This blog will periodically offer you short episodes of Dina Bélanger’s life. If you want to liven up your life, don’t fail to read them… or write your comments.

The REPUTATION OF THE SANCTITY of Dina Bélanger became universal after her beatification.

Thursday 28 July 2016

God calls her

 Three years have now passed since Dina returned from New York. We have seen something of her life in the city. 
Now she spends her holidays in the country. Nature had a very special attraction for her. She was moved by the twilight, moonlight, plants, flowers, fruits, stream, rivers, butterflies and the twittering of the birds, As someone who loved all that is beautiful, she loved the order in nature, the silence of the firmament, the beauty of the stars… their infinity. It is as someone in love who  lets  herself  be captivated – everything is directed to God and helps her to unite herself to Him. Doubtless her being, filled with music and harmony, enabled her to rejoice intensely and become ecstatic in the face of the marvels of creation. Dina is like a harp which vibrates with music. The contemplative is a person not caught up with themselves, but full of admiration, emotion and gratitude, with a tremendous capacity for awe.  Dina is a person who has been captivated, seduced by God; she does not bother about herself and deep down is always turned towards God.

We have now reached the summer of 1920. Dina is now 23 years old and the desire for religious life grows within her. She does not feel called to the Congregation of Our Lady where she had been educated. She is attracted to the contemplative life, but has doubts because of her studies and is inclined towards teaching. Three possibilities seem to lie before her – the Ursuline  Congregation, the Religious of Jesus and Mary and the Society of the Sacred Heart. But she cannot see clearly. She continued to discern and one day heard the voice of Jesus speaking to her, ”I want you in Jesus and Mary”.  

Dina responded, “Wherever you wish, Lord. You know that I don’t like teaching, but I want to respond to your call, I don’t mind where, all I want is to answer your call, all I want is what will most please you”. The Master replied “You will not teach for long”. Dina did not understand, but her doubts vanish.
The time had come to speak once more to her parents. She wrote: “I had no doubts about their consent, but yes, I foresaw their sorrow and my heart was broken”. At last she spoke to them and was consoled by their consent. None of this is easy; if any one of you has lived through such a critical moment you know what it means to break intimate ties. But the strength of God works in such moments and Dina experienced that. If one day you have to face a similar situation, don’t be afraid, Jesus will take your place and, without knowing it, you will feel very strong.
During the final months while Dina was still living at home, her parents went out of their way to make her happy. They had done so all her life, but now they excelled themselves, without meaning to turn her away from her vocation in the least. In order to give her all the happiness that was in their power, they proposed a trip to the Niagara Falls, offering her every kind of pleasure and amusement. These were very happy days in a wonderful natural setting which again raised Dina’s mind and heart to God.
The day came to say goodbye. Dina tells us that the waiting was agony for her- she would leave her home for ever. She departed with no hope of ever seeing it again. He herself tells us that, without some superior strength, she would not have been able to take this step.


Monday 18 July 2016

Dina, concert pianist

In June 1918 Dina had already returned to Quebec having completed the two years of study.

 In New York Dina had begun to suffer from a period of intense spiritual darkness and suffering which would continue on her return home. She was still filled with a great love for Jesus but He was often silent and a frightening interior struggle began, from which she could not escape – this was indeed difficult.
So now I am asking if you have ever experienced an interior struggle? You want to do something and then you do the opposite.  You resolve to live in a certain way, but then let yourself be carried away by the influence of what others do.  You are annoyed by things and people, but do not know how to overcome these feelings.  A temptation presents itself and you cannot overcome it. It is true that you suffer in all this.  The same happened to Dina.  Perhaps it will help you to know what she did.  She did not change the plan she had made for her prayers, but rather prolonged them and learned to discern where the voice of Jesus could be heard. She did not want to be carried away by any illusion.  Try this  remedy, I am sure that you will feel a great and helpful peace.

After the two years in New York, Dina outwardly continued her ordinary life as a young woman: going out with her friends, meetings, accompanying her mother in visits to needy people, some excursions and concerts … without neglecting her studies, the piano by herself and harmony through a correspondence course. From time to time she asked herself why she was making such an effort; she felt that she would never reach the level she aspired to.  One day she heard within her the voice of Jesus who said to her: “Your knowledge of music will protect your vocation, but, above all  you will do good by your writings”.  Dina did not understand and said to herself, “By my writings?” Little did she imagine what, one day as a Sister, what would be asked of her by the superior.
Yes, although she does not know it yet, it refers to her Autobiography which she will begin to write in March 1924 and which today has been translated into several languages; Spanish, English, Italian and German. Many people have read it and it has done and does great good to so many.  I hope that it will do the same for you. When reading it, some of the expressions used may not be familiar to you, but try to look beyond the words… you must remember that Dina is using the vocabulary of French spirituality in the first decades of twentieth century… which would have been deepened during formation as a religious.

In Quebec the concert season, as such, now opened up before Dina. The simplicity of her dress, her attitude and self-presentation charmed everyone.  Before every concert Jesus asked her to sacrifice success, something which she did, and offers Him a possible failure. However, the audience applauds her, praises her and encourages her to carry on – saying that she would go far, a brilliant future lies before her. But she always retained her beautiful simplicity. Kindly and simply she accepts all the demonstrations of encouragement, but deep down they only convince her of her lack of ability and even though she admits to success, she feels empty before it and it arouses only indifference within her.  Nobody notices it but we know what suffering this praise caused her.


Do you understand? Within her Dina vibrates with the music and she composes pieces some of which have been preserved. Perhaps the best known is the one called the Ricordanza”. If you ever hear it you will come to understand the power, beauty and harmony of the chords. If you would like to listen to it, you can find it on the Web.

Thursday 7 July 2016

More letters

I cannot fail to share other extracts from Dina’s letters as I want you to get to know Dina well.

3 December 1916: “…  Speaking  of  my holidays. I will probably be with you in three weeks’  time, We will arrive in Montreal on the Sunday morning of Christmas Eve. We will go to Mass and then leave for Quebec in order to arrive in time for Midnight Mass. If you need anything, for presents etc., please ask me soon so that I can buy them. I assure that there is a wonderful choice, please give me some ideas. If there are things that will not pass the Customs I will let you know… I feel that I am making great progress with the piano. I have acquired extraordinary strength … Do you know what happened yesterday? While practicing the Rhapsody of Auvergne, I broke a key, the wooden support of one of the hammers that hit the strings…”


12 February 1917: “…  I am very well and eat enough for three! Are you smiling doubtfully?  Every morning, except Friday, I have a steak and four pieces of toast, yes, four, each about three inches square. The fear of war has not ruined my appetite... Greetings to you my dear parents – I cover the letter with kisses – look carefully at the envelope in case one should escape!”

22 May 1917: “… Last Saturday at three o’clock, I did my piano examination. I was not at all nervous and neither did my memory fail me. I played twenty variations: eleven pages. At first, the teachers, Mr Damrosch and Mr Newstead were following in my exercise book, but then they came as close as possible in order to observe the movements of my hands, fingers, arms etc. Then Mr Damrosch stopped me and patted my shoulder, “You are very talented! You have made a lot of progress since I heard you the first time. I can see that you work very hard, I am very pleased with you!” Then he took my hand and said to Mr Newstead, “she has a long narrow hand; with such a hand she will be able to have more strength and extend it even further”… and he added “She did not buy it in the market! She had to accept it as it was”. I laughed. Yesterday I had a lesson with M. Newstead… He began to talk about next year, but I interrupted him, “if I do return …” “Don’t say that to me “ he replied. If all that is said is in order to encourage me, then they have succeeded; you will understand that this encourages me to work: I am very well…”

25 October 1917. “I went to the Conservatoire this afternoon. They awarded me an A, the top mark, for harmony. The piano goes from strength to strength.  Have you noticed the moon? Tonight I asked it to do something for me. Take a careful look at it, it will pass on many loving wishes from me. Did you sleep well last night? Today has been sunny and I am now going to the  Rosary for the month of October.  Good night, dear mother and father – I send you a big hug.”
Well, I could quote much more from Dina’s letters to you, but I do not want to go on for too long. I am sure you feel you know Dina well.  Now we will follow her when she returns definitively to Quebec.

On finishing her studies her parents offered her a piano and she went to choose and buy it with her father in New York.  Having made the choice they found that it had already been sold, but that three other very good ones had just arrived, so Dina picked a dark-coloured one that she liked very much. She was so happy and dreamed of playing it at home, drawing out its sound and, more than anything, giving pleasure to her parents.