Saintly Children

Odette of France

Odette was a very good, bright little girl, who had a tender, loving heart. She also had a very strong will, but she was very careful to use it for doing good, and to keep herself from doing anything which she thought was wrong.

The girl was born on the outskirts of Paris, France, on July 2, 1921. Her father was a hard worker and her mother kept very busy looking after the house and her five children. Odette's family was poor, as were most of the families who lived on the outskirts of Paris.

Odette was a very loving person. When she was still a young child, she would slip up beside her worried mother and throw her arms around her saying, "Of course I am still so very small, but you know Mother Dear, that I am here!"

When Odette was a little older, and saw that her mother was tired from work, she would make her mother sit down and then do the work for her mother. She was very handy at doing things around the house, and she was also a good baby sitter for the other children when her mother had to go away.

At about 6:00 in the morning, Odette would go out to buy milk and bread for the family and she did this even in the winter saying, "Oh Mother, it is alright with me, if only I can please you!"

Odette attended a Catholic school. She paid good attention to her teachers and she was thoughtful in all her lessons and classes. She had a good memory and could repeat at home, everything she was taught in school.

When she left home in the morning for school, she usually stopped at a neighbouring lady's house in order to take her little daughter along and to watch over her on the way to school. She was always very polite to the lady and never wanted to be in the way.

Odette did not like bad language. If she heard other children or grown up people use bad language, she would show that she was not pleased by keeping silent – and this would help to correct the situation.

The girl was very careful about choosing her friends; she chose girls who were poorer than herself and she even cried if she saw a poor child, hungry or shivering with cold. Then she gladly gave away her own lunch or asked her mother for some old clothes for the child.

As a child, Odette also had her faults; she would sometimes not think before she made a remark and she would hurt the feelings of other people. She was also bossy and sometimes stubborn.

Odette's mother and father were honest and good in a natural way. They did not go to Church but they sent their children to Church. Odette loved the Mass and this helped her to grow in the grace of God.

One time a Sister of St. Vincent de Paul came to visit Odette who was sick at home. When the Sister told Odette about the Child Jesus, the young girl gave herself completely to Little Jesus.

In time, Odette's health began to fail; she had heart problems and she was sent to a hospital in the country. But Odette was lonely there and soon returned home. It was arranged for a Sister of St. Vincent de Paul to come to the house to give the girl a needle. During this time the Sister would tell the sick girl stories about the Child Jesus and also prepared her for her First Communion. Because Odette's illness was becoming worse, the Priest brought Holy Communion to the house for the poor girl. Here the little girl received Jesus with great love and joy!

Odette began to have more and more heart troubles, so on March 22, 1930; she was taken to St. Joseph's Hospital, in Paris. Here the St. Vincent de Paul Sisters could nurse her back to health. The Sisters gave Odette a Catechism and a beautiful Bible with many pictures, in order that she could learn more about the Catholic religion and also to give the poor girl something to do.

By April 18, 1930, Odette's health had improved, so she returned home. But before long her condition became worse and on August 21, 1930 she returned to St. Joseph's Hospital.

The girl loved priests and showed great respect for them. When the hospital chaplain would visit her room in the evening, she would ask for his blessing and say, "If I would have to die during the night, I would at least be blessed!"

Odette loved little holy pictures of Jesus, Mary, Joseph and the Angels and Saints. At the hospital the Sisters gave her many holy pictures, which she kept in a box. She was given a little crucifix, which she hung around her neck. When Odette was in pain, she would clasp the crucifix and pray for strength and she would often kiss the holy wounds of Jesus.

One day she told the Sister who was attending her, "You know, on the cross Our dear Lord had two neighbours. They were thieves. Only one of them asked God for pardon. And Our dear Lord at once forgave him! That's the way one must do it. One must ask for pardon; for the good God always forgives!"

The Sisters also gave Odette a little statue of the Child Jesus. Odette loved the Child Jesus as a dear little Friend. She would chat with Him and tell Him all the wishes of her heart, her joys and her sorrows. The girl loved the Child Jesus so much that she often dreamed about Him at night. And the Child Jesus rewarded her; one time He appeared to her as a little child, with golden curls! He was walking towards her from the chapel and He smiled upon her!

In the Hospital, Odette gave a wonderful example of prayer. She loved to say the Rosary and was always devout. She always made the sign of the cross with great love and devotion. She also liked to get all the other patients in the room to bless themselves with Holy Water in the evening. The last of her prayers in the evening were for her dear family at home. She would pray, "Dear Child Jesus, go to my Father and Mother, to my little brother and to my little sisters and give them a hearty greeting from me."

Odette would often pray for the sick who asked her to pray for them. But she would only ask one favour per day because she said, "The Christ Child always gives me only one thing per day!"

Many people gave sweets and gifts to Odette, but she would always give these things to other children. Odette was very careful not to commit any sin and she told the hospital chaplain, "Before I do anything, I think it over in order to see whether it will give joy to the little Jesus, and if I feel that it will hurt Him any, I do not do it! I would never want to make the Christ Child cry!"

For almost sixteen months, Odette had to suffer very much from her painful heart troubles. One time she was told that in her most painful sufferings, she should pray, "Child Jesus, have pity on the poor sinners who are dying now!" And from that time on she changed her sufferings into "Red Roses" for the Child Jesus.

Odette continued to suffer much and in all her sufferings she always united herself to the Holy Will of God. In this way she died, on November 6, 1931. We can all follow Odette's good examples and holiness. Let us ask the Child Jesus and His Mother Mary to help us to be good until our death

The End

Home | Contents

Accueil