Spring 2012: Our Lady, Model of Religious Life

Article by Sr. Therese Marie, SJW

Mary is the perfect model for consecrated religious. She listened to God’s Word, responded to it without reservation, and pondered His Word in her heart. “Mary in fact is the sublime example of perfect consecration, since she belongs completely to God and is totally devoted to him. Chosen by the Lord, who wished to accomplish in her the mystery of the Incarnation, she reminds consecrated persons of the primacy of God's initiative. At the same time, having given her assent to the divine Word, made flesh in her, Mary is the model of the acceptance of grace by human creatures.” (Vita Consecrata #28)

In our SJW Constitution, we are reminded that Mary “was a woman of prayer, a woman thoroughly acquainted with the Scriptures, a woman filled with the Holy Spirit and dedicated to the Will of the Father.” Thus, we listen daily to the Scriptures with our hearts open to God’s Word, and “turn to Mary, as to our Mother, to ask her maternal intercession that we also may be handmaids of the Lord” (SJW Constitution) and be ready to respond, “Lord, Thy Will be done!” It is essential for us to “contemplate Mary, firm in her faith, ready in her obedience, simple in humility, exulting in praising the Lord, ardent in charity, strong and constant in the fulfillment of her mission to the point of sacrificing herself, in full communion of sentiments with her Son who immolated Himself on the Cross to give men a new life.” (Signum Magnum, Paul VI)

As religious, we foster a spirit of recollection within our convent and within ourselves, so we can ponder God’s Word deeply and be in communion with Jesus and the Holy Spirit. This silence of the mind and heart is so necessary for entering into deep union with our Beloved Spouse. “Only in silence can the word of God find a home in us, as it did in Mary, woman of the word and, inseparably, woman of silence.” (Pope Benedict XVI)

Sr. Therese Marie is currently the Mistress of Novices for the community.