Evening Praise Bl Maria Helena Stollenwerk A Witness of frust at the Service of Mission
Bl Maria Helena Stollenwerk A Witness of Trust at the Service of Mission ntroduction: Blessed Maria Helena was a woman chosen by God for God's own plans, plans that she herself had no knowledge of. God's word touched her and radically took hold of her life. With her eyes fixed on the goal, she trusted God and what could be God's ways in times of darkness and obstacles. She kept alive in her heart Jesus' final words before his ascension: You are my witnesses in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria, yes, even to the ends of the earth (Ac-es 1:8). And even more, Jesus' words became her life program! (Lett-er from Anne mari~ Reisch SSpS} ymn:
The beginnings of Trust in the Service of Mission: Time and again throughout history, God has anointed persons who basically trusted in God in spite of their trying circumstances. Bl Maria Helena worried about causing sorrow to her parents upon entering Steyl. Doubt troubled her as to whether or not it was the will of God that she become a Missionary Sister. In her exasperation she took refuge in God and let God lead her. Trusting in what could be God's ways for the missions, she shared in God's renewa l of the face of the earth! Ant: God, age after age you summon witnesses. (Bl Maria Helena's Sayings) I desire to devote all my love and my whole life to the service of the gospel. Always have great confidence, for God the Holy Spirit can help in all anxieties and needs, even the greatest. Only keep up the courage and trust in God. Whenever there is anything difficult offer it to God for God's greater glorification. Labor untiring in the vineyard of the Lord. God alone can fill your heart!
Throw yourselves confidently into the arms of Divine Providence. May the most holy, the most just, the most amiable and impenetrable will of God be accomplished! Desire to devote all love and all of life To Abba, to Jesus the Lord and to the Spirit, Creator of trust, at the service of mission we give you thanks! Now and forever. Amen. Ant: God, age after age you summon witnesses. The unfolding of trust at the service of mission: Bl Maria Helena placed all her trust in the first General Chapter of the Society of the Divine Word in which the capitulars adopted a resolution to found a congregation of missionary Sisters. Fr. Arnold on his part kept silence on this point. Bl Maria Helena faced a crisis. Were she
and her companions to toil in the kitchen without achieving the missionary goal? She sought to lay bare her insecurity before God, going to the innermost part of her soul. God was there to be known and loved. Gradually, she became more concerned about how she could live in and out of God. She discovered that her missionary activity would be fruitful only to the extent that it was founded on God. Trusting God and accepting her utter inability to do anything developed a fresh trust in the God who had called her to the service of mission. Ant: God, age after age trusts in you to season the face of the earth! Psalm 98 Sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done wonders, his right hand his holy arm, has won victory for him. The Lord has shown his salvation, revealing his justice to the nations. He has not forgotten his love nor his faithfulness to Israel. The farthest ends of the earth have seen God's saving power. All you lands,
make a joyful noise to the Lord, break into song and sing praise, with melody of the lyre and with music of the harp. With trumpet blast and sound of the horn, rejoice before the King, the Lord! Let the sea resound and everything in it, the world and all its peoples. Let rivers clap their hands, hills and mountains sing with joy before the Lord, for he comes to rule the earth. He will judge the world with justice and the peoples with fairness. fa Abba, to Jesus the Lord and to the Spirit, Creator of trust, we give you thanks! Now and forever. Amen. Ant: God, age after age trusts in you to season the face of the earth! Trust blossoms: As superior of the first small religious missionary community, Bl Maria Helena grew into her
role of co-foundress and in her second letter to her Sisters overseas, she began with: God the Holy Spirit, everything out of love for you. Not long before, Fr. Arnold asked Bl Maria Helena on three separate occasions whether she had an inclination towards a life of contemplation! Bl Maria Helena felt the consequences keenly. Yet she also felt that this was the will of God and the will of God kept her firm. She entered the novitiate of the cloistered community on December 8, 1899 because it was for love of God! In prayer she was to be at the service of the missions! Ant: God, age after age the gospel is proclaimed to the ends of the earth. Psalm 19 The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the work of his hands. Day talks it over with day; night hands on the knowledge to night. No speech, no words, no voice is heard-- but the call goes on throughout the universe, the message is felt to the ends of the earth. High above, he pitched a tent for the sun,
w comes out as a id room from his p ilion, or like a racer joyfully runs his course. Ri g from one end, it ma s it circuit of the heavens, and set at e other end; May the words, the er of my mouth and the meditations of my heart find favor in your sight throughout the earth, 0 Lord--my redeemer, my rock! To Abba, to Jesus the Lord and to the Spirit, Creator of trust, at the service of mission we give you thanks! Now and forever. Amen. Ant: God, age after age the gospel is proclaimed to the ends of the earth.
True1t in God ie1 fulfilled: Before completing her novitiate in this community, Bl Maria Helena had signs of encephalitic infection. She offered her sickness to God and prayed that God might accept this sickness as an offering for the missions. The illness was terminal and she died on February 3, 1900. Re6pon6ory: You accepted her trust and surrender of love for the missions; a blessing for countless people. ---You accepted... The ways of God flow and fill hearts with love; a blessing... To Abba, to Jesus the Lord and to the Spirit, Creator of trust, at the service of mission we give you thanks! ---You accepted... Reading: Bl Maria Helena has rendered a service in and for mission! Countless people have been loved with God's love and the good news of Jesus has been proclaimed because she trusted God! When systems would have urged compromise or abandonment of God's ways, Bl Maria Helena stood by God, strong and couragiously. Radiant with trust in her heart, we have seen God's glory made manifest
in the little ones of the earth. loday, we are touched by Bl Maria Helena's acceptance and trust in God's ways. In the countless brothers and sisters we have been given in Jesus' mission, we too are to be witnesses of trust in God! Magnificat: Ant: God's name is holy. From age to age, look to God when hope seems o t of sight! Hymn: / Ant: G ~ s name is holy. rom age to age, look to God when hope seems out of sight!
Litany of intercession: Hand in hand with Bl Maria Helena, we ask our God through Blessed Maria Helena's intercession: Blessed Maria Helena, patroness of:... Congregations All: Pray for us.... the missions All: Pray for us.... missionaries All: Pray for us.... messengers of the gospel All: Pray for us.... those going through difficult circumstances All: leach us trust in God.... those who have to just hang in there All: leach us trust in God.... those who wait All: leach us trust in God.... those in need of patience All: leach us trust in God. Bl Maria Helena look kindly upon... the Church in China All: Intercede for us.... the Pilgrim Church All: Intercede for us.... all nations All: Intercede for us. Closing Prayer: God of age to age, graciously hear our prayer that we may be missionaries of trust in your
ways, just like Blessed Maria Helena. Make of us missionaries who know how to keep your Word and live it. Through your Spirit in us renew the face of the earth and the earth will be created anew. May you be glorified in the name of Jesus your incarnate wisdom! All this we ask in your name of Abba, Word and Spirit. Amen. Amen. Blessing: Today, tomorrow and forever, may the Holy Triune God grant us the blessing of trust in God. May God shine in our hearts and in the hearts of all peo r.le. Amen. Angelus: Maria Antiph November 28 Feast of Bl Maria Helena