From an early age, Mary Ward was deeply in love with God. Her dreams grew, along with questions about how to proceed. She aspired to do something great for God. Mary was inspired by the Jesuits/priests who bravely ministered to Catholics in England and wanted to collaborate in the ongoing redemptive work of Christ (CN. VII.1) as they did. But which path should she take? Becoming a religious in order to “To serve the Church in procuring the good of souls by all means possible for women to the greater Glory of God,”
(Letter No. 5: Nymphenburg collection cf. Henriette Peters p.349) seemed more fitting.
However, the life of an enclosed sister did not align with her vision. She felt called to work among those who needed care or education in the faith and life. The question was how to achieve this - should she do it alone or with others? She decided to work with like-minded women companions. The next question was where to start: the Continent seemed safer.
Her meandering journey, which began in childhood, was finally taking shape. Yet many decisions lay ahead. She would need assurances. She knew the dream would become a reality and hoped it would be in her lifetime.
Pope Francis, in ‘Spes Non Confundit’, writes, “Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced Heart of Jesus upon the Cross”. Intimacy with the Lord will open our door to hope as Mary Ward experienced it in her long arduous journey with numerous oppositions, misunderstandings and rejections. Her intimacy with the Lord was her source of hope.
We read in Mt 11:28 “Come to Me”. Once we accept His invitation to go to Him, He will open for us a new path. When we listen deeply and attentively to His voice in the ordinary things of life we will recognise and discover what we have been looking for. Mary Ward experienced this deep union with Him, and she says, “I saw Him very clearly go into my heart and little by little hide Himself…He held my heart”. We are called to live in this specific grace of Mary Ward. Her experience of God holding her heart resonates with us in our being here, beckoning us to immerse ourselves in God’s love and seek His will as we move forward in our journey of ‘Being One’.
We are urged to pay attention to the signs of the times, to recognize the immense goodness present in our world, with great desire for peace, the need for enthusiasm for life… We are called to be tangible signs of hope to those who experience hardships of any kind and to the world where fragmentation is a norm, as we ‘BECOME ONE’.
Mary Ward was constantly in touch with her inner movements and grew in the spirit of discernment, refining her understanding, and sincerely seeking God's will. The Lord is leading us… In our discernment may we find assurance, zeal, and an abundance of hope.
Questions for reflection:
To what degree do I follow her way of proceeding?
What are my questions for discerning the way ahead?
How am I preparing my heart and energies to recognize the path that God wills?
Sr. Mary Carton IBVM from USA and Sr. Karuna Shrestha CJ from Nepal
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