The celebration of the anniversary of the Congregation’s foundation is a favorable time (kairos) to reflect on our Christian vocation within the Assumption and our commitment to the charism that unites us. On this day, Mother Marie Eugenie invites every lay person and sister who forms the Assumption to look at the heart of our mission: to be living stones in building the Kingdom of God.
The foundation of the Assumption is not only a historical event (chronos); it is also an ongoing process that demands of us, in every time and place, a constant surrender to God's will. Let us make our own the exhortation Mother Marie Eugenie addressed to the sisters, reminding them that the true zeal we must have for our Institute is not merely a concern for its expansion, but above all for its sanctification.Zeal for the Institute is manifested when, in all that we are and do, we work to establish the sanctity proper to the Institute (cf. Chapter 12.07.1874).This sanctity is not a distant goal, but something we can live out every day, with simplicity and humility, in our words, our actions, our relationships with others, and in our work...
To be a foundation stone implies the responsibility of building upon solid foundations, and this foundation, Saint Marie Eugenie reminds us elsewhere, can only be Jesus Christ (cf. Chapter 2.5.85). Thus, day by day, stone by stone, we build our lives with and in Christ for the extension of his Kingdom — the path of holiness lived by our Foundress and so many sisters after her.Far from being an impossible demand, it is a call to live the ordinary with extraordinary generosity.As Mother Marie Eugenie reminds us, if each of us, in our daily lives, were to apply ourselves to the practice of the virtues indicated in our Rule of Life — or today, we might also say, in our Way of Life — our Institute would be precious in God's eyes, useful to the world, and strong within itself (cf. Chapter 12.07.1874).
Each lay person and religious of the Assumption has the capacity to be this living stone, to contribute to the growth and strength of the charism in community, in the service of the extension of God's Kingdom in the world.
The building of the Assumption is not a human work, but a divine one.The Spirit of God is given to those who count themselves as nothing, who are completely surrendered to his will, his glory, and the service of souls (cf. Chapter 12.07.1874).
May the celebration of the foundation anniversary, in this year when we celebrate the 50th anniversary of Saint Marie Eugenie’s beatification, not remain a mere historical memory, but become a renewed impulse for each of us to commit ourselves to the building of the Assumption with creative fidelity to the charism and to God's will in the societies where we are incarnated.May we be, by God’s grace, the living stones through which our Lord continues to build his work in the world, with the same love and dedication with which it was begun by the first sisters.
Mercedes Méndez, R.A.
This article was originally written in Spanish. The French and English translations were produced by AI. Should you find any grammatical or lexical mistakes, please feel free to let us know.