Madeleine Delbrêl: life, influence, legacy, prayers
Madeleine Delbrêl, who was born in Dordogne in 1904 and died in 1964, is known as a Catholic committed to the world, notably as a social worker in Ivry-sur-Seine. A woman of prayer and action, she left behind many writings. Pope Francis declared her venerable in January 2018, the first step towards canonization. On November 8, 2023, during a catechesis, the Pope said of her: "Madeleine Delbrêl also teaches us that we are evangelized by evangelizing, that we are transformed by the Word we proclaim. She is convinced that atheistic or secularized environments are places where, precisely where they must struggle, Christians can strengthen the faith Jesus gave them." Let's meet this great figure, discover her life, her spirituality and her posterity. At the end of this reading, discoverother figures of sanctity.
Biography of Madeleine Delbrêl
Madeleine Delbrêl was born on October 24, 1904 in Mussidan, Dordogne. Indifferent to the faith in her youth, despite being baptized and catechized, she was truly converted at the age of 20, after meeting Christian students. Two years later, in 1926, she became involved in scouting and working with the poor. 1 year later, after thinking of becoming a Carmelite nun, she finally committed herself as a lay Christian in the world. In a letter to her mother, she wrote: " After days of reflection, prayer and trial, I am certain that I will do the will of our same Master by continuing to work for Him in the world." And so, in October 1932, she began studying to become a social worker. Her experience in scouting and working with the poor led her to the idea of living together with other young girls: "We wanted to live a Gospel life as far as our situations would allow. We wanted to continue the charity of the Gospel in its simplest form, caring, consoling, helping, visiting, clothing, materially and supernaturally."
In October 1933, she moved to Ivry with two friends, Suzanne and Hélène. At the same time, she began working as a social worker, although she did not receive her diploma until 1936. In 1939, the Ivry town council hired her as a social worker. After the war, in 1946, she gave up her work to spend more time with the fifteen or so women she had hired.
At the end of the 1950s, she welcomed a large number of people to her house at 11 Rue Raspail in Ivry, where she listened to them, helped them and sometimes housed them. For her, Ivry was a real mission field. In 1957, she published The Marxist City as Mission Territory. Fragile in health, she died on October 13, 1964. She was about to turn 60. A mystic, she also left behind numerous writings and texts.
Spirituality of Madeleine Delbrêl
Madeleine Delbrêl's spirituality is based on :
The importance of silence
Madeleine Delbrêl insisted on silence to be able to listen to the Word of God. She would say, for example: "To be silent is to listen to God; it is to remove everything that prevents us from listening to or hearing God (...). It means listening to God wherever he expresses his will, in prayer and elsewhere than in prayer itself. "(Our Life, Volume XV of the Complete Works, Nouvelle Cité 2017, p79)
Contemplation
Madeleine Delbrêl insists on the importance of prayer and contemplation in the Christian life. This life of prayer is fundamental, since the apostolate springs from prayer. For example, she says: "The life of faith cannot do without prayer. Yet in secular life, it seems that prayer is both indispensable and difficult. Lives that belong to God are lives that pray, whoever they are, wherever they are; their prayer is both a gift from God and a conquest; a secular life that does not pray does not belong to God." (Our Life, volume XV of the Complete Works, Nouvelle Cité, 2017, p13)
The primacy of the Gospel
Madeleine Delbrêl puts the Gospel first in order to live it concretely. She points out: "The light of the Gospel is not an illumination that remains external to us: it is a fire that demands to penetrate within us to bring about devastation and transformation." (La sainteté des gens ordinaires, tome VII des Oeuvres Complètes, Nouvelle Cité, 2009, p157)
The search for holiness in our ordinary lives
Madeleine Delbrêl's spirituality is also based on the search for holiness in everyday life. She would say: "To do one's duty as a state is to accept to remain where one is so that the reign of God may come to us and extend over this earth that we are." (La sainteté des gens ordinaires, tome VII des Œuvres Complètes 2009 - Nouvelle Cité - Notre pain quotidien, p33)
Love of the Church
Madeleine Delbrêl also insisted on loving the Church. She would say, for example: "It is in the Church that I live Jesus Christ, that I am in Jesus Christ; in the Church like a member in a body, like a cell in living matter. My personal Christian life is the consequence of this common life in the Church." (La femme, le prêtre et Dieu, tome IX des Œuvres Complètes 2011 - Nouvelle Cité -, p153)
Madeleine Delbrêl today
The Association of Friends of Madeleine Delbrêl
The Association des Amis de Madeleine Delbrêl (A.A.M.D.) was created shortly after the death of Madeleine Delbrêl (1904-1964) to ensure that the thought, life and writings of this great figure live on. Even today, teams meet in various dioceses to deepen their understanding of her spirituality and writings.
Madeleine Delbrêl, soon to become a saint?
Declared venerable in January 2018, Madeleine Delbrêl is on her way to canonization.
Father Gilles François is the postulator of Madeleine Delbrêl's cause for beatification.
Praying with Madeleine Delbrêl
Discover this prayer, "Every little action is God coming to love us":
"Every little action is an immense event where Paradise is given to us, where we can give paradise. It doesn't matter what we have to do: a broom or a pen to hold; to speak or to be silent; to mend or to give a lecture; to care for a sick person or to type. All this is but the bark of a splendid reality, the soul's encounter with God, each minute renewed, each minute increased in grace, ever more beautiful for its God. The doorbell? Quick, let's open the door: it's God coming to love us. Need more information? Here it is: it's God who comes to love us. It's time to sit down to dinner... let's go! It's God who comes to love us. Let him! So be it."
Let's pray to become holy!
With Hozana, let's pray to respond to the universal call to holiness, as Madeleine Delbrêl did. Hozana offers you a number of prayer communities, including this one where you can pray a weekly rosary, or this one where you can , these , and many others.
