"THE CARMELITES" "Father, I cannot lie." "I'm happy." "I might do wrong in telling you this, my lord," "But suddenly, when I saw Miss Blanche in her wedding dress," "I thought of seeing again the lady, her mother, and you at her arm." "Yes, my good Thierry." "Thanks." "I also thought of that." " Father." " Yes?" "Do you think it is wise to return through Saint Denis?" "Yes, it is true." "We'd meet the crowd and couldn't endure it." "And in these times we should be back before dark." "Yes Thierry, avoid going to Saint Denis." "What do you ask for?" " God's mercy and yours." "In the world your name was Marie Genevieve Meunier." "In religion, your name will be Constance of St. Denis, Martyr." "In the world your name was Blanche de la Force." "In religion, your name will be Blanche of the Agony of Christ." "Our help is in the name of the Lord," "Who made heaven and earth." "God be praised!" "God be praised!" "Welcome, Sister Blanche!" " Thank you!" "Do you feel happy, Sister Blanche?" " Very happy, thank you!" "Good night, Sister Blanche." "My daughter, the rule orders to close the door." "Mother, I believe I will never be a good Carmelite." "A scary skull for everybody." "They should warn of the presence of this object in the cell of a Carmelite." "God has sent you here, Mother, to hear what I have not had the courage to tell." "There is a fatal weakness in me that made me suffer greatly." "As a child, I couldn't climb stairs without thinking it was going to collapse." "I have always been afraid of life and death." "Poor little thing." "You've dreamed of this house as a little girl dreams in her dark room, of a common room, with its light and its heat." "You know nothing about the loneliness, how a Carmelite must live .." "..or die." "Mother, I thought I was honest a while ago." "I did not mean to lie to my father." "What did you tell him?" " That I was happy." "We do not seek happiness here." "Our Bridegroom is not the smiling Christ who is shown in religious images." "He is the Man of Sorrows of whom speak Holy Scriptures." "My daughter, in the spirit of Carmel there is no room for softness." "But I'm sick, condemned, as stated by our doctor, Mr. Javelinot." "And so, I can be moved." "Great tests await you, my daughter." "It won't matter, if God gives me strength." "What God wants to prove in you it is not your strength but your weakness." "The nights are short in the Carmel." "And, as a good soldier, a Carmelite should know sleep." "Passing one day on horseback in the plain that extends over Assisi, he met a leper who produced such horror in him that he looked away so as not to see and resumed his journey on the other side," "but recalling the resolution that he had taken.." "The doctor is waiting for you." "..dismounted and approached the leper and lovingly kissed his wounds." "Thus showing his great love for Christ.." "I'm afraid we can no longer do anything." "It took too much of your strength, Mother." "and I cannot work miracles." "But, Doctor, listen.." "Yesterday, however, not only I ate the soup without repugnance, but even with pleasure." "Isn't it so, Mother Marie of the Incarnation?" "What your Reverence says is true." "I feel much better than in my last crisis." "When the storm breaks .." "I'm sure I'll rest." "I meant only that we'd better discontinue the medication and let nature take its course, with no more struggling against the disease." "Try to relax and not to move." "May God preserve you, my Mother!" "To Him I give my healing or dying" "According to His will." "I'm sorry I thought aloud in front of the Reverend Mother, Prioress." "Do not regret anything." "If you have attended more houses like this, you'll know that there are two kinds of religious able to die peacefully:" "the very holy and mediocre." "It is very painful to have to show myself like this, cared for like a drowned just out of the water." "If it were not for my legs, numb and lifeless," "I'd not believe to be in danger." "Mother Marie." "How many days of life has Mr. Javelinot calculated?" "Excuse me, your Reverence, but he thinks that it is not even a matter of days." "My God, I've reached the end." "Go find Blanche." " Bring her, Sister St. Augustine." "It was my understanding, Mother, that your anxiety had subsided tonight." "It was a drowsiness of the soul." "So I did not feel like I was dying." "Now, nothing distracts me from death." "I'm alone, Mother, all alone, without any consolation." "I'm alone.." "and I am scared." "Get up daughter, and don't look at me like that." "There is nothing unusual before your eyes." "Do not leave me, Mother." "My daughter.." "Why did you choose to be called" "Blanche of the Agony of Christ?" "I do not know, Mother." "It was like an impulse." "Of all the moments of the life of Our Lord," "I wish I had been with him just when he was alone and abandoned in Gethsemane." "Of all my daughters, you're the last one who has arrived." "The most beloved of my heart." "The more helpless and threatened." "To avert this threat, I would have given my poor life." "Now, I can not give more than my death." "A poor death!" "Mother Marie of the Incarnation!" " Yes, Reverend Mother?" "I was the one who introduced into this house.." "Sister Blanche of the Agony of Christ." "I'm responsible for her." "I must delegate this responsibility before someone else takes my office." "Mother Marie!" "In the name of Holy Obedience.." "I entrust to you Sister Blanche of the Agony of Christ.." "here present." "You will answer me for her before God." "Yes, Mother." "Again these detestable beans!" "They say that speculators rationed the flour, and that they won't have bread in Paris" "Oh, finally the iron is here!" "They've fixed it already." "Look how they have strengthened the handle." "We shan't hear Sr. Jeanne of the Divine Infancy scream while blowing her fingers,"How can one iron with such a piece of junk!"" "Hilarious." "I bite my tongue to keep from laughing." "When she says.." " Constance!" "Are not you ashamed to talk like that when our Mother is dying?" "My God, sister." "In the Carmel, death is a ceremony like any other." "The last on earth before the great processions of Paradise." "Have you not ever had fear of death?" " Life has always seemed so much fun!" "Aren't you afraid God may get tired one day of so much good humor and say to you as to St. Angela of Foligno:" ""Love is not always joy?"" "Sister Blanche, I cannot help believing that you wanted to hurt me on purpose." "No, you're wrong." "I did it because of envy." "You envy me?" "How strange." "You envy me when I deserve to be flogged to speak so lightly of the death of our Rev. Mother." "Sister Blanche:" "Let us offer our two poor lives for that of her Reverence." "But what I have to do in this comedy?" "Leave that silly board and answer me!" "Sister Blanche, now you're upset with me." "How can you believe that our lives can save another's life?" "You're as proud as hell!" "That's horrible!" "Horrible!" "Stop, stop!" "Let's stop ringing the bells!" "There's too much haste, I have not died yet." "Calm down, Mother, they're not ringing any bell." "It's my poor ears that are playing outbursts." "Have you summoned the community?" "The ceremony, to which your Reverence is referring, can wait." "Yes, until I am good for nothing." "But look, look!" "How can I show this face to my daughters?" " But, Mother, do not worry about us." "Do not worry about anything other than God." "Who am I, miserable me, to care for him?" "Let Him worry about me!" " Your Reverence is delirious." "Watch out for the horses!" "Close all doors, quick!" "Oh, too late!" "Peace, Mother!" " What do you mean?" "Peace, peace!" "Are you blind?" "Don't you see the war and blood everywhere?" "Mother Marie!" "Mother Marie!" " Yes, Mother?" "I've just seen our chapel empty and desecrated." "The altar split in two.." "straw and blood on the tiles." "Oh, God is abandoning us!" "God is repudiating us!" "I beg you say nothing that might.." " Say nothing, say nothing!" "Why nothing?" "Sr. Elisabeth, close the window!" "What matters what I say!" "Anguish.." "is stuck to my skin as a mask of wax." "If I could tear it with my fingernails!" "Tell the sisters that today they will not see the Rev. Mother." "At six recreation, as usual." "No, Mother Marie of the Incarnation:" "I order you.." "Sr. Elisabeth, you are not going to faint like a little girl?" "Get on your knees and pray." "There's nothing else we can do." "Sr. Blanche!" "Sr. Blanche, come!" "Take off the apron." "Sisters, our Mother has appeared before God." "Sr. Catherine, intone the Salve Regina.." "I'd never have thought that an election in Carmel would take so long." "They must be discussing as much as in the National Assembly." "It's a difficult election." "Things are becoming worse for religion." "I bet on Mother Marie of the Incarnation," "I've prayed for her election." "You always think that God will decide according to your tastes." " And why not?" "I also hope they elect Mother Marie, as she is the most worthy of all." "I proclaim elected as prioress of the Carmel," "Mother Therese of St. Augustine." "Our help is in the Name of the Lord." "Who created heaven and earth." "God be praised." " May He be praised." "Sr. Lucie!" " Whom have they elected?" "Mother Therese of St. Augustine." " God be praised!" "Tell her Reverence the Commissioner is here and he is getting impatient." "Sister Lucie, here are the letters for the Commissioner." "Tell him that the Reverend Mother is waiting in the parlor." "Mr. Commissioner, I apologize if I made you wait, but an election is always more complicated and longer than expected." "And since when, ma'am, you vote in convents?" "Since ever, I imagine, or otherwise, for centuries;" "this shows that we are not as reactionary as they say." "My name is Mother Therese of St. Augustine." "And is it you whom they elected prioress?" "Yes, in fact, not what I expected." "Are you a foreigner?" "In our homes there is no foreigner." "We are all sisters." "Oh, sure." "Equality, fraternity and freedom." "We're here freely." "I've sent you the list not only of the goods of the community, but also of the endowments of the religious." "Do you want to proceed with any verification?" "No, ma'am, your word and signature are enough." "But it is my duty to warn you that you have only the usufruct of these assets, which now belong to the nation." "Citizen, bring these documents to the municipality." "Madam." "It seems, in France and even in this city the bloodthirsty and rioters are the majority." "I am not such." "So, facilitate my work." "Rightly or wrongly, people think that the monasteries are home of profiteers and traitors." "As for me, I have the duty to follow the orders from Paris." "In this situation, the slightest imprudence on your part could be fatal." "Your recommendations are consistent with my main concern." "Thank you very much, Commissioner." "Father, I am Chevalier de la Force." "Help me to hide." "Come in, quickly." "Here they will not find you." "They have been following me for a mile." " You can sleep here." "Thanks, but I am in a great hurry." "They expect me in Vermont before dawn." "I must reach the army of the princes and would like to see my sister immediately." "I am only the chaplain." "We'll have to ask the Mother Prioress." "Luckily, the night office is not over." "Come with me." "Mr. Chevalier de La Force wants to see his sister." "He's leaving France." "He cannot wait until morning." "But they'll accuse us of hosting fugitives." "Only you, Mother, can decide." "But you must decide quickly." "Under the rule, I have no right to deny a religious to see her brother, even less if she might not see him again." "Take him to the parlor." "Accompany Sr. Blanche to the parlor." "What fright you gave me." "What does this visit in the middle of the night mean?" "How is our Father?" "He entrusted me with a message for you." "He says that here you're not safe." "Maybe you're right, but I feel safe." "And that's enough for me." "Blanche, we just have a few minutes." "Only from abroad one can defend the King." "That is why I'm leaving." "Do not get your hopes up." "The revolution will not spare anything that it has decided to destroy." "And you advise me to flee from danger, while you are going to meet it?" "Blanche, I beg you, do not act like a child." "The habit you wear is not a defense, on the contrary." "Mr. Chevalier." "This habit is a uniform on a battlefield." "And the Carmel is a fortress that prepares itself to support an assault." "But you, my daughter, as long as you have not pronounced your vows are free to go." " Please, Mother, I'm staying." "I want you to think of myself as a comrade in arms." "We will both fight, each in his way." "And mine has risks and dangers, like yours." "So, farewell little sister." "Our father will be very proud of you." "Now we're all bound to the same destiny." "Who knows?" "I've been proud, I will be punished." "Citizen, no passage." "What's happening?" " Warn the Prioress immediately." "The whole community shall meet in the chapel." "Mother Mary, we must expect an inspection." "You stay at the cloister door." "And when those men come to ask to enter, demand, above all to see the inspection order." "Do not oppose any resistance, but do not separate from them." "Thanks be to God, Mr. de La Force is far away." "Rev. Mother, Sr. Blanche is not there." "Go see in her cell." "If she's tired, tell her I give her permission to rest." "Put the veil." "Christ, have mercy on us." " Christ, have mercy on us" "Lord, have mercy on us." " Lord, have mercy on us." "God, the Father of heaven!" " Have mercy on us!" "God, the Son, the Redeemer of the world!" " Have mercy on us!" "God, the Holy Spirit!" " Have mercy on us!" "Holy Mary!" " Pray for us!" "Holy Mother of God!" " Pray for us!" "Saint Michael!" " Pray for us!" "Saint Gabriel!" " Pray for us!" "Saint Stephen!" " Pray for us!" "Saint Lawrence!" " Pray for us!" "Saint Vincent!" " Pray for us!" "Saint Sylvester!" " Pray for us!" "Saint Gregory!" " Pray for us!" "Saint Ambrose!" " Pray for us!" "Who is she?" "Could we end once with this masquerade?" "Take off the veil, Sr. Constance." "Citizen.." "How long have you been locked in this house?" "I'm very happy to be in here, as if I were at home." "I don't feel locked up at all, Mr. Commissioner." "And why does one accept to live behind bars?" "To know God, love Him, and serve Him, and thus merit eternal happiness, Mr. Commissioner." "Ah, I see you know the lesson by heart." "We know it with certainty." "Last night they had concealed a suspect." "And he must show up somewhere." "Come, citizen, do not be afraid." "I'm here only to provide the protection of the law." "Citizen!" "I order you to tell me how long ago this girl has been held here." "I think you should ask herself." "She seems to have lost the use of the word." "You don't think it was you who scared her?" "This girl will come to explain herself in front of the municipality." "A registration permit does not give you rights over people." "This girl will leave from here only by her own will." "Sr. Blanche." " I forbid you to continue!" "Here I represent the Reverend Prioress and I will not take orders from you." "Citizen, remind her that we have a machine to cut the breath.." "Shut up." "Young Citizen, say just a word.." "and we'll immediately free you from those who have not even feared to abuse the name of "Mother"." "Certainly to submit is better." "You should not be afraid." "Since you are now under the protection of the law." "First of all, she is under mine." "And I won't let you abuse the terror of a child." "You should also know, Commissioner, that for the poorest daughters of the Carmel honor is stronger than fear." "I'll have to give account to the municipality." "It is to your conscience that you should give account first." "As long as there are beings like you, there'll be no respite for the patriots." "This house is a Bastille." "And we'll destroy it, like the other." "You must also destroy us, to the last, because where there is a daughter of St. Therese, there is a Carmel." "Follow me, citizen." "What a fool I am!" "That conversation was to make us forget our mission." "I know where the fugitive is hiding." " Where, citizen Commissioner?" "All the nuns here wear black veils." "And I bet that the fugitive is there in the middle, he also with his veil, reciting the Our Father." "From sudden and unprovided death!" "Deliver us, O Lord." "From the snares of the devil!" " Deliver us, O Lord." "From anger, hatred.." "In the name of law:" "I order you to immediately remove your veils and look at me with your face uncovered." "I told you that you must remove those veils." "My daughters, take off your veils." "Take off your veil, Sr. Jeanne." "My daughters, wait in the cloister." "I ask you to vote to decide whether we should allow them to pronounce the vows, or we should return them to the world." "The new French laws formally ban monastic vows." "If two novices pronounced them, it would be a challenge." "I do not intend to challenge anyone." "I've done everything possible to avoid colliding with the Commissioner, but I can not go so far as to ask permission to observe the rule." "The ceremony will be secret, behind closed doors." "For Sr. Constance, no problem." "For Sr. Blanche, it is not so simple." " I agree." "Sr. Blanche took refuge here for the rule to protect her and keep her, when it is we who must protect the rule." "Excuse me, Reverend Mother." "I would plead with the Council in favor of Sr. Blanche of the Agony of Christ." "I know the risks of her character, but I feel it would break a promise to the dead if we rejected her and I could not watch over her." "Let's vote." "Three votes against." "Someone go find Sr. Blanche of the Agony of Christ." "I'm going, Mother." "Sister Blanche!" "My daughter," "Neither you nor we hope more than you may be freed here from your mortal anguish." "The Council has decided to return you to the protection of your father." "No doubt that in better times or later, who knows.." "Answer me honestly." "Do you think I will hurt you by returning you to the world?" "Yes, you'll hurt me." "Not even I expect to overcome my weakness." "No, I don't expect it any more." "But this house is the only place in the world where I can offer it to our Lord, as a patient offers his wounds." "I believe, Mother, that maybe God wanted me a coward as He wanted the others good or stupid." "All right, so be it." "Sister Blanche of the Agony of Christ, remain a Carmelite." "I will never leave you." "Do you understand me?" "Never." "Sacrifice to God the glory of the world." "Is it by your own will and by choice that you pronounce these solemn vows?" " Yes." "Do you intend to persevere until death?" " Yes." "And just for the love of our Lord?" "Yes, by the grace of God and the prayers of my sisters." "May God, who has guided you to us, lead you until the the end." "Sacrifice to God the glory of the world." "I am not leaving you, but I am obliged to hide." "I refused to swear allegiance to the Constitution." "I'm an outcast." "Now, for you, I'm out of the law." "But if a fish can not live out of water, a Christian lives very well outside the law." "We will manage the same, with some precautions." "André will be our contact." "In the affairs of this world, when you lose all hope of reconciliation, the last resort is strength." "In God's affairs, the last resort is the sacrifice of the consecrated souls." "Sister, pray for me." " Sister, pray for me." "Sister, pray for me." " Sister, pray for me." "Sister, pray for me." "Mother, pray for me." "Concern does not make you lose your appetite, Sr. Constance." "It is the fourth apple that I see you eat." "Really, at this rate the basket will not be filled." "Why do we need so many provisions?" "Maybe we die before these apples rot." "It is not fixed that we die." "I have no hurry to die, Sr. Constance." " Ah, neither do I." "But if we let the Lord decide about our lives, what's the use of worrying about what to eat?" "We may never find another opportunity to be gluttonous." "Yours is a curious way of preparing for martyrdom." "On the contrary, it's appropriate." "Before facing the lions in the arena, to be devoured," "I want at least to suppress my hunger." "Well, Sr. Constance, the lions will surely be very grateful." "Moreover, their food will be more nutritious." "Soldiers!" "Come and see you too, Sr. Anne of Jesus." "What are they singing?" "It must be a new song, I've never heard it." "It's a terrible song." " Yes, but it is magnificent." "Down from the ladder immediately." "You have violated claustration." " Forgive us, Mother." "What was the matter with you?" "I had a crazy idea, Mother:" "I have a brother in the national army, and I thought he was marching with them, and that I could see him." "And you, Sr. Constance?" "Oh Mother, I could not resist." "I love parades." "I'm glad of your visit, Commissioner, so I can protest directly to you." "Protest, madam, and why?" "Because we have been deprived of our Chaplain." "It's absurd to think that a peaceful man like him could be considered dangerous" "and be made an outlaw." "Madam, I'm afraid you have not understood your own situation and the danger you are facing." "What harm do we do?" "It is not the harm you do, but that which is attributed to you." "Have not you heard that the Prussians are marching on Verdun?" "And maybe they'll be here in three days, and in five in Paris." "Across France volunteers are enrolled." "The people feel betrayed." "And they are suspicious everywhere." "On Sunday, in Paris, there was a massacre in the prison." "Oh God!" "Are you sure?" "Yes, I am." "There is here among you, a young woman.." "whose name is Sr. Anne of Jesus." "Yes." "What do you want from her?" "She had a brother in the army of the Rhine, he was killed in battle." "They found a letter to his sister." "So I heard." "At last you'll be convinced, Mr. Commissioner, that we are good patriots." "We want peace and the protection of the law." "Ah, madam, if it were only that." "Why?" "What else is there?" "When things go wrong in the country, someone is to blame." "So, why not you?" "Dear daughters, death, truncating all the affections, is always cruel." "And violent death, especially if the cause is a human being, is even more cruel." "Our country is unhinged by the invasion and the civil war." "Our relatives are divided into different fields." "Some have emigrated brothers and cousins who fight for the Princes." "others have relatives in the national armies." "Men are fighting." "Let us condemn neither one nor the other." "We are not judges, but only pleaders." "May the civil war never enter into our hearts." "Our help is in the name of the Lord, who made Heaven and Earth." "Open up, open up immediately!" "I thought I wouldn't escape!" " What happened?" "There's a crowd in the church square, and they are furious." "The baker of Meaux has been reported." "Mother Marie, gather them all in the chapel." "Do not be afraid, you will remain here with us." "And the Chaplain?" " They didn't find him." "He was not in the hideout when they searched, but they arrested the baker." "And when they saw me arrive for the bread, they grew furious." "If you allow me, I will go to the door to talk to these people." "No, my daughter, one doesn't talk to an out-of-control crowd." "Courage, my daughters!" "It's not the first time that they invade and pillage churches and monasteries." "It often happens during wars." "Silence!" "Citizens!" "Citizens!" "The French army has obtained a great victory at Valmy." "And in Paris, the Republic has been proclaimed!" "It is more than twenty years since you have set foot outside this house." "And now you go to Paris." "Are you even sure you can come back?" "We are concerned for the life of your Reverence." "It is necessary that somebody should go to get recognition." "I feel that the circle is closing every day more about us." "In a big city a group of seventeen women may be overlooked." "Why not take the risk of our vocation to the end?" "Why don't we stay all in this house, with our habit.." "observing the holy rule, and die, if necessary, as Carmelites." "Mother Marie, what I want is to protect the Carmel." "What would all of us perishing profit, if the Carmel perish with us?" "I'll say farewell to my daughters." "Careful, Sr. Constance, or you will burn St. Denise." "Is not it enough that they cut his head?" "It would be a shame." "He looks so cute with his head in his hands." "It's outrageous." "Why portray our great St. Teresa with a sword in her heart?" "The founder of Carmel died quietly in her bed, I know." "Sr. Blanche, why are you shocked?" "It is a symbol." "St. Teresa died of love for God, so an angel grabs the sword." "I do not think God would send his angels.." "to kill those who love Him." "But if God sent His Son to the terrible sacrifice of the cross." "And from that first Good Friday there is no greater honor for a Christian than to be sent to the gallows like Christ." "You said it well, Mother." ""It's an honor."" "And as for us, Carmelites, we shouldn't run after honors in any case." "When a great king, before the whole court, makes a sign to the maid to sit together to him, on his throne of glory, it is preferable that she should believe neither her eyes nor her ears," "and continue cleaning the furniture." "In my absence, to Mother Marie, who has my confidence," "I delegate my authority." "Obey her as myself." "Mother, come back soon to us." "I hope with all my heart." "God help you, my daughter." "Who is it" " I'm André." "The Chaplain has found another hiding place." "He sent me to tell you that he'll celebrate the office of Good Friday tomorrow at midnight in Albetier's barn." " Thanks, dear." "All precautions have been taken." "We expect to lead you in groups of two or three." "Thank you." " Good night, Mother." "See you tomorrow." " See you tomorrow." "Friend, whereto art thou come?" "Dost thou betray the Son of man with a kiss, your Teacher and your Lord?" "Then they rushed impetuously upon Him" "And the soldiers, full of rage and unbridled fury, those Barbarians, seeing Him in their power, unleashed all their fury upon Him." "It's funny, we have come together to the Carmel." "I chose the name of a martyr, but yours is the most beautiful." "It's the very name of the martyrdom of our Lord." "Today it's like His feast day, I say." "Sr. Blanche, we will not part any more." "Sr. Constance," "I think it's easier to talk here in the dark." "I too would like not to part with you." "But I am afraid." "And I am ashamed to be afraid." "But afraid of what, sister?" "Afraid of death, of what is after death." "One day you told me, fear is an illusion of the devil of which God can free us." "Sometimes I think.." "that He does not want to free me." "But how can you think that God does not love you?" "Even your name, and all that you are must remind God of the terrible moment.." "when His own Son felt abandoned." "Come." "Last night, you attended a secret meeting.." "under the direction of a recusant priest, pursued by the law." "In the Albetier barn, to be exact." "Answer: yes or no." " Yes." "And I hold myself responsible for that meeting," "It's I who organized it." "And my sisters did nothing but obey." "That's enough." "All disobeyed the law." "All exposed themselves to suffer its rigor." "We went to venerate the Cross on which our Master suffered His martyrdom." "So much the better if we suffer or even die for that." "In times like these to die is nothing." "To live is nothing." "Is this what you mean?" "In fact, only death counts, when life is devalued by fear even to the ridiculous and is worth less than your paper money." "These words may cost you dearly." "I do not think that your comrades approve your insolence." "What's he saying?" "I want to know.." "if you all agree in disobeying the law.." "and insulting a representative of the people." "You should know that nothing can separate us from Mother Marie." "It is to her that we must obey." "We'll see." "First:" "You have 24 hours to gather your things and to procure yourselves clothes, other than these ridiculous rags." "Second:" "Tomorrow morning you'll be evicted from this site." "This house will be occupied by soldiers." "Third:" "From now on, all community life is prohibited to you, and any contact with recusant priests." "And you are forbidden to live more than two or three in the same house." "You will all present yourselves to the municipality to give your names and your new addresses." "And if this is not enough, the strict application of the law will surely be able to end your obstinacy and fanaticism" "The regime aims to suppress religion and disperse the monasteries." "I think that the entire community should respond by solemnly pronouncing the vow of martyrdom." "So that France may continue to be Christian, the daughters of Carmel offer their own blood." "What do you think, sisters?" "The disadvantage of these extraordinary vows is that they can divide the spirits, and oppose conscience." "And just as we want to affirm the unity of our community." "The opposition of only one of you would make me give up my idea." "Why do not we decide with a secret ballot?" "Sr. Anne de Jesus." "Sure there will be a vote against." "There's a black ball." "Forget the vow of martyrdom." "I did it." "Here is my white ball." "But now I agree with all the others, and desire.." "I also want to pronounce this vow, I beg you, in the name of the Lord." "It's certainly a sign from God that we all agree." "I, Constance of St. Denis, make the vow of martyrdom." "I solemnly promise to God to imitate His Son in His holy Passion, without defending myself nor fleeing, offering also my blood if necessary." "For the honor of the Carmel, the exaltation of the Church, and the salvation of the world." "I, Blanche of the Agony of Christ, make the vow of martyrdom." "I solemnly promise to God to imitate His Son in His holy Passion, without defending myself nor fleeing, offering also my blood if necessary." "For the honor of the Carmel, the exaltation of the Church, and the salvation of the world." "Here's the list of houses and directions." "You shall divide yourself the sisters in groups." "Tomorrow morning, a cart will come to help you carry the essentials." "You will also give them some civilian clothes." "Sister Blanche." "After the vow we've pronounced," "God will keep us together forever." "I know.." " What do you know?" "I know that soon we shall die." " Do not touch me!" "Sister Blanche, what's the matter?" " Do not touch me!" "I lied to God." "I did not expect to see you again, at least in this world." "I can not give you any good news." "Sr. Blanche is not here." "Go, I'll catch up with you in a moment, at the municipality." "You'll inform the municipality of the new local distribution." "Are they all?" "Citizen Lidoine is missing." "Citizen Lidoine is missing." "Mother Prioress will be here in a moment." "And citizen La Force." "Citizen La Force." "Is she not that girl whom they called" "Sr. Blanche of the Agony of Christ?" "Why the hell is she not here with you?" "Where did she go?" "You, who speak so well, answer, citizen!" "You do not want to answer." "So it is I who will give them the news." "One of my patrols found this girl late at night, wandering alone through the fields, shaking for cold and fear." "What have you done to her?" "Young citizen, you are free now." "Do you want to join those whom you call your sisters or return to Paris to you father?" "Here's money and a pass." "Citizen Montreler." "Find more decent clothes for the young citizen." "Mother Therese of St. Augustine Prioress of the Carmel." "Citizen Commissioner, everything is in order." "Citizens, you may leave." "What happened?" "The Commissioner gave her the means to go to her father in Paris." "Her father was arrested eight days ago and is in prison." "What should we do, she has only ourselves in the world?" "In no way we'll abandon her." "Open, it's me, Thierry." "Thierry!" " Calm down, Miss." "We need you to come with us right away." "With this man?" " Yes, it's urgent." "Yesterday nobody was spared." "You must do what he says." "Citizen, Thierry's right, Let's hurry." "He who was the Marquis de La Force." "My friend." "He who was the Marquis de La Force." " Yes, yes, I'm coming." "Citizens Judges, the young and curious girl with me is the daughter of the accused." "The Republic snatched her from the hands of the priests who had taken her away from her father to steep her into the depths of fanaticism." "This citizen has given up superstition forever, and has sworn eternal hatred for the aristocrats and tyrants." "She proclaims her dedication to the nation and the Republic." "She has come here to thank her protectors and liberators." "Blanche, has the man who accompanies you, spoken in your name?" "Is it true what he says?" "No, Dad." "He lied." "Blanche!" "Blanche de La Force!" "The Reverend Mother sent me to look upon you, upon learning that your father is in prison." "He's in prison no more." " Is your father free?" "He is dead." "He's been guillotined." "My poor daughter, you can not stay here alone." "Come with us." "You mean that with you I'll be safer?" "You will run less risk than here." "No, I do not believe it." "Who will want to come to get me here?" "I hurt nobody, and I want nobody to hurt me." "Leave me in peace." "You scared me." "Go!" "Sister Blanche of the Agony of Christ." "Yes, Mother?" "What should I tell our Prioress?" "That I do not forget her." "Sr. Blanche, listen to me well." "I'll give you an address." "Remember that." "Miss Rose Ducor, Theater of the Palais Royal." "She has been informed." "You'll be safe with her." "I'll wait for you there." "I won't go." "I don't want to go." "You shall go." "I know you'll be back with us, sister." "I have to see Miss Rose Ducor, immediately." "Wait for her there, she won't be long." "Even here, poor Baptiste." "You're not ashamed to make a parody of a heinous death." "Let's hurry to laugh, that there will be time to mourn." "Oh, Baptiste, when you will stop taking everything so lightly?" "Someone is looking for you." "She is waiting back there." "Rose, what are you doing?" " Quick, Rose, we are already late." "Oh, we have all the time!" "I want to see how it ends." "Miss, I'm Blanche de La Force." " Yes." "When I enter the theater follow me into the dressing room." "You come to compete with me before my theater, and yet, you expect that I pay you?" "Yes, Miss Ducor pays with Golden Louis." "Stand here and do not let anyone in, not even the maid, for at least ten minutes." "Citizen, you can not enter." "I must see Mother Marie of the Incarnation." " She's there." "Mother Marie." "Mother.." "They have arrested all our sisters and have taken them to Paris to try them." "Sr. Blanche, we must reach them immediately." "O Mother, if there is any way to save them.." "I think that now I would have the courage to risk everything." "This is not to save them, but to fulfill the vow of martyrdom we pronounced freely." "And we will let them die without doing anything for them?" "What matters is not to let them die without us." "And what need have they of us to die?" "To die." "To die." "You only have that word in your mouth." "But, is it not enough for you the horror of the blood already shed?" "Only crime is horrible, my daughter." "But I do not want them to die." "And I do not want to die!" "What's happening, Sr. Constance?" "I slept under the window and it gave me wryneck." "Oh, my poor neck is.." " No, Sr. Constance!" "Excuse me, sister, it didn't occur to me.." " Come on, be quiet, Sr. Constance." "Well, my daughters, our first night in jail has passed." "It was the most difficult, but, as you see, we passed it alike." "We are used to bars." "None can take away a freedom to which we voluntarily renounced a long time ago." "Anyway, in court, to all questions answer:" "I did but obey my superiors." "It is a formal order." "I try to answer for you on earth as I would do it before God." "With your Reverence we will never be afraid of anything." "Be calm, do everything possible for your lives and your souls." "Citizen, do you have anything to say?" "We are the servants of God." " The Republic does not need servants." "I am the keeper of the soul of the country, but you, who do not recognize the authority of the laws, have also attempted to attack the city." " We are also citizens of another city." "That's enough!" "You should be grateful that you have found in this country, which you betray, a court that heard and judged you." "This afternoon a grave awaits you." "For having formed counterrevolutionary caucuses;" "for having had, again and again, fanatical correspondence, and hosted recusant priests and emigrants, preserved liberticide writings." "are sentenced to death." "Dated on Messidor 28, the second year of the Republic." "What does that gentleman say?" "That we are condemned to death." "All?" " Yes, all." "Including Mother Marie of the Incarnation, who is not here." "Judgment to be executed immediately." "May God receive us in His bosom." "Who knows if He will recognize you as His own." "We have that confidence." "Because we have not offended Him." "May He forgive us our sins as we forgive you, son." "Citizen President, I ask that you adjourn the court." "The court is adjourned." "My daughters, now we are at the end," "now it is only about dying." "God calls us to the throne of His glory." "It's time to fulfill the vow of martyrdom you have generously made and that God has accepted today." "As for me, who didn't pronounce it, He has given me a part." "Let's thank Him for not having allowed the mother to be separated from the daughters at the time of death." "I humbly share this great gift on behalf of our sisters Marie of the Incarnation and Blanche of the Agony of Christ.." "I exploit their vow, though unworthy." "My daughters, once again, for the last time," "I solemnly subject you to obedience." "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.." "and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus." "Holy Mary Mother of God pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death." "Amen." "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee.." "Blessed art thou among women.." "She who was Sr. Gabrielle." "She who was Sr. Saint Louis." "She who was Sr. Jeanne of the Divine infancy." "She who was Sr. Jeanne of the Divine infancy." "She who was Sr. Lucie." "I knew you would come." "You are crazy." "Don't go any closer." "I don't want them to die without me." " How does what you want matter?" "God chooses and calls whom he wants." "I've dragged my sisters to death." "If they die without me, I will be dishonored." "Shut up!" "Who do you think you are?" "It is not for you that your sisters dies but for God." "What do I have in this world?" "The Carmel." "You will continue it, alone." "How hard is God!" "Come with me and repeat what I say." "Our Father who art in heaven.." " Our Father who art in heaven.." "Hallowed be thy name.." " Hallowed be thy name.." "Thy kingdom come.." " Thy kingdom come.." "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.." "Thy will be done.." "Thy will be done.." "Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.." "She who was Sr. Anne of Jesus." "She who was Sr. Constance." "She who was Mother Marie of the Incarnation." "She who was Prioress of the Carmel of Compiègne."