February 4, 2021 - Solemnity of St. Maria De Mattias
March 4, 2021 - Anniversary of the Foundation of the Institute

The liturgical remembrance of St. Maria De Mattias' birth and the anniversary of the Foundation of our Institute are  two cherished occasions at the beginning of each year that allow us to savor again something of the richness of our charismatic identity. We have the opportunity to gather around the woman who inspires us with her example of full life to grow in the Blood of the Lamb, letting that renewed humanity emerge, day by day, which we are called to give to others.
Celebrating St. Maria De Mattias at this special time of pandemic means recognizing in her journey of grace, the faithfulness and daily responses with which she made of her existence a gift and the perseverance with which she let herself be shaped by the Lord to be a space rich in life.
With the eyes of her heart and mind fixed on Christ, she persevered in the desire to attain the promise. Motivated by Love, she lived with tenderness and gentleness, leaving room for the Highest Good for whom she searched with tireless and insatiable desire.
We recognize in her the prophetic  strength  of  an  authentic love that guided her whole existence, of a "love that is exclusive, stable, enduring and an irresistible drive leading to all heroisms (Paul Vi, March 5, 1967) and that made God's  presence  shine through her.
With boldness and courage she handed down to us humble and persevering steps traced out with agility and depth in order to open up for us a horizon of possible fullness.
At the foot  of  the  cross  amid  the  flowing  streams  of  Divine  Blood,  Maria  was  attracted  to  the saving Beauty and learned to love without counting the cost and to give the immeasurable love in overabundance, which the Father had poured into  her  being,  making  herself  an  instrument  so  that "everyone could share in the fruits of redemption." (MDM Preface of the 1857 Rules and Constitutions)
Without ever withdrawing from the demands of the gift of herself and remaining faithful to her offering, Maria of Vallecorsa passes  down  to  us a  trust in  the power  of  Christ's  Blood.  It  is a  trust in the Blood that renews every heart and works marvels at all times in those who are docility ready to give even their lives so that this unending River of Mercy may be adored and blessed by all. (MDM, from the 1838 Rule and Constitutions)
Let us feel called "to an intense spiritual lift, understood as lift in Christ, lift according to the 5pirit, which shapes every path of growing faithfulness. (. .. ) This being in Him comes before any service, any action, thus faithfulness to Christ permits our being an extension of the presence of the Risen Lord in history" (CICLSAL, The gift of Faithfulness. The joy of Perseverance, n. 32) and of His Eternal! Beauty.
Today, in the face of so many manifestations of persona! and community fragility and precariousness, we have to rediscover anew Jesus' invitation to "remain in my Love." Qn. 15:9) The secret of Maria De Mattias' fruitfulness lay in her being rooted in love, immersing herself in His Blood and dwelling in the Divine Life, in spite of her limitations and daily challenges.
To remain is to persevere. "Christ teaches us to dwell in the stream of God's love, to make our permanent home there so that our love does not lose its ardor and audacity along the way_." (CICLSAL, n. 104)

Thus, we can ask ourselves, What helps me remain? What motivates my perseverance?

Let us live the total entrusting of ourselves  to  the Love of the Precious Blood for it opens us to the fullness of life. Being poured out in abundance in our hearts, it allows us  to persevere in the journey without ever tiring of "doing all we can with all our strength and with all means to collaborate with Christ in the redemption of humanity.