V.J.E.

Praised be Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!

On May 4, 2024, Most Rev. Michael G. Duca, Bishop of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, blessed our new St. Michael the Archangel Novitiate House for our United States Immaculate Conception Region. This is the home for young women beginning their journey in Religious Life within our Institute as they are formed for one year of Postulancy and two years of Novitiate.

We are incredibly grateful for all those who supported and helped contribute to the building of this new home for Jesus in the Eucharist, where many young women will be formed to share in the charism and mission of our religious family. Let us continue to ask Papa to send many more women on fire with love of the Eucharist to our Institute, so that this new Formation House will be filled for many years to come!

See photos from the Unveiling here. To contribute to the remaining $1 million of our Building Fund Goal, please visit:

https://mercedariansisters.org/novitiate-house-building-fund/#donate

Prayer for Mercedarian Vocations: O Mary, Mother of Christ the Eternal High Priest, and Mother of the Church, we come to you and humbly ask you to awaken new religious vocations for the service of the people of God, especially to the Mercedarian family. Strengthen our Catholic homes in faith which bears fruit; so that disciples and witnesses of your Son may be harvested from them. Touch the hearts of our young people, invite and bring them to the Heart of Jesus. May they grow in his warmth and in the mystery of total self-giving in service of the Gospel. Mother of Mercy, our Mother, bless us with holy vocations to the religious life and priesthood. Amen.

To Evangelize with Mary in the Light of the Eucharist

V.J.E.

Praised be Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!

On this Feast of St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan Religious family, we wanted to share how we as Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament share in the gift from God given to St. Francis.

This reflection was written by Sr. Joseph Marie Allensworth, HMSS on October 4, 2024.

For those who know our Sisters well, you might think, “It’s obvious they have the spirit of St. Francis… just look at their pets!”

It’s true that our love for God’s creation is evident in our pets and reveals something of the spirit of St. Francis. That same love of creation reminds me why many of our sisters love to care for the gardens and plants around our convents!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

But really, the spiritual legacy of St. Francis runs deep in our spirituality as Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament. Our Mother Foundress, Venerable Maria del Refugio, was herself a Third Order Franciscan before founding our Religious Institute. This experience of Ven. Maria del Refugio imbued in our community a sense of family, friendship, simplicity, joy, love for God’s creation, and love for Jesus!

I believe the greatest thing we as Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament share with St. Francis and our Franciscan brothers and sisters though is the desire to adore Jesus with all that we have. St. Francis was completely devoted to loving Jesus with all he had, giving up everything for love of Him. The life of St. Francis reveals that when we love Jesus, adore Him, and give ourselves entirely to following Him, God can transform not only us but the Church.

As Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, we strive with Mary, our Mother of Mercy, to give all we have to building the Eucharistic Kingdom on earth. To adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and to bring Him to all we meet is part of our mission. We desire to be like St. Francis, to go out and bring the great Love of our life to all we encounter so that they may know and love Him as well. Through the intercession of St. Francis, may we all grow in greater desire to adore Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament and see His Eucharistic Kingdom grow. May the words of St. Francis from the Second Reading of the Office of Readings today call us all into deeper love of adoring our Eucharistic Jesus!

“O how happy and blessed are those who love the Lord and do as the Lord himself said in the gospel: You shall love the Lord your God with your whole heart and your whole soul, and your neighbor as yourself. Therefore, let us love God and adore him with pure heart and mind. This is his particular desire when he says: True worshipers adore the Father in spirit and truth. For all who adore him must do so in the spirit of truth. Let us also direct to him our praises and prayers saying: Our Father, who art in heaven, since we must always pray and never grow slack.”

St. Francis of Assisi, pray for us. Venerable Maria del Refugio, intercede for us.

To Evangelize with Mary in the Light of the Eucharist

V.J.E.

Praised Be Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament!

On April 3, 2024, Sr. Tonia of the Heart of Jesus Borsellino, HMSS and Sr. Raquel of the Holy Spirit Gutierrez, HMSS professed their Final Vows as Mercedarian Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament at St. Augustine Catholic Church in Gainesville, FL.

We rejoice at their fiat to being totally conformed to Christ in His Eucharistic Mystery! More photos will be shared on our social media soon and the beautiful celebration will be featured in our Spring Newsletter.

Please pray for our newly professed Sisters, that they may be faithful to their Bridegroom for the rest of their lives!

Watch the livestream of the Perpetual Profession on our YouTube channel.