Sr.Mariella Jees: Blessed Mariam Thresia

Sunday, 27 April 2014

Blessed Mariam Thresia - Ever Alive in CHF

Blessed Mariam Thresia- Ever Alive in CHF

Bl. Mariam Thresia, a heroic virgin, tested in the furnace of suffering spread the fragrance of sanctity throughout the world. An ascetic, ablaze with the intense love of the Crucified Lord! Yes, Bl. Mariam Thresia the first stigmatic of India experienced eternal bliss in the stillness of night.

14 May 1914 was indeed a red letter day for the Congregation of the Holy Family. For, this Founding day of the Congregation was the actualization of the long 38 years of patient waiting of Bl. Mariam Thresia – the ascetic who was burned with the apostolic zeal.

It was the saintly soul SD Joseph Vithayathil who enabled this innocent rustic virgin to embrace the depth of spirituality by imparting light on her way, sanctity in wisdom and discipline in life. After the demise of Mariam Thresia, he the co-founder became the best foster father of the Congregation and nurtured her through the path to progress for a long 38 years.

Today as the congregation completes 100 years of its existence the members exult with divine praises, for the marvelous ways the Lord led the Congregation through abandonment and suffering. The ever new apostolate – “Mould the families as holy families” was initiated by Bl. Mariam Thresia the prophetess and patroness of families. Today the new generation takes every effort to keep up that spirit, facing the challenges of the signs of the times.

The tiny seed of the congregation of the Holy Family, sprouted with 4 members at Puthenchira has grown up and spread its branches in 54 dioceses of 4 continents. Being in 230 convents, around 2000 sisters grace the congregation, witnessing Jesus their Master through various apostolic activities.

“Go to the whole world and proclaim the good news to all creation” (Mt. 16/15). Imbibing the spirit of this word of God, leaving their families and home town, they set out to those who do not know God, to the poor and down trodden, to the persons and families who live in the darkness of ignorance – to redeem them in the love of God. In 1964, the zealous CHF daughters ventured to the mission centres, daring even to give up their lives.

Today the sisters of the mission who work in 19 states of India are in the fullness of their golden Jubilee as the congregation celebrates its centenary.

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Blessed Mariam Thresia

A Diamond In A Rhinestone World We have journeyed through not one or two but rather half a century in the far-flung areas of North India being physically distant from the warmth and congeniality of our native soil. It was indeed tough to toil for souls in a territory where terror spreads the atmosphere constantly, laboring hard and persisting against the challenging weather and weird culture. Yet standing at the threshold of the Golden Jubilee Year, we are beyond a shadow of doubt that our presence in Bihar has led to the spiritual, social and intellectual enrichment of the vicinity. We cannot blink the fact that our Pioneer Sisters did win over followers of other faith which is integral to our Christian Religious Calling. It is a time to evaluate our priorities as missionaries, the way we manage our time and resources. Dolly Parton stated, “It is hard to be a diamond in a rhinestone world.” Among the crystal rhinestones- imitation of diamonds all around, the real diamonds stand out in its peculiar value. Therefore, we need to go beyond the routine ways and believe in the One who makes everything possible for us. The more the challenges the greater should be our determination; the worse the darkness the greater the need for us to be the light; the more the indifference the greater should be our sensitivity; the more the corruption the greater should be our commitment. Only when we become the change we can change the world. Unless our life becomes better the world will never become better. If we sincerely examine we can realize that a part of our precious resources are wasted on pompous celebrations and an enormous amount on social events. We become part of this world of Consumerism. It is not easy to be an authentic missionary in the world today. “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.”(Lk.4:18-19). Jesus sent us to witness across the nations sharing ‘good news’ with the poor. Ours is the continuation of the life of Christ. We should make no compromise with sin, what is untrue and evil and become abode of goodness and carriers of good news. If the Spirit of God is upon us we have access to the divine graces to discern good and evil. We become the living Christ only when we succeed in entering into the realm of ordinary people with the extra-ordinary grace. When we are able to recognize the lonely, the unloved and the poor, amidst the crowd that surrounds us, Christ becomes visible in us. Our arms which are of Christ are strong enough to lift them from the abyss of distress and discretion. He sends us to be word made flesh, food for the hungry, possibility of relief to those bound and means of liberation to the dejected. The eyes of Jesus which adorn our beautiful faces must open wide to see God present in our neighbor in rags, in the incapable and backward in our classrooms, in the hungry and homeless in our streets, in the moneyless ailing in our hospital wards, in the exhausted traveler in our railway coaches. It is then we can proudly point our fingers to ourselves and say, “Look at me”, when asked ‘who are Christians?’ Any attempt at becoming a true Christian or an authentic missionary traces us back to Jesus who came to make everything new through a genuine conversion of heart. He introduced not himself but the heart of a father who welcomes them unconditionally deleting forever their past with all its transgressions. He became the compassion He preached about. What we speak must tally with what we do. Radiating the message of hope, a missionary should be a compassion-personified man or woman who is bold enough to stand for the oppressed, the exploited, underpaid and underprivileged. In other words we become a voice to the dumbfound, eye to the blind, ear to the deaf, because in doing so we become ambassadors for Christ who help them have their right to be heard, to enjoy by looking at and listening to this world of beauty. The rich man and Lazar in the Holy Bible have been a topic of reflection several times in our daily meditations. We seem to neglect the fact that the rich man is much better than we are. The rich man let the leper Lazar remain at his door steps till he died so that he was able to get his leftovers. If he was at our doorsteps, how many of us would have let him be there? We might bear one day or three to the extreme end. Some of us would approach him gently and tell him compassionately to find a better place elsewhere. In our schools, hospitals and fields of activity countless souls are below the line we have drawn with the title ‘Impossible’. If we call them impossible we are responsible for making things not doable for them. A word of reassurance might seem to them like holding a piece of straw while falling into a cliff, a ray of light in the dark labyrinth of reality. Our selfishness should give way to the Nazarene’s humility. This will make us seen as imitators of Christ, who “though rich became poor for our sake”. Let us strive towards a new ‘Fellowship’ which will be a community Jesus dreamt about. Let His unfulfilled dreams find fulfillment in our very personality and in our little acts of great love for Him. Jesus became one with them; He spoke their language, moved, ate and slept as one of them. We know that kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see. Never again let values like compassion, fellow feeling, discipline, gentleness and hard work be waned out of our lives while trying to grasp power and prestige but rather become real missionaries who have ‘Good News’ in our hearts. Hope the sharing of a story which I happened to read in a periodical recently would inspire us the missionaries to walk an extra mile for the one who asks us to give a company just for a mile. For we are the chosen ones to accompany the lone, to give a meal with the glass of water asked for. One day, a poor boy who was selling goods from door to door to pay his way through school, found he had only one thin dime left, and he was hungry. He decided he would ask for a meal at the next house. However, he lost his nerve when a lovely young woman opened the door. Instead of a meal he asked for a drink of water. She thought he looked hungry so brought him a large glass of milk. He drank it slowly, and then asked, “How much do I owe you?” “You don’t owe me anything,” she replied. “Mother has taught us never to accept pay for a kindness.”He said, “Then I thank you from my heart.” As Howard Kelly left that house, he not only felt stronger physically, but his faith in God and man was strong also. He had been ready to give up and quit. Years later that young woman became critically ill. The local doctors were baffled. They finally sent her to the big city, where they called in specialists to study her rare disease. Dr. Howard Kelly was called in for the consultation. When he heard the name of the town she came from, a strange light filled his eyes. Immediately he rose and went down the hall of the hospital to her room. Dressed in his doctor’s gown he went in to see her. He recognized her at once. He went back to the consultation room determined to do his best to save her life. From that day he gave special attention to the case. After a long struggle, the battle was won. Dr. Kelly requested the business office to pass the final bill to him for approval. He looked at it; then wrote something on the edge and the bill was sent to her room. She feared to open it, for she was sure it would take the rest of her life to pay for it all. Finally she looked, and something caught her attention on the side of the bill. She began to read the following words, ‘Paid in full with one glass of milk’. Let our names be carved on hearts, not on marble. Those who loved us and were helped by us will remember us when we stand in most need of them. Starting afresh from this Golden Jubilee Year we will do our best, and be a little better than we are; for we are uncertain about our continued existence to see the Centenary of our Mission. Sr.Mariella Jees CHF