The Spiritual Practices and the Franciscan Spirituality of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother

Today, I want to share with you Sister M. Sylvia Benetton’s response to the question “How has your life been affected by the spiritual practices and the Franciscan spirituality of the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother?”  Sister M. Sylvia is from our Italian region and spent seven of her nine years as a Sister of the Sorrowful Mother in Assisi. She states that her individual and communal journey has been deeply affected in her:

·         “Seeking God’s will in my choices

·         Accepting and living the great challenge of uniting action and contemplation

·         Living the Paschal Mystery

·         Focusing on daily Eucharist, rendering thanks to God for everything

·         Living joyfully and simply in the community by following God

·         Living the vow of obedience to Him through my superiors

·         Fullness of motherhood welcoming in her heart all the sons and daughters who

were entrusted to her by her dying Son”

Her striving to seek God’s will in all of her choices is what our Foundress, Venerable Mother Frances Streitel, modeled for us as Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother.  This is a daily challenge for all of us but one that truly fills our lives with peace and joy as well as bringing us to our knees when we realize that it was not the will of God, but our own, that we were seeking.  That brings us to living the paschal mystery, dying and rising to new life in Christ Jesus, by humbly acknowledging our shortcomings and being transformed by grace as we start anew each day to live out this part of the charism. Both the Eucharist and the living of our vow of obedience through communal and personal discernment that includes openness to the Spirit’s lead within ourselves, others and our superiors, gives us the strength to follow Jesus, who says to us in Jn 4: 34 “My food is to do the will of Him who sent me…”