Happy Feast Day

Yesterday was our feast day - 21st November - 

The Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary. 

It was on this day that our congregation started, with six young women, including Elizabeth Prout made vows in 1854. It is on this day that we renew our vows within each community around the world. 

I was invited to make the liturgy for the service, which I enjoyed creating along with help from Mary who did the translating. It was important for me to be inclusive as much as possible, with awareness of our differing degrees of English the only way for full understanding for everyone was to have two languages working together. 

While at first this idea was a little uncertain for me, maybe just have the girls read in Vietnamese and follow. We have meetings world wide, where some of our Sisters in Argentina, Peru have no english, requiring translation that always leaves a sense of lost in translation. I didn’t want this experience for the girls, especially in the prayer service. Finding a way for harmony to happen connecting the two languages together in a gentle manner. 

Blessing of each other hands
Commitment to discern together

Once I worked with Mary and we got our minds around the language away we went. 

The service went well, everyone partook in different ways, bring together the great beauty that is held when gathering a variety of people together to give thanks in prayer. 

While sitting surrounded by community it reminded me that dedicating ourselves to God is an act of grace. Not just religious life, yet all vocations is the grace of God. Be it married life, single, parenthood, careers, priestly or religious it is all the work of grace. Mary’s call to be the future mother of God was also a great act of grace. This grace started in Anna's womb with Mary's conception, and then celebrated in her life throughout. Mary became the Temple of the living God. God’s grace was with her in a marvellous manner and she was sanctified by the Holy Spirit for the work of salvation. 

As a consequence, through the special grace of God, Mary from a young age could dedicate herself completely to the service of the Lord in response to His will. Whether she made a formal decision to consecrated her life to God or simply responded to His grace at every moment in her life, is irrelevant. What is important is that under the influence of the Holy Spirit, she surrendered her life to God and to His plans for her. Emphasised in the gospel reading of the day, where Jesus replied to the question in the Temple - “Who is my mother? Who are my brothers?” 

The holiness of Mary lies in the fact that she was always ready to do the will of God, regardless of the consequences, challenges and trails that came with it.

This we see in the life of Elizabeth Prout also. While she could not see the Lords will as a complete picture and clearly all at once. His will unfolded for her every day, through the challenges, trails, joys, the gifts and talents that were present in those around her and within her. Elizabeth gave herself to God, it was a statement of intention. It is true for us also as we renew out commitment to religious life or rather with our religious congregation.   

Sometimes it can feel like just a public delectation of commitment. Declaring the desire to all present of seeking with all body, heart, mind to do the Lord's will in every moment of our lives. We are reminded that its without this primary commitment or intention to serve the Lord in all things, we will lose focus, just as many do when they start living out their vocation. The truth is that many forget the promises they have made on their wedding or ordination/profession day. 

Hence, God’s grace is given to all from the start of our lives. It is important that we cooperate with His grace. Mary was given that exceptional grace of holiness. But grace requires our human cooperation. We can be sure that Mary’s parents, Anne and Joachim had much to play in the life of Mary in her response to grace. As too Elizabeth Prout, both women of great faith supported by encouragement, the support and the prayers of friends, family and community. 

Elizabeth Community

Today on this feast day, we ask Mary to teach us to prepare ourselves for our life’s vocation and mission. She was prepared from young, learning how to listen to the Lord attentively in contemplation and living out her life in faith and total trust of God, obeying His holy will in all things. 

Elizabeth Prout also lived out her grace with devout in prayer, attentive to the Word of God, witness and been an example by giving her life to the service of the Lord. 

It is simply not enough to say that we consecrate our lives to the Lord through religious life. If we fall into spiritual worldliness, as Pope Francis warns, then religious life becomes about seeking power, glory, wealth, luxury, worldly entertainment. In this living there is no truth grace of the Lord given to us. 

While we renew our vows, I ask for prayers for all religious, especially those in the discernment stage, that when answering His call, when face with difficulties and challenges that we continue to seek to fulfil His will not our own. We pray for the Lords grace and to stay close to the Lord like Mary, so that our whole life can be a praise and glory to Him. 

Holy Family Community
- The community I live with -