SAINT MARIE RIVIER Novena 2023
ALL CALLED TO HOLINESS
Very dear sisters
and all the Spiritual Family of Saint Marie Rivier,
Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy.
Lv 19: 2
This call to holiness is a dynamic call at the heart of the history of the people of God. God is holy and he calls us to holiness in the concrete of our daily existence. We are created in his image and likeness, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. Gn 1:27
We know that we are from God 1 Jn 5: 19, writes Saint John and this gives us the grace, the radiant and humble strength to continue our journey with creativity and audacity. Holiness for the disciples of Jesus is a new fire that the Word of God brings to birth in them, a seed of transformation and of being able to witnessing according to the Gospel.
The novena in preparation for the Feast of our Holy Foundress, Marie Rivier, on February 3, is approaching. This is the first novena that we celebrate together after her Canonization. It is for all of us a joy, a hope and a responsibility.
With her motherly heart, Saint Marie Rivier tells us today: I beg you, do not lose sight of your holiness; that is your great concern. Do not neglect any of the means provided by the Rule to achieve it, especially prayer, the spirit of faith and your review of the day; give to these exercises all the importance they require (Letter 1248(32)-7).
Let us walk together in trust, at the school of Jesus Christ, under the influence of the Holy Spirit and in the heart of the Virgin Mary, our Mother and Guardian. She is the one who invites us to live ever more deeply the holiness of our vocation and mission.
Every day of our Novena is filled with the light of the Word of God. It is an energetic force that draws us to our Triune God and sends us to our sisters and brothers who are looking forward to a new world of peace, justice, truth, and respect for every person.
We also find the words of Pope Francis, words that are always relevant and demanding, which we welcome in the sincerity of our hearts in order to live them wherever we are. A life of holiness is our vocation and our mission. This holiness calls us to a change of mentality and attitude in the face of the challenges of our consecrated life as Sisters of the Presentation of Mary.
Therefore, I urge you, by the mercies of God … Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect. Rm 12: 1-2.
Together, let us live this novena with fervor! I wish you a blessed preparation for the Feast of our Holy Foundress. In communion with my Councillors, all the Sisters and the Spiritual Family of Saint Marie Rivier,
Mother Maria dos Anjos Alves, pm
WORD OF GOD: Eph 1: 1, 18 - 20
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens. … I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.
Reflections:
Oh! How I wish the world would be converted and that our Congregation would carry the fire of the love of God and the knowledge of Jesus Christ everywhere, so be it!
– Marie Rivier, Letter 217-8 –
Becoming an apostle means being clothed with Jesus Christ, humble and strong, through patience and the gentleness of love, a love which leads even to the laying down of one’s life.
-Constitutions C110-
Consecrated and sent forth, we are, at the heart of the world, the merciful presence of Jesus Christ.
-Constitutions 112-
The path of holiness is not closed; it is universal, it is a call for all of us and it starts with Baptism. Let us strive to follow it, for each of us is called to holiness, to a unique form of holiness one that cannot be reproduced. Holiness is always original, as Blessed Carlo Acutis used to say: it is not a photocopy, holiness is an original, mine, yours, all of ours. It is uniquely our own. Yes, the Lord has a plan of love for each one of us. He has a dream for your life, for my life, for the life of each of us. Pursue that dream with joy.
-Pope Francis, Homily, Canonization of Marie Rivier, May 15, 2022-
May our God enlighten the eyes of your heart in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you.
INTERCESSION:
Let us ask the Holy Spirit to pour out upon us a fervent longing to be saints for God’s greater glory (Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate, #177) as well as a willingness to help one another grow, day by day, in the holiness of our vocation. C 6
…. silence …
Saint Marie Rivier, who left us as our heritage the spirit of prayer, pray for us.
Saint Marie Rivier, our advocate with Jesus and Mary, pray for us.
Saint Marie Rivier, who never ceases to guide our religious family, pray for us.
Our Father
Let us pray together:
God our Father, you have raised up Saint Marie Rivier
like a blazing flame in the midst of your people
and today you invite us to walk, like her
on our path of holiness.
Take our lives, Father,
set them ablaze with the fire of your Spirit
and burn our hearts with a passionate love for Jesus Christ.
Grant that we might strive with ardor
towards the holiness to which you call us.
Like Saint Marie Rivier,
enable us to be, for our world today,
an open Gospel where all may read Jesus Christ. Amen
Day 8 Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple
For my eyes have seen your salvation, which you have prepared in the
sight of all nations: a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and
the glory of your people Israel.
Word of God : Eph 1: 1, 15 - 17
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens. … I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms.
Reflection of Marie Rivier on this Feast:
God chose us, as he did the aged Simeon, to come to know Christ Jesus and to make him known. …With one accord, then, let us walk together along these blessed paths. Let us go forward with giant steps; we will thereby be more apt to
sanctify those entrusted to our care. Let us commit ourselves with flaming zeal to our neighbor’s salvation, and let us rejoice in the thought that, after having worked assiduously to win souls over to God, we shall have the joy of finding all of us reunited in heaven. I long to find myself in you midst.
Spiritual Writings, Marie Rivier, Feast of the Presentation of Jesus in the Temple, p 63, 67
The Virgin Mary lived the Beatitudes of Jesus as none other. She is that woman who rejoiced in the presence of God, who treasured everything in her heart, and who let herself be pierced by the sword. Mary is the saint among the saints, blessed above all others. She teaches us the way of holiness and she walks ever at our side. She does not let us remain fallen and at times she takes us into her arms without judging us. Our conversation with her consoles, frees and sanctifies us. Mary our Mother does not need a flood of words. She does not need us to tell her what is happening in our lives. All we need do is whisper, time and time again: “Hail Mary…”
Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate, #176
Let us pray together:
God our Father, you have raised up Saint Marie Rivier
like a blazing flame in the midst of your people
and today you invite us to walk, like her
on our path of holiness.
Take our lives, Father,
set them ablaze with the fire of your Spirit
and burn our hearts with a passionate love for Jesus Christ.
Grant that we might strive with ardor
towards the holiness to which you call us.
Like Saint Marie Rivier,
enable us to be, for our world today,
an open Gospel where all may read Jesus Christ. Amen
Day 7
HOLINESS ... DAY AFTER DAY
Word of God: Eph 1: 1, 13 - 14
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens. … You also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
Response:
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens.
Reflection:
In practice, what does it mean to live this love? Before giving us this commandment, Jesus had washed the disciples’ feet; then, after giving it, he gave himself up to the wood of the cross. To love means this: to serve and to give one’s life. To serve, that is, not to put our own interests first: to clear our systems of the poison of greed and competitiveness; to fight the cancer of indifference and the worm of self-referentiality; to share the charisms and gifts that God has given us. Specifically, we should ask ourselves, “What do I do for others?” That is what it means to love, to go about our daily lives in a spirit of service, with unassuming love and without seeking any recompense.
Pope Francis, Homily, Canonization of Marie Rivier, May 15, 2022
Do not be afraid to set your sights higher, to allow yourself to be loved and liberated by God. Do not be afraid to let yourself be guided by the Holy Spirit. Holiness does not make you less human, since it is an encounter between your weakness and the power of God’s grace.
Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate, #31, 32, 34
Please click: Prayers
Day 6
HOLINESS... DAY AFTER DAY
WORD OF GOD - Eph 1: 1, 11 - 12
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens. … In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
Response:
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens.
Reflection:
Be patient with yourself, holiness is no more impossible for you than for others. Most of the saints had the same defects, the same repugnance, but with the grace of God and a strong will, they overcame them and became great saints. Continue to desire holiness and you will surely become a saint. But you must be careful never to give way to discouragement. Hold firm to this.
-Marie Rivier, Letter 90-8-
I like to contemplate the holiness present in the patience of God’s people: in those parents who raise their children with immense love, in those men and women who work hard to support their families, in the sick, in elderly religious who never lose their smile. In their daily perseverance I see the holiness of the Church militant. Very often it is a holiness found in our next-door neighbours, those who, living in our midst, reflect God’s presence. We might call them “the middle class of holiness”. Let us be spurred on by the signs of holiness that the Lord shows us through the humblest members of that people.
-Pope Francis, Gaudete et Exsultate, #7, 8-
The love that we receive from the Lord is the force that transforms our lives. It opens our hearts and enables us to love. For this reason, Jesus says: “as I have loved you, so must you love one another”. That word “as” is not simply an invitation to imitate Jesus’ love; it tells us that we are able to love only because he has loved us, because he pours into our hearts his own Spirit, the Spirit of holiness, love that heals and transforms. As a result, we can make decisions and perform works of love in every situation and for every brother and sister whom we meet, because we ourselves are loved and we have the power to love. As I myself am loved, so I can love others. The love I give is united to Jesus’ love for me. “As” he loved me, so I can love others. The Christian life is just that simple. Let’s not make it more complicated with so many things. It is just that simple.
-Pope Francis, Homily, Canonization of Marie Rivier, May 15, 2022-
Please click: Prayers
Day 5
Let us bear in mind, once again, that conversing with Jesus Christ leads us surely and infallibly to perfection, to holiness. Meditation is a gold mine in which the saints have found immense rewards and priceless riches.
Marie Rivier, SW p 16
WORD OF GOD: Ephesians 1: 1, 9 – 10
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens. … God has given us the wisdom to understand fully the mystery, the plan he was pleased to decree in Christ. A plan to be carried out in Christ, in the fullness of time, to bring all things into one in him, in the heavens and on earth.
Day 4
Holiness is nothing but the imitation of our Lord Jesus Christ in all things, everywhere, and always. To be a saint is to think, love, and will what Christ Jesus thought, loved and willed, for one cannot imitate his life unless one enters into his Heart. To be a saint, one must enter into the Heart of Jesus Christ.
Mourret p. 416
WORD OF GOD: Ephesians 1:1, 7-8
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens. … In him and through his blood, we have been redeemed, and our sins forgiven, so immeasurable generous is God’s favor to us.
Reflection: Jesus Christ should be your light, your strength and your joy
Day 3
Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life, the one we must follow to arrive at holiness.
Marie Rivier, Letter 549-4
WORD OF GOD: Ephesians 1: 1, 5-6
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens. … He predestined us to be his adopted children through Jesus Christ, such was his will and pleasure, that all might praise the glorious favor he has bestowed on us in his beloved.
Day 2
WORD OF GOD: Ephesians 1:1-4
The road to holiness is all marked out: it is Jesus Christ; let us follow him constantly and we will surely arrive there. Marie Rivier, Letter 543-4
Praised be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has bestowed on us in Christ every spiritual blessing in the heavens. God chose us in him before the world began to be holy and blameless in his sight, to be full of love.
Day 1
WORD OF GOD: Leviticus 19: 2 / 1 P 1: 15 – 16
“Holy Virgin, obtain for me, I beseech you, the grace to be a saint.” Marie Rivier, Letter 58-8 to the Blessed Virgin, December 13, 1810
“My only desire is … that you walk with great strides on the path of holiness.” Marie Rivier, Letter 612-4A
Speak to the entire assembly of Israel and say to them: Be holy because I, the Lord your God, am holy. Leviticus 19: 2
Just as the God who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.” 1 P 1: 15 – 16
