TWO ICONS OF BLESSED DINA BELANGER CREATED BY SR MARTHA BELANGER RJM.

This icon, was created in 1997, the centenary year of the birth of Blessed Dina Belanger and expresses, both in form and colour, some aspects of her spiritual journey, which can be resumed in the words « It is not I who live, but Christ who lives in me». (Gal. 2 :20)

The stages of Dina’s journey can be defined as follows :

SELF SURRENDER: expressed by the brown garment, a sign of renunciation of the world.

TRUST : The word that can be read on the scroll is the synthesis of a life that allows itself to be led by the Lord, through obedience, to the very end. Her autobiography, a task that was, for her, the most costly of her whole life, is a witness to the depth of the special mission that she knew she had been given.     

LOVE: The cross on her breast says everything about the love that Dina had for Christ in His Passion and her love for her Congregation, the monogram of which appears on the cross.

THANKSGIVING AND PETITION : the right hand, raised in a gesture of petition, is an expression of her prayer-life and the visible ear that of her willingness to listen to   all  who confide in her.

COMMUNION IN THE TRINITY :  the three beams of light on her forehead represent the path that Dina followed to the very center of the Trinity.

This other icon of Blessed Dina Belanger was painted in 2010. Dina is presented with, in her left hand, a miniature organ,  a symbol of the instrument that can render the purest spiritual harmonies, those which Dina would, no doubt, have heard.

Her right hand, while issuing an invitation to prayer, indicates Christ who offers her a cup « Do you wish to drink from my chalice ? » It is the gesture of the Lover to the beloved who will taste real joy.

THE ICON OF “THE THRONE OF GRACE OR IN PRAISE OF JESUS AND MARY “

ICONS

An icon, in the Christian tradition is a representation of holy persons (saints) in order to express the Divine.  Thus the key is in the concept of transfiguration, especially in the features of these persons.  The meaning of an icon is profoundly theological and, as such, differs from a holy picture. It is totally integrated into the catechesis of the Orthodox Church but also into that of the Catholic Church.

In our times, as human beings we need tangible means by which to grow and approach beauty, truth and the Divine, in order to give meaning to our lives.

Some iconographers, aware of the rich interior life of Blessed Dina Belanger, have dedicated icons to her. We are going to present them to you in the next editions.

THE ICON OF “THE THRONE OF GRACE OR IN PRAISE OF JESUS AND MARY “

The icon of « The Throne of Grace or In Praise of Jesus and Mary » is in the form of a triptych and was created by Sr Marthe Belanger RJM in June 1993, the feast of the Holy Trinity.

The Virgin Mary seated on a throne and placed close to her Son in glory, becomes the living image of the Church.  Jesus raises his right hand in blessing and in the left holds the scroll of the Word. Mary extends one hand towards Jesus, while the other reaches downwards in a movement of communion with her Son. The green and amber colours are a reminder of the chapel in the Generalate in Rome.

On the panel on the left, Saint Claudine is clothed in brown and red, the colours of humility and renunciation of the world. Her right hand is in the position of blessing that is reserved for the founders of religious orders or congregations. With her left hand she indicates the path to salvation and holiness : Jesus and Mary.

The panel on the right represents Blessed Dina Belanger, dressed in flowing robes as a sign of joy.  Her right hand points to the path of life: love of Jesus, love of Mary, together being but one love. The left hand holds a scroll as a sign of her mission: « You will do much good by your writings » and her motto, « Love and let Jesus and Mary have their way » can also been seen.

When looking at this picture the person standing before it is overwhelmed by silence and a deep conviction , « Every gift comes from on high » and one can join with the big family of Jesus and Mary in saying with her in truth , PRAISED FOREVER BE JESUS AND MARY!

THE CHURCH OF ST FRANCIS XAVIER DE BROMONT

The parish of St Francis Xavier was served by the parish priest of Granby from 1858 to 1859, the date of the nomination of the first resident parish priest and the start of the Parish Registers. The parish, which belonged to the diocese of Sherbrooke, was canonically erected on the 6th June1858.

The parish expanded when 52 families arrived to establish the future West Shefford. Ten years later a syndicate began the construction of the present church, which took place between 1889 and 1891.

On the 23rd and 24th of November 1996, two religious of Jesus and Mary went to Bromont to talk about Dina at the Saturday and Sunday Masses and a photograph of Blessed Dina Belanger is installed in the church.

EGLISE “BON PASTEUR” DE MATANE

The Church of the Good Shepherd at Matane, was built in 1978 and blessed by Mgr Gilles-Ouellet, the Archbishop of Rimouski, in the month of August 1979.

On the 12th May, 1996, Father Rosaire Dionne, Parish Priest of the parish of the Good Shepherd at Matane, blessed a stained glass window in honour of Blessed Dina Bélanger, mystic and musician, who was beatified by Pope John Paul II on the 20th March 1993.

In 2016 the church was given to the Historical and Genealogical Society of Matane. In ceding the church, the Good Shepherd Factory, expressed the hope that the museum section of the church be retained and asked the new owners to conserve the collection of valuable works of art that decorate this place of worship. The church, in which the glass window in honour of Dina is to be found, also contains 19 wooden statues and 14 glass windows, of which 17 depict the foundresses who contributed to the religious history of Quebec, as well as a symbolic 'Stations of the Cross' also in glass.

THE BASILICA OF SAINT ANNE OF BEAUPRÉ

The first church dedicated to Saint Anne, was built in 1658 and the present Basilica which was inaugurated officially in 1976, is a place of pilgrimage, the most important of which takes place on the 26 July, the occasion of the feast of Saint Anne, who is both the ecclesiastical and civil patron of Quebec. The Basilica was designated by the Canadian Bishops’ Conference as one of the five national shrines of the country.

On the 6th June, 2008, a painting of Dina Belanger, the work of Mr Marius Dubois, was placed in the crypt of the Basilica, in the chapel of the Immaculate Conception, on the occasion of the International Eucharistic Congress which marked the 400th anniversary of the foundation of the city of Quebec. This painting is to be found among those of the Founders, the Beatified and the Saints of the Canadian Church. Furthermore, there is a photo of Dina, at the entrance to the crypt, a reproduction of the same picture together with a brief of her life in English and French. 

Given the importance of this Basilica, which welcomes more than one and a half million pilgrims each year, Blessed Dina Belanger can thus become known by many more people. Pictures and leaflets in four languages, which tell the story of her life, are available on the counter beneath the painting. Books and brochures can also be obtained in the Basilica bookshop.

The church of Our Lady of Jaques Cartier, known for its leaning tower, was founded in 1851. It is situated at the heart of the old town of Quebec and is the oldest church in the city. It was Dina’s parish church and where she made her first Holy Communion.

On the 24th of March, 1994, the first anniversary of the Beatification of Dina Belanger, was the occasion for the celebration of a Mass during which a large photograph of Dina as a student, the work of the celebrated photographer  Eugene Kdil, was unveiled and placed on the front of the organ loft.

On the 25th of April, 2001, the day before the 104th anniversary of Dina’s birthday, Father Robert Sylvain blessed a statue of Blessed Dina, the work of Mr Andrew Pelletier and the gift of Mrs Gertrude Maheux, a parishioner and god-child of Mr and Mrs Octave Belanger, Dina’s parents.

In 1998, this church was joined to the parish of Saint Roch and is now known as Our Lady of Saint Roch. In January 2011, on the iniciative of the Saint Roch Foundation, it became the Benevolent Cooperative of Our Lady of Saint Roch, perpetuating, in this way,  the work of social assistance carried  out by the clergy over many years.

The Sanctuary Dina Belanger in the Church of the Holy Name of Jesus at Chicoutimi

The church of the Holy Name of Jesus is in the district of Chicoutimi, in the sector Riviere-duMoulin, in the municipality of Saguenay. In the middle of the 20^th century the rapid demographic development of Chicoutimi which, by then, was a flourishing industrial town, required the creation of several new parishes in order to respond to the needs of the increasing population. This was the context in which, in 1950, the parish of the Holy Name of Jesus was established.

On Sunday, the 18^th June, 1995, on the Feast of Corpus Christi, four religious of Jesus and Mary, travelled to Chicoutimi. In the afternoon,  during a celebration presided over by the parish priest, a picture of Blessed Dina Bélanger was blessed and placed on the wall of the church. A lamp was then set before it which will shine in this simple sanctuary and invite prayer and thanksgiving. At the end of the celebration everyone was  invited to venerate the relic of Dina by an act  faith,  entrusting to Our Lord, through the intercession of Dina, the personal intentions and the needs of our brothers and sisters throughout the world.