The Poor Clares of Lyons had to flee their monastery when the city suffered bombardment beginning on August 22, 1793.  Mother Mary of Jesus bore the Blessed Sacrament in a bag, and took with her two very large and heavy choir books which she carried in her arms or on her head.  She refused to leave them behind, although they almost impeded her flight.  Years later, she told the novices, “My little Sisters, take good care of these books, for you do not know what it cost me to save them.”
The Sisters had survived the French Revolution by an act of “fate”.  They had been arrested and were waiting to be executed on July 28, 1794, when suddenly the door of their prison cell flew open and someone shouted that “Robespierre is dead!” The Revolution was over, and the Sisters were able to return to their monastery.