In bomb-torn Lebanon, on the Feast of the Annunciation, as the Sisters of Charity reaffirmed their ‘Yes’ for all time, 42 young people from the St Vincent Social Institute ‘visited’ the elderly and sick sisters, following in the footsteps of Mary’s pilgrimage.
May the ‘Yes’ of Mary and the Sisters of Charity, and the visit by the young people, teachers and staff, open paths of light and peace.
“Yes” sown, joy shared
On this feast day of the Annunciation, we contemplate that gentle breath that sweeps across the world, more powerful than the terrifying and threatening explosions of war … It is a single word that changes the face of the Earth: the “yes” of the Virgin Mary, a humble “yes” that soothes the fears of the poor, a “yes” that opens the heavens and rains down graces, and fertilises the earth thirsting for peace.
And now, today, 25 March 2026, more than 2000 years later, this “yes” continues… it becomes a living melody, woven from forty-two young voices from the St Vincent Social Institution in Baskinta, forty-two hearts beating with joy, forty-two “yeses” from young people, children, staff and sisters, whispered to the rhythm of encounter and celebration.
In the peace of the Chapel of St Jeanne-Antide in Kfour, our steps become a pilgrimage and our silences turn to prayer. Under the gaze of Jeanne-Antide Thouret, in this bicentenary year of her entry into heaven and through the blessing of her relics, we receive the grace to love as she did to the very end, in the simplicity and faithfulness of daily life.
Then the joy of the celebration bursts forth in the hall: songs rising up, dances that tell of life, laughter that gently heals, gifts exchanged as so many signs of shared tenderness.
And in the eyes of our elderly and sick sisters, a spark shines very brightly…
We had brought gifts with us, a store of songs and dances… and we return enriched with peace and joy, drawn from every shared glance, every word and every smile.
It is the joy that is a gift from the Most High; it is the promise of peace that will soon come; it is the joy of that first call to which a generous and total “yes” is given, a “yes” that continues to resound, ceaselessly renewed.
For every gesture of kindness made today and every gaze filled with tenderness becomes a living “yes”, an echo of Mary’s “yes”, an Annunciation that continues, even today, and which opens paths of light and peace.
