Holiness: a treasure to share

Rome (Italy). Pope Francis writes in the Apostolic Exhortation on the call to Holiness in the contemporary world Gaudete et Exultate: “In the Church, holy and made up of sinners, you will find everything you need to grow towards holiness. The Lord has filled her with gifts with the Word, the Sacraments, the sanctuaries, the life of the communities, the testimony of the saints, and a multifaceted beauty that proceeds from the love of the Lord, “as a bride adorns herself with jewels” (Is. 61:10).

And in his discourse to the participants in the conference promoted by the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints, he states: “Holiness sprouts from the concrete life of Christian communities. The Saints do not come from a ‘parallel world’; they are believers who belong to the faithful people of God…” (6 October 2022).

The holiness of the Institute of the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians, in the great tree of Salesian holiness, finds its inspiration in the evangelical word of the Good Shepherd and Mary at the wedding at Cana. It has its holy places in Valdocco, Mornese, Nizza Monferrato; its sanctuary in the Basilica of Mary Help of Christians in Turin.

Saint John Bosco is the founding Father, Mother Mazzarello the Holy Co-foundress, who are followed by other luminous figures on the path towards canonization: Blessed Laura Vicuña, Sister Eusebia Palomino, Sister Maria Romero, Sister Maddalena Morano, Sister Maria Troncatti, the Blessed Martyrs Sister Carmen Moreno and Sister Amparo Carbonell; the Venerable Sister Teresa Valsè Pantellini and Sister Laura Meozzi; the Servants of God Sister Antonietta Böhm and Mother Rosetta Marchese. It is a multifaceted beauty entrusted to the Institute as a gift to be offered to the Church and to humanity, especially to young people, so that it can shine as a light and a proclamation of joy and hope.

The sanctity of these women candidates for the honors of the altars germinated in the fabric of the local Church, the community, and the society in which they lived. Now this treasure of holiness is handed over to the Educating Communities, so that they can share it with what they suffer and ask God for healing, blessing, and salvation with faith.

In the Preface of the Saints it says, “In their lives You offer us an example, in their intercession a help, in the communion of grace a bond of fraternal love.”

Asking for the intercession of these Sisters means asking for their help first and foremost on the journey of faith, to be able to believe that God’s love is powerful and is present even in the most difficult moments. It is not the Saints who perform miracles, but God. These Sisters, however, have a stronger faith, proven by their now concluded life, and can ask with each one and for each one those graces that are needed. It is beautiful to know the graces received that the Lord has already granted through their intercession. Knowing them, sharing them in the community, and disseminating them among young people and lay people is the best way to inspire trust and confidence in times of difficulty.

In this season of Lent, the images of these Sisters can be shared with those who are experiencing trials, and prayers can be proposed for their canonization and to obtain graces, nourishing faith in God the Father of all. It is by sharing your faith that you multiply it! Miracles for Beatifications and Canonizations are often the result of a simple gesture of handing over a small image and of the faith that unites us in prayer to the Father.

For this reason, the periodical booklet Heaven responds, cwhich contains the reports of graces obtained through the intercession of the FMA on their way to the honors of the altars, and the prayers to God to ask for the intercession by Saint Maria Domenica Mazzarello, Laura Vicuña, Sister Eusebia Palomino Yenes, Sister Maria Romero, Sister Maddalena Morano, SisterMaria Troncatti, Sister Carmen Moreno and Sister Amparo Carbonell; Sister Teresa Valsè Pantellini and Sister Laura Meozzi; Sister Antonietta Böhm and Mother Rosetta Marchese are now made available on the website of the FMA Institute with the invitation for dissemination.

Salesian Holiness in the FMA Istitute