Those who will go "a bit later" are committed to the awakening of a missionary consciousness in the Canadian Church, or to work at the "recruitment" and formation of those who will take over. Their unique participation in the common mission equally consecrates them as missionaries: "In pursuing this work (Holy Childhood), we are not less missionary than if we were struggling in China". (5-26-21)

Délia Tétreault's missionary commitment stems from her awareness of divine gratuitousness: it is return, reciprocity, interior exigency. We must be careful not to misinterpret the meaning of the word "means," used twice by Délia Tétreault in this text. Both her life and her work are evident proof that she did not go to people to make use of them nor to be served, but that she went to them in faithfulness to a call, to share her abundance, in a word, TO SERVE.

Being at the same time principle and aim of the mission, "THANKSGIVING can only reach its plenitude in service." The mission of the Son, that of Mary, of the Church, and in this case, in a special way, that of Délia, is an overflowing of THANKSGIVING : so that other men and women throughout the world may also become aware of the Gift of God, welcome it in their life, and in turn RENDER THANKS!

Délia Tétreault and Thanksgiving
Éliette Gagnon, m.i.c.