On this day when we recall the life of Mother Therese Emmanuel, let us remember what Marie Eugenie said about her a few weeks after her death: "Mother Therese Emmanuel had the highest concept of our vocation. For her, a Religious of the Assumption had to be raised above the things of the earth in order to reach out to God...In Mother Therese Emmanuel, the grace of God descended upon a wonderfully gifted intelligence, a pure heart, free of itself, a spirit nourished by the teachings of the faith, a soul where only Jesus Christ lived, which was its mystery and its only occupation. She sought Him in study, in reading, in the Gospel, in the Office, she sought Him everywhere [...] [Another] characteristic that I find in Mother Therese Emmanuel is her correspondence to grace. Our Lord asked, called, spoke, and she corresponded. She had a great outpouring of God's love. She never had any other love. She was the type of person of which our Constitutions say: “Nothing was ever in her heart that was not Jesus Christ or that was not in His name, by His command and for His love. She loved her Congregation, her Sisters, her friends, the souls to whom she devoted herself deeply and tenderly, but in Our Lord and for Our Lord." (Marie Eugenie, Chapter Instruction of May 27, 1888).
Prayer for vocations
Inspired by the words of Mother Therese Emmanuel, let us give thanks to God for vocations and let us pray to Him:
"See a very bright fire; if you don't put wood or coal in it, it is consumed and goes out..."
Lord, we give you thanks for the baptized whom you call to follow you and to shine with your light. Let them know how to keep alive the fire that you have kindled in their hearts.
"Set obedience as the foundation of your whole life, and establish yourself on it from the start.”
Lord, we give You thanks for those whom You call today to the Consecrated Life, especially the young women who approach our Congregation. Strengthen their steps, guide their path.
"Each era has its own particular needs...", we must respond "in the field of the Church, each according to the needs of the times", according to "the greatest need of our era".
Lord, we give You thanks for those whom You call to live rooted in our times and to respond, through their life of service, to the needs of the times. Enlighten their discernment and enable them to take decisive action in the service of their brothers and sisters.
“The faith by which we are raised makes us see and judge things in a completely different light.”
Lord, we give You thanks for the diversity of vocations and the communion of which it is a sign. Give spouses, deacons, priests, religious men and women and all Christians the opportunity to enter into this vision of faith that You propose to them.