"For God to be able to pour his grace in profusion into the soul of a person, He has to find Jesus living in them. … To become an abyss able to be filled with the Infinite, one must be open to the annihilation of one’s being on the level of the spirit."
Welcome to "North American Sanctity," a series on holy men and women, boys and girls, saints and those on the road to sainthood, from Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Some will be familiar, others less so; but all are inspiring!
By Kimberly Bruce
“For God to be able to pour his grace in profusion into the soul of a person, he has to find Jesus living in them.” So declared Blessed Dina Bélanger (feast day, Sept. 4), a Canadian nun and mystic living in the early 20th century.
Known for her great generosity of heart, intimacy with Our Lord, and exceptional piano-playing ability, Bl. Dina possessed, said Pope St. John Paul II, “musical gifts that undoubtedly prepared her to welcome the divine presence and to praise that goes beyond words.”
Little Sacrifices of Love
Born into a wealthy family on Apr. 30, 1897, in Quebec City, Dina was an only child. Her parents were known to be extremely generous helping the poor with their time and treasure. They instilled in their daughter the importance of helping those in need.
By 8 years of age, Dina had begun offering her own “little sacrifices of love” to God. She slept without a pillow, refrained from seasoning her food, eating sweets, and crossing her feet. It was at this age that she also began to study music.
On the Solemnity of the Annunciation, March 25, 1908, Dina heard our Lord’s voice for the first time, relaying it to be “a soft, melodious voice which overwhelmed me with happiness.”
Consecration
At 13, Dina consecrated her life to Jesus through the Blessed Virgin Mary, citing St. Louis de Montfort’s example of this. “Would that I might consecrate all souls to [Mary],” she recalled. “It is she who leads us to Jesus; it is she whom we must allow to live in us in order that Christ may substitute Himself in place of our nothingness.”
Dina entered the Bellevue College of the Sisters of the Congregation of Notre Dame, and made the following prayer: “O my God, grant that, during my stay here, I may not offend you by even the least serious sin.” It was then that she also consecrated her virginity to God.
She began to offer up many mortifications to Our Lord, starting with the lack of quiet and solitude she was accustomed to at home. She finished school at 16, returning home with hopes of entering religious life. At the recommendations of both her spiritual director and pastor, however, she chose to wait on her decision for several more years. Though disappointed, she began occupying herself in parish ministries.
At 19, Dina began attending the Institute of Musical Art in New York (now the Julliard School) in continuance of her musical studies. At the conservatory, she lived with the Religious of Jesus and Mary at their Our Lady of Peace Residence.
Voices and visions
When her studies ended, Dina returned home to Quebec City. Our Lord continued to speak to Dina through voices and visions. She abandoned herself more fully to Him after reading St. Thérèse of Lisieux’s autobiography, The Story of a Soul.
When World War I broke out, she offered herself in reparation to God for the sin in the world, “in order to console him a little and to save souls.”
Still feeling the tug of religious life, she entered the Jésus-Marie Convent in Sillery, Quebec, on Aug. 11, 1921, at age 24. She assumed her new religious name, Marie Sainte-Cécile de Rome (named after St. Cecilia, patroness of musicians), and was assigned as a music teacher at the Convent of Saint-Michel-de-Bellechasse on the south shore of the St. Lawrence River.
Spiritual exchange
Filled with love of Our Lord in the Eucharist, Sr. Marie heard Jesus say, “You will not possess me any more fully in heaven, because I have completely absorbed you.” Her union with Him was so profound, she even had a mystical encounter of a “spiritual exchange” of their two hearts. She said:
For God to be able to pour his grace in profusion into the soul of a person, he has to find Jesus living in them. … To become an abyss able to be filled with the Infinite, one must be open to the annihilation of one’s being on the level of the spirit.
Saint Faustina understood this union with Christ described by Sr. Marie. In fact, Our Lord told her:
I will strengthen you in peace and in courage so that your strength will not fail in carrying out My designs. Therefore, you will cancel out your will absolutely in this retreat and, instead, My complete will shall be accomplished in you. Know that it will cost you much … Be afraid of nothing; love will give you strength and make the realization of this easy. (Diary of Saint Maria Faustina Kowalska, 372).
Health issues
Sister Marie contracted scarlet fever after caring for one of her students and her health steadily declined. While in an infirmary in 1924, she composed her autobiography at the request of her superior.
Over the next few years, her scarlet fever progressed to tuberculosis, and on Sept. 4, 1929, she died peacefully while gazing upon an image of the Eucharistic Heart of Our Lord. Her remains are now entombed at The Dina-Bélanger Center in Saint-Louis, Quebec.
In 1939, a dying hydrocephalic baby was completely healed through the intercession of Sr. Marie, leading to her beatification by St. John Paul II on March 20, 1993.
No matter our state in life, anyone of us can offer up our little inconveniences and mortifications to Our Lord for the salvation of souls. This way we can all find our “little way” towards sainthood as exemplified in the lives of St. Thérése of Lisieux and Bl. Dina Bélanger. May we make use of these sufferings by offering them in love for others, living out Bl. Dina’s motto: “To love and to suffer.”
Blessed Dina Bélanger, pray for us!
Next in the series: The Martyrs of Cajonos, Bl. Juan Bautista and Bl. Jacinto de los Ángeles, Sept. 18.
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