Today it’s happening in Asia, the Americas, Europe and Africa. Yes, on this Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Missionary Sister of the Sacred Heart, wherever they may be, are making new again their vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. No doubt, at some time of the day their thoughts will fly back to the very first time that they committed themselves to the love of Jesus in a very special way.

For some who celebrate 50 or 60 years in religious life as well as those sisters who recently made their first vows, each one of us comes before the Lord today with hearts filled with gratitude. We are overflowing with a great sense of being loved and cherished. We did not choose to be religious, but rather, we responded to a divine call that we could not deny, so I suppose you could say it’s all His fault.

We were gifted by the call to be religious in the community founded by St. Frances Xavier Cabrini and we try to follow in her footsteps. Cabrini responded with tremendous zeal in a way that we lovingly refer to as “disponibilita.” Though her heart was set on China, only a word from Pope Leo XIII changed her long dreamed of plans.

Today we pray that the same spirit enflames each of us so we may be willing to reach out to those who are hurting, those who are victimized and suffering and those whose lives are marked by poverty and desperate circumstances. We must strive to bring the same passionate love of Christ which urged Mother Cabrini’s missionary vision of reaching out to a world that was too small.

May this missionary fervor incite all of us, sisters and laity to respond with great courage and boldness in making real the strategic vision of our last General Chapter. Together we are all challenged to make sacrifices and to engage in hard work to transform these dreams into reality.

The Spirit worked in Mother Cabrini to increase her love for Jesus. Mother Cabrini felt herself by Him to take upon herself the sufferings of humanity, the injustices and oppression which their hearts endured. God worked within her almost like an ongoing osmosis in which the Spirit gave her life: “Francesca Cabrini was drawn by the Sacred Heart of Jesus who loves all as no one else has ever loved them. She confronted herself yearning to penetrate the depths of his words and attitudes. Led by the Spirit to humble attentiveness and response, Francesca Cabrini sought to comprehend the love of Jesus – His mercy toward sinners, His empathy with the poor, His compassion for sufferings of every kind.

“Docile to the Spirit, Francesca Cabrini allowed him to be active in her so that she might learn to love as Jesus loved. She knew that his loving heart had redeemed the world through perfect correspondence with the Father’s will.” ~ Frances Cabrini, Remembering the Journey, Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, Rome

 

 

 

 

Oh, Jesus, what are you like?
If only all would know you!
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Journal of a Trusting Heart, p. 83, September 1897

How good the Sacred Heart is to us.
St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, Travels, New Orleans to Panama, May, 1895