Finding our Knees

By Melanie Guste, RSCJ

Our spirituality impels us toward transformation through our contemplation
of the pierced Heart of Jesus in the fractures and potentiality of our world.
Sophie’s Gift, p. 5

A quick search of the images of Philippine on Google or your favorite browser brings up portraits of a woman with the warm glow of peace and quiet conviction on her face as it is turned upward to the heavens, or towards the promise of a new land, map-on-lap. Later in life, I discovered another portrait that one rarely sees of Philippine Duchesne.

This painting is of Philippine on her knees praying—a stance that many of us recognize “as the women who prays always,” though perhaps not in this way. In this interpretive expression of Philippine, one can see:  A woman bending in apparent anguish; a woman sharing the angst of an arduous journey in her weary eyes; a woman lamenting the brokenness of her humanity, and that of the new world which was not what she could have imagined. 

This portrait serves as a poignant description of the human condition when the intensity of circumstances render us unable to stand on our own, we fall on our knees to find our authentic humility, our grounded posture on this earth and our utter dependence on a forgiving, merciful and loving God.

These unbridled troubled times of such human suffering, social complexity, human fragility, and sinfulness, bring us to our knees. Finding ourselves in prayer with Philippine, we find others there with us, united as we all are in the human condition on a sacred journey.

We all know that Philippine not only dropped to her knees, she rose from them to act. So, a question can be posed: What do you care enough about to both draw you down and then bring you off your knees—to get up, to rise up, to take a stand, and to go forward?

Questions for Reflection:

  • When have you found your knees?
  • When have you resonated with Philippine’s moment as represented in this portrait? How do those resonances speak to you today?
  • How does Philippine’s life inspire you to act for peace and reconciliation, justice, and in the interests of those who are vulnerable?

Image used with permission and done by William Hart McNichols . If can be found at https://frbillmcnichols-sacredimages.com/art/philippine+duchesne

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