The Blessed Mother

The Catechesis on the Blessed Mother takes us through the teachings of Mother Clelia Merloni, which invite us to a life of faith and deep love for the Heart of Jesus. With words full of wisdom and tenderness, she teaches us that true holiness is achieved through trust, sacrifice and charity lived out every day. Her reflections strengthen us in prayer, in perseverance in the face of difficulties and in the commitment to follow Christ with fidelity and hope.

THE BLESSED MOTHER IN THE LIFE AND WRITINGS OF MOTHER CLELIA MERLONI

“I implore upon you the maternal blessing of Most Holy Mary so that your hearts, blessed by her, may become fertile with the flowers and fruits of true sanctity.” (Mother Clelia)

Testimony from the Positio

Introduction

Mary has always occupied a singular place in the history of Christianity. Her “yes” given at the Annunciation makes her a collaborator in the plan of salvation of God the Father, who sent his Son for the salvation of the world. With her “yes,” the Virgin Mary became the mother of Christ and all his disciples, for all time and for all humanity.

We can contemplate her maternal presence in the Gospels. She is the mother who accompanies her son from the Annunciation to Calvary: as a frail child in the cave of Bethlehem, as He matures in the hidden Life of Nazareth, as an adult as He publicly proclaims the Good News and heals soul and body, as Savior in His Passion and suffering, and in the joy of the Resurrection and His return to His Father.

At the wedding of Cana, Mary is present as an active mother who intercedes and helps others to grow in faith. In the upper room, she is a prayerful woman who accompanies the nascent church in accepting the gift of the Holy Spirit.

1. MARY as MOTHER

Looking closely at Mother Clelia’s writings with the heart of a daughter, we perceive a purely maternal sensitivity in her, a sensitivity that leads us to believe that the influence of the Virgin Mary in her life had been very keen. Through her writings she exhorts us: “Entrust yourself to your dear Mamma Maria; Tell her that you want to love her Jesus, and that you want to love him very much: ask her to lend you her maternal heart, so that you can love him sincerely.” If we, as disciples of Jesus, turn to Mary, we can be certain that she will teach us to love Jesus in a new way. Mother Clelia understood this reality and embraced it in her life.

Witnesses state:
“She loved Our Lady very much and never separated her from Jesus. When she had to enkindle a flame of hope in some depressed heart, she found the right words to spark the peace and trust of God in them by recommending recourse to Mary. She herself had personally experienced the efficacy of this devotion.”

“All the Sisters who knew her agreed that Mother Clelia was detached from everything and from everyone; she was strongly united to Jesus Crucified and to His Immaculate Mother.”

2. MARY as a MOTHER of SERVICE

Mother Clelia’s contemplative gaze sees in Mary a model of the practice of the virtues, among them service to and love of neighbor.

The evangelist Luke, in recounting the story of the Visitation, shows Mary walking in haste to be of service to her cousin Elizabeth. Love is always ready to serve others! The “yes” pronounced at the Annunciation puts Mary on the path of service. This reality of Mary—a woman in service to her neighbor—shines through the writings of Mother Clelia.

In a letter explaining how the Virgin Mary, since childhood, put herself at the service of others, Mother Clelia writes: “…. she always had a sweet, gracious and warm welcome for everyone, because she was always willing to serve in a way befitting of her faith and out of love of God, whom she loved and served in the person of her neighbor… In this way, Mary teaches us to practice charity.” We need a contemplative gaze in order to cultivate and discover, as Mother Clelia did, the beauty and depth of love that always puts us on the path of service.

Witnesses reveal:
“Mother venerated the feasts of the Saints, especially those of Our Lady; I remember that she was always punctual in reciting the Holy Rosary from the chapel balcony.”

“She had great zeal for the spread of the gospel and said that she prayed much for missionaries because she too would have liked to be one, to make Jesus and Mary known.”

3. MARY as a WOMAN of PRAYER

The evangelist Luke, both in the Infancy narratives his Gospel and in the Acts of the Apostles, paints a picture of Mary as a prayerful woman, even if indirectly:
– in the Cenacle, praying with the disciples, and
– in the Infancy narratives, cherishing in her heart all the events of the Jesus’ birth, thus witnessing to her journey of intimate union with God.
In the Gospel of John, we observe two significant moments:
– at the wedding feast of Cana, interceding for the newlyweds, and
– on Calvary, standing faithfully under the Cross.

Certainly, in the contemplation of every scene of the Gospel, the heart of Mother Clelia beat strongly in seeing the Holy Virgin not only as a model of prayer, but as someone whose intimate experience of God the Father confirmed the beauty and depth of her mission as Mother and Mediator.

In fact, Mother Clelia writes:
Pray, pray very much and, distrusting yourselves, place a filial and total confidence in the Heart of Jesus and in the patronage of the Most Holy Virgin who was the most fervent Apostle, the first of the martyrs, for although she did not shed the blood of her veins, she did shed the blood of her soul rent by the Passion of her Son on Calvary. Holy Communion and the Rosary. These are two devotions I recommend to you with all my heart. Will you listen to me?”

Witnesses note:
“Mother Clelia accepted the ordeal of her exile with resignation and heroism. I always say that if our Institute has grown, it is because Mother Clelia accepted that great cross, offering herself as a victim to the Sacred Heart and to Our Lady.”

“She prayed always and willingly, with joy; prayer was the breath of her soul that was in love with the Sacred Heart and Our Lady.”

Conclusion

For Mother Clelia, Mary is the mother who is constantly present, who intuits the sentiments of her children, who protects and cares for us and who warms our hearts, making us grow in love for her Son, Jesus.

We can see in her writings that the Virgin Mary is not only a model of prayer, but a profound and meaningful example of a loving mother, a most fervent Apostle, and one who gives to God without reservation. Mother Clelia was a daughter who was very attentive and open, in the likeness of her heavenly Mother and, thanks to this dedication, she became Marian in all her being. Her entire life was marked by this Marian experience, so much so that, looking at the end of her earthly existence, our attention is drawn to the date of her death—the 21st of November—the liturgical feast of the Presentation of Mary in the Temple. Mother Clelia, on that day, left this earth for her Father’s house; in this, we see the symbolic crowning of her filial love of Mary. Now she is with the Virgin Mary in heaven, whom she loved so much here on earth.

For personal reflection:
1. What lessons can we take for our devotion to the Virgin Mary, considering Mother Clelia’s great love for her?
2. Both Mary and Mother Clelia put themselves in the dynamic of service to others. How am I living this dimension of charity in my daily life?

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Hope

The Catechesis on hope takes us through the teachings of Mother Clelia Merloni, which invite us to a life of faith and deep love for the Heart of Jesus. With words full of wisdom and tenderness, she teaches us that true holiness is achieved through trust, sacrifice and charity lived out every day. Her reflections strengthen us in prayer, in perseverance in the face of difficulties and in the commitment to follow Christ with fidelity and hope.

HOPE IN THE LIFE OF MOTHER CLELIA

“Yes, my God, it is because you delay in hearing me that I have hope that you will listen to me; the more you push me away, the more I will abandon myself, with confident fervor, into your paternal arms.” (Mother Clelia)

Testimony from the Positio

Introduction

Christian hope arises from the practical and historical reality of God’s promises since the creation of the world, proclaimed and guaranteed in full by the resurrection of Christ. For Mother Clelia, hope was a true program of life, freely chosen, and an attitude of constant and trusting expectation of the fulfillment of these promises.

Hope as Love for the Will of God

At every moment of her life, Mother Clelia gave witness to firm adherence to the Will of God, in which she always placed great hope. She always felt herself to be a daughter of God, Creator and Father, abandoning herself completely in His arms. This abandonment was like a lead wire in her life; this vision led her to be strongly convinced that God would take care of her, whether it be in her future, in the future of the Congregation, or in and the future of those entrusted to her.

A witness affirms:
“The Servant of God continually manifested her hope in God: both when he gives, as when he takes away, because she perceived that the Father sees everything and that, in His own time, he intervenes and provides, in aspects both human and spiritual.”

Hope in eternal happiness

We know that faith in Christ makes hope become a certainty, above all in regards to salvation; hope then gives a broad perspective to faith and carries the soul toward true life. One can certainly say that Mother Clelia possessed an unlimited hope; in fact her eyes were always fixed on the goal of paradise, looking to the saints, those intercessors who preceded her in heaven. She often reflected on supernatural realities and nourished a deep hope of attaining her eternal recompense.

Mother Clelia writes in her diary:
“…You know well, O my dear good Jesus, that the pains and the trials that You Yourself send me frighten me so much. Nevertheless, I resign myself to them and I want to suffer, if each of my sorrows and expiation can be a manifestation of my love for You. I recall all the acute sorrows, pains, anguishes, and sadness that have accompanied my everyday actions in the course of my life. What indignations, what troubles, and difficulties I had to endure, but what glory I would give to my Jesus and I myself would merit heaven.”

Hope and prayer

To her exercise of hope, Mother Clelia joined her exceptional spirit of prayer, that is to say, the first drew impetus and reinforcement from the second. The greater the difficulties that presented themselves, the more intense became her prayer.

One must take note of her strong relationship and her intimate and constant dialogue with the Lord Jesus in the dimension of prayer, profound and fully surrendered. This helped her to interpret every event in the light of hope, even those that appeared to exceed her own strength, exhorting her Sisters to put their trust in the merits of Jesus Christ and not in those of their own.

A witness recalls:
“I think that, knowing how to accept and wait, in prayer, for a solution to complicated problems regarding her daughters and the Institute, shows how alive, stable and solid in her was the virtue of hope. Mother Foundress, in the most difficult moments of the Institute, was accustomed to say: ‘Let us pray, let us accept, and let us make reparation.’”

Hope during anguish of the spirit

There was a period in Mother Clelia’s life in which the difficulties regarding herself and the foundation of the Congregation grew to be so oppressive that she was impelled to go into exile away from the very Congregation that she founded. It was a most sorrowful time, but also very heroic; not for a moment did Mother Clelia cease to hope, confident that she would worthily overcome the trials and someday return among her daughters.

A witness confirms this:
“She was always sustained by theological hope, especially in the distress of her spirit, above all in the sad years of her exile from the Congregation. She always hoped and prayed that the problems would resolve themselves and once again find harmony, which would allow her to return to the spiritual family that she founded. Her firm hope was repaid with her eventual return to the Congregation after many years of waiting.”

During her exile, it was precisely the virtue of hope that helped her to overcome poverty, precarious health and all the sufferings of her spirit. Witnesses that speak of this period of her life remember her as optimistic and full of divine light; only the presence of this fervent hope within her was able to keep her from giving up in desperation, even in the darkest moments.

Spreading hope

It is impossible that a virtue so radiant not be contagious. It made of her a beacon of hope to those who knew her.

Witnesses attest to this:
“About hope, may I say that Mother grounded her hope in God and encouraged whoever was in hardship, directing them towards the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary, assuring them that if they did so with living hope and absolute certainly in the goodness and power of God, they would obtain many graces.”

“I remember, like a refrain, one of her sayings: ‘Continue to trust and hope against every hope, in the power of the Sacred Heart.’”

Conclusion

The hope of Mother Clelia was indestructible. She lived fully surrendered in the arms of Divine Providence, without ever losing the certainty of being always and everywhere assisted by God, maintaining serenity of character, peace of heart, and patience in the midst of unspeakable trials.

It is clear that the only goal that Mother Clelia had fixed in front of her eyes was the enjoyment of God: as the Alpha and Omega of life, as the beginning and end of every aspiration and every work, and as the goal and the means to achieve it, and thanks to Whom we reach the end.

To think about:
1. What does the hope of Mother Clelia say to me?
2. What can Mother Clelia say to the people of today who feel lost in the face of evil and violence that surrounds them, and discouraged because they feel powerless?
3. How is it possible for me to live hope as she lived it?

Charity

The Catechesis on Charity takes us through the teachings of Mother Clelia Merloni, which invite us to a life of faith and deep love for the Heart of Jesus. With words full of wisdom and tenderness, she teaches us that true holiness is achieved through trust, sacrifice and charity lived out every day. Her reflections strengthen us in prayer, in perseverance in the face of difficulties and in the commitment to follow Christ with fidelity and hope.

THE CHARITY OF MOTHER CLELIA

“You must love God with all your strength and your neighbor because of Him, not holding back in anything and bearing whatever sacrifice to fulfill His Holy Will.” (Mother Clelia)

Testimony from the Positio

Introduction

Charity is the virtue that unites us to God, our ultimate end, in a supernatural way with an inextricable bond Through charity we can truly belong to God and share friendship with him.
It is the essence of Christian perfection, presuming and encompassing all the other virtues, without which they would have no value. Mother Clelia was filled with this charity.

Love for God

Love for God was the very life of Mother Clelia; she remained constantly united to the Lord in meditation of his paternal goodness and of the mysteries of the Faith. Love for God was for her a burning fire, and to this love she consecrated her entire life.

A witness states:
“On the virtue of charity, I can attest that the Servant of God practiced it heroically; this I can say without fear of error because, for the many long years I lived beside Mother Clelia, I saw how much she loved and practiced charity. First and foremost, she loved God, and his holy Law above all other things, and she loved the Sacred Heart and the Blessed Mother very much.”
She lived in continual union with the Lord; what was evident above all was how much and how she prayed.

Let’s look at the memories of one witness:
“What I can say about the charity of the Servant of God toward her Lord is that she was in constant intimate union with Him, through vocal and mental prayer. From all the letters that Mother wrote to her spiritual daughters, you can see that she was full of love for God, instilling that same love in her daughters. Being in the house where Mother spent the last years of her life, I can say that her desire was that of living and dying in God.”

Not only did she have a great love for God, but she had the same strength to make this virtue grow in the hearts of others. Her desire to instill love of God in others took on, at times, a nature so simple that it made a great impression on those around her.

Let us read another testimony:
“Before leaving her room, the Servant of God said to me: ‘Give me the crucifix (she always kept it near her) and kiss it. Do you want to love Jesus? Love him very much, very much.’ This impression stayed with me, of a Mother who was peaceful and very, very affectionate, desirous that we be true Sisters and love the Heart of Jesus very much.”

Charity toward one’s neighbor

Perfection does not end with love for God, but it must extend itself to others, loving them for the Love of God. Mother Clelia was aware of the presence of God in each person; consequently she tried to develop an attitude that was, as far as possible, as fervent as that which Jesus Himself would have had.

One Sister recounts:
“Her never-ending love was directed also towards her neighbor; charity towards the poor, the sick, and children was in her nature. She was sensitive to the needs of others. It was common to say that Mother, in helping the needy, was a “spendthrift.”* Needless-to-say, the source of such a hard-working charity was God Himself.”

“Our dear Mother could not see anyone suffering or in need without immediately helping them. To the Sisters, to their families, to priests or to whoever had recourse to her help, she gave, gave fully everything she had.

She was zealous for the salvation of souls, as expressed in the following deposition by a witness:

“The Servant of God had much zeal for the salvation of souls; she prayed and did much penance for their salvation. She sincerely loved her enemies, mentioning them in her prayers and exhorting the Sisters to unite themselves to her prayers.”
Since she was a child, Mother Clelia was especially concerned with the soul of her own father, a Freemason and an unbeliever. The many prayers and sacrifices she offered for her father’s salvation were rewarded when he, on his deathbed on June 27, 1985, asked to receive the Sacraments.

In her relationships with her spiritual daughters, she was always very warm. A Sister recounts:
“All the Sisters were happy when there was an occasion to spend time with our Venerable Mother Foundress. She always listened with patience to what they had to say; she gave advice and counsel, even making observations and giving correction, but always with charity.”

She loved them even when she was away from them. One witness remembers with great affection:
“I remember the most beautiful days of my childhood lived with her; and today I understand every word she told me. Her most spontaneous expression was: “How can a mother forget or abandon her own daughters?” And with a melancholy face she turned toward a picture of the Sacred Heart and began to pray.”

Mother Clelia taught the importance of respect and mutual love both with word and example. She wanted the spirit of charity to reign in the Congregation and did not tire of instilling this in the young Sisters.

“In the face of any lack of charity, she immediately demanded an act of reconciliation; she did not allow discord to separate the hearts of her daughters. The penance that she gave almost always consisted of prayer or humble service to the Sisters.”

Perhaps the strongest aspect of her charity was her forgiveness. Mother Clelia received many injuries during her lifetime, even from the hands of her own Sisters. How did she respond? Always with charity, patience, and Christ-like forgiveness. She did not simply imitate her Savior, but went so far as to identify with the Heart of Jesus, pierced and betrayed, and participate in his act of Redemption. Like Jesus, Mother Clelia poured abundant charity into those wounds, and so transformed them into fountains of love that overflowed to all who made her suffer.

In 1927, nearing the end of her life, after many trials—sickness, misunderstandings, removal from the community’s government, calumny, interior doubts and exile—Mother Clelia proclaimed, almost like a Gospel itself:
“May the Sacred Heart of Jesus fulfill my longing and grant me the grace to pass the last few days left to me in the seclusion and peace of my Congregation, all united in Him by the sacred bonds of charity, burying in oblivion an extremely painful past…”

Conclusion

Thus, the fervor of her charity was most evident when, after the unjust exile, she was re-admitted to the Institute in Rome in 1928, and forgave all who had done her harm.
Truly the motto of St. Paul, “The love of Christ impels us,” was the central theme of her every act, and the Sisters, especially the youngest, were devoutly edified by it.

To think about:
1. What does the charity of Mother Clelia say to you?
2. What can Mother Clelia say to people of today who tend toward individualism, egoism, and the pursuit of their own personal advantage?
3. How is it possible for us to live the kind of charity that she lived?

Life, work and spirituality of Mother Clelia Merloni