ICON OF BLESSED DINA CREATED BY M. ROGER FOURNIER

The icon of Blessed Dina, writed by M. Roger Fournier was blessed on the 20th March 2013 on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Beatification of Dina. The celebration, which was open to the public, attracted a large audience. A concert given by Mme Edith Beaulieu, the organist at St. Roch created an atmosphere that was both joyful and reverent before a  Eucharist that was celebrated by the Auxiliary Bishop of Quebec Mgr Gaetan Proulx in the Provincial House of Sillery. Bishop Proulx also blessed the icon of Blessed Dina at the end of the ceremony.

This icon depicts Dina, holding in her left hand a scroll that expresses the love of the Eucharistic Heart of Jesus for all humanity and His great desire to pour innumerable graces over the world.  Her right hand is in a position of supplication and prayer.

This icon is, at present, in the community of the Religious of Jesus and Mary in the suburb of St Roch, Quebec, where Dina Belanger lived.

ICONS CREATED BY MADAME GILBERTE MASSICOTTE-ETHIER

Madam Gilberte Massicote-Ethier, iconographist and native of Quebec, who died on the 24th September 2013, was one of the rare iconographers to make use of the complete process in use for the creation of a religious icon, a work of art and tradition, as much appreciated by connoisseurs as by people of faith . She set out to illustrate the saints that have marked the history of Quebec, in order to give life to the invisible grace in art and, according to her, to touch people with its beauty.

Among the images that she painted are two of Dina Belanger. In January 2007, the Exhibition Words-Icons took place at the Oratory of St Joseph in Quebec with 54 of the icons of Madame Massicotte-Ethier. According to her, they were « words for the eyes ». Among the icons was that of Blessed Dina Belanger which depicts the depths of her beauty, her message of love and light reflected in her face.

In the context of the Year of Faith, on the feast of All the Saints, 1st November there was a public Profession of Faith on the Promenades Beauport of Quebec. As well as the music and festivities, in the first half various Christian communities and individuals gave witness to their faith. In the second,  more liturgical part, there was a common profession of Faith, and the Archbishop of Quebec, Cardinal Gerald C. Lacroix unveiled and blessed one of Madam Gilbert Massicotte’s magnificent icons, of which the theme was, precisely, that of All the Saints.

In the lower part of the icon, Blessed Dina Belanger appears, in the circle of saints, in the first line on the left.

ICON OF BLESSED DINA BELANGER CREATED IN LEBANON

This icon was painted in 1993 in the studios of the Carmelite Monastery of the Theotokos  in  Harissa, Lebanon.   It does not pretend to describe the history of Dina’s life in detail, but rather to try to express her spiritual message in simple terms. For Dina the relationship with the Trinity is the central axis around which her entire spiritual life revolves. Her message is : » Let Jesus live in us, for thus the Holy Trinity will be enabled to pour out grace in profusion ». The icon is composed so as to emphasize this reality as lived by Blessed Dina. 

At the top, there is a small miniature of the icon of the monk Andre Roublev, the model for all the representations of the Blessed Trinity.  In the center, Dina is standing in the position of those who have been resurrected. The   style and elegance of her silhouette indicates her spiritual   achievement.  As a musician and as a mystic, she is completely given over to the power of God. On the left of the icon a flame burns on an altar and the five steps required to  reach it evoke a grace, described by Blessed Dina in her Autobiography,  in order to  describe that Jesus had taken over her being.

The right hand side of the icon is rich in symbols : a pomegranate tree with its fruit a figure of grace,  and of which the circular form  symbolizes the eternity and infinity of God. A star, represents Mary, the light and guide of Dina ; a dark cave represents the place where the, so called, « old creation » within Dina will die and thus enable «new creation »  enlivened by the life-giving Spirit, to rise. The water that flows from the cave reminds us of the life-giving power of redemptive suffering. The deer which drinks at the source is the image of Dina, consumed by the desire to love God and to suffer for Love.

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.