We Have a New Novice!!
On this glorious Solemnity of Our Lady’s Assumption into Heaven, we have even more reasons than usual to celebrate …
This morning, our Postulant Collette received the holy habit and officially entered the novitiate! She is the first postulant to have her Vestition ceremony held in our new Chapter Room, a fact which added to the joy and significance of the occasion.
Of course, you might be wondering: WHAT IS HER NEW RELIGIOUS NAME?? We’ve kept you in suspense long enough, we suppose, so let us introduce you to …
Sister Maria Dolorosa
of the Suffering Face of Jesus
Beautiful, is it not? We haven’t had a Sister named for Our Lady of Sorrows since the passing of our dear Sr. Mary Dolores in 2015, a situation which is now happily remedied!
Photos will be forthcoming, but in the meantime, enjoy a little reflection from our newest novice on the significance of her name and title:
I was given the name Sister Maria Dolorosa in honor of our Sorrowful Mother, to whom I have a great devotion. It was to Our Sorrowful Mother that Christ gave us as children. It was to her pierced heart we were entrusted. Mary is the most maternal – is the most truly our mother – at the foot of the cross. In my own sufferings, I have come to feel Our Sorrowful Mother with me, strengthening me and comforting me. I can only stand at the foot of the Cross with Mary there to support me. I was struck when I read once that St John was the only one at the foot of the Cross because he ran to Mary. When trials and weakness come, I can run to her maternal love! Our Sorrowful Mother is also an unparalleled example of love for Jesus Crucified. Her love amidst pain and her trust amidst suffering is a model for me, as it is for all Passionists. She stood at the foot of the Cross, she was faithful, she kept vigil. Although she could not ease the pain of her dying Son, she offered Him her heart.
Throughout the Old Testament and the Psalms, there is a deep and profound longing to see the Face of God. I find it a beautiful expression of desire to know God. It is demonstrative of profound intimacy. It contrasts with Our Lord’s treatment in His Passion. “There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him” and he was “One of those from whom men hide their faces,” (Isaiah 53: 2,3). Since Adam in the Garden, men have been hiding their faces from the Lord and rejecting His loving invitation to intimacy. In images of Christ suffering, it is the agony in His face that I feel expresses the deepest pain, as it shows the interior sufferings which were greater than even His immense physical pains.
We know that we can count on your prayers for Sr. Maria Dolorosa and for all our young women in formation, that they may be docile to the guidance of the Holy Spirit during this important time in their lives.