A Peaceful Presence

 “The only words we’re going to use are: ‘Be still and know that I am God.’”

Sister Aline Plante, P.M., leads a contemplative retreat for women at the Marie Joseph Spiritual Center in Biddeford.

 “We have to learn how to be quiet, how to be still,” she tells the participants.

But that is something, she realizes, that is getting more and more difficult to do in today’s world.

“Peace, that inner quiet, that inner stillness, is very important because we have so many things surrounding us: noise, confusion,” she says.

Those seeking an oasis from the busyness of life, whether for a day, a weekend, or a week, can find it at the spiritual center, which is operated by the Congregation of the Presentation of Mary. The seaside center, with a path leading to the beach, is open to groups and individuals of all faiths, offering retreats and a place to gather for those seeking to deepen their relationship with God.

“We’re trying to favor an encounter with God. We’re trying to create that space and that environment for God to take over, whether it’s a private retreat, whether it’s a directed retreat, whether it’s a priest retreat,” says Sister Sue Bourret, P.M., the administrator of the center.

“People come here, and they do feel safe. They feel safe to pray. They feel safe to be who they are.  They feel safe to come as a group or as an individual to be with God,” says Sister Claire Gagnon, P.M. “They feel free to be who they want to be, to be called, to respond the way God wants them to.”

“We try to make Jesus Christ known, and I think that is done through the conferences that are given,” says Sister Rachel Boucher, P.M.

“And the way we live our lives,” adds Sister Claire.

The center was originally built in the late 1800’s as a seasonal hotel.  The Congregation of the Presentation of Mary purchased it in 1948 for use as a boarding school for young women, the Marie Joseph Academy. After the academy closed in 1972, it briefly became a nursery school, and then in 1978, the sisters began offering retreats.

The spiritual center includes guest rooms, conference areas, a library, and two dining rooms, one of which is intended for those who prefer to eat in a quiet space.  In the larger dining room, there is always a puzzle being pieced together. The sisters call it puzzle therapy.

 “There is always somebody there, always,” says Sister Elaine LaFleur, P.M. “Somebody comes, and you just have a little chat with the person, really listening.”

There is also a bookstore where guests and others will find spiritual books and CDs, as well as prayer cards and small gifts.

“I don’t know how many I’ve heard this from, but they say this is one of the best bookstores we have around here. So, that is good to hear,” says Sister Elaine.

There are tranquil touches throughout the center, including rooms with fireplaces and warm lighting, a conference area full of rocking chairs, and a nautically-themed room, used by some groups for services, where a picture of Jesus hangs amid a fishing net and seashells.  You’ll also find comfortable chairs positioned near many of the ocean-facing windows.

“We’re so blessed with the nature around us,” says Sister Sue.

“It’s the silence, especially,” says Sister Aline. “They go out for a walk, but they don’t go as a group. They don’t go with a friend. They go alone. That does a lot for that person.”

The charism of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, founded by Blessed Anne-Marie Rivier in France in 1796, is to “live in a spirit of worship and self-oblation and to participate in the teaching mission of the Church by the Christian education of youth with special attention to the poor.”

Since arriving in Maine in 1888, much of the sisters’ work has been in classroom teaching. They say, however, that they believe the spiritual center is in keeping with Mother Rivier’s vision.

“Our foundress was very dedicated to prayer from childhood on,” says Sister Pauline Grenier, P.M.

“And even wanted houses of prayer and houses of adoration,” adds Sister Sue.

“We’re also looking at serving the poor, and I don’t mean just materially poor. We have people that come who are spirituality poor,” says Sister Elaine.

“The education of faith is ongoing. It’s not that after confirmation, you’re all made,” says Sister Linda Mae Plourde, P.M. “These people who come, some of them, so simply, will share how refreshing this weekend was or this retreat was.”

In addition to retreats, spiritual direction is offered, during which individuals meet with sisters one-on-one.

“Spiritual direction is actually your relationship with God and what it is you want to share with God,” says Sister Claire.

“It just helps them to stay connected with God which, because they’re so caught up with so many things, they’re just not. They don’t have time. They don’t know how to take time to be connected with God. And being connected with Him helps them to calm down, to have more faith in things that happen in their lives,” says Sister Aline.

Elizabeth DeMerchant, a Brewer woman, says it has helped her as she discerns whether she is being called to religious life.

“It just has become a very natural thing. It’s something I look forward to each month,” she says. “I’ve learned a lot about myself through the process. I’ve learned a lot about the Catholic Church and the faith.”

She says she often recommends it to others.

“It would allow them to go deeper within themselves. Digging deeper within yourself, that sort of opens you up for God,” she says.

“What touches me, what makes me humble, is when someone shares their life, their brokenness. I’m in awe,” says Sister Claire. “It boosts me.  This person helps me to touch God. This is a God moment for me.”

The sisters say they see the difference spiritual direction and retreats can make in people’s lives, even for those experiencing them for the first time.

“Those who have never made a retreat, they say, ‘I don’t know if I can do it,’ but at the end of the week, they’re so happy. They feel so relaxed, and it was very good for them,” says Sister Sue.

Some return again and again.

“You find a lot of the women, and even some of the men, some of them come back and they say, ‘I’m home.’ They’ve come back home,” says Sister Aline.

“My first year, I met up with a woman -- I was moving in, I hadn’t settled yet -- and she said, ‘Oh, Sister, thank you for this home away from home,’” says Sister Linda Mae. “I never forgot her words, and others have since said it, too.”

Ten sisters live in community at the Marie Joseph Spiritual Center, which is another gift they share with those who stay there.

“As a religious community, we pray lauds and vespers together, daily Mass when we can, or we have a Communion service and anybody can join us. You can tell that a lot of guests appreciate joining us in prayer. It’s something we offer here that I’m not sure happens in every retreat center,” says Sister Sue.

“We live in community and people see us in our daily lives, how we work together, how we pray together. That’s part of our charism,” says Sister Aline.

The sisters all pitch in to do whatever task is needed from preparing the liturgy, to greeting guests, to clearing tables, to overseeing the lay staff who help them run the center.

“We all do odd jobs,” says Sister Joan Desmarais, the local superior.

Most of the sisters at the Marie Joseph Spiritual Center professed vows more than 50 years ago.  And while many miss their traditional teaching days, they are happy to still be doing God’s work.

“I cannot do what I did 30 years ago, but altogether, we can do something by helping one another,” says Sister Elaine.

“Just to be part of helping to make it all work,” says Sister Sue. “One of the gifts, for me, of being here is that, whether it’s a Catholic group or a Protestant group, I get the sense that something is happening. You see it in their faces. You know that there has been an encounter with God.”