The love of Christ impels us, let us move forward

in the footsteps of Saint Marie Rivier !

Dear novices, sisters responsible for formation,

and members of the fomation community,

It is with the theme of our General Chapter that I come to you as you celebrate the novena of St. Stanislaus, your patron saint. 

Yes, the love of Christ impels us!!! 

It was truly the love of Christ that drove young Stanislaus to leave his family, his friends and his country to go to Rome and join the Jesuits.

I believe it was also the love of Christ that invited each one of you to knock on the door of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary. At the origin of every religious vocation, there is … a desire to consecrate oneself exclusively to the praise and service of the Lord which is born from faith in this love, experienced, in a certain way, as personal and gratuitous. C114   Yes, the love of Christ impels us!!!

And so, let us move forward!  Yes, move forward with confidence on this path that is opening up before you, a path of faith and happiness where, day after day, you learn in Jesus Christ to walk in the presence of God and to nourish yourself with the bread of his divine will. C124

Move forward then, in the spirit of the Sisters of the Presentation of Mary, following in the footsteps of Saint Marie Rivier! Saint Marie Rivier, a woman of prayer, compassion and zeal who wanted to have a thousand lives to make Jesus Christ known and loved.

It seems to me that today she would say to each one of you, to each one of us: I hope that this year will be a year of holiness and happiness for all of you: I ardently desire it. I believe there is nothing on earth that I desire more ardently than your holiness. Letter January 15, 1822

How can we live this out day after day? How can we move forward as she did on our own path to holiness?  Marie Rivier herself gives us the answer: The road to holiness is all mapped out: it is Jesus Christ; let us follow him constantly and we will get there. Letter 543-4  And our Rule of Life also tells us: To know Jesus Christ in the Gospel, to live Jesus Christ in his mysteries, to reveal and to teach Jesus Christ by our whole life: such is our vocation. C3

This is my wish for each one of you, my prayer for each one of you today!

 Yes, the love of Christ impels us!!!

Let us move forward together in the footsteps of Saint Marie Rivier! 

Mother Maria dos Anjos Alves, pm