Celebrating Abbot Francis Pfanner’s 110th Death Anniversary

Many celebrations were held around the world to honour Abbot Francis Pfanner who died on 24 May 1909.  In Rome, we Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood celebrated with joy and pride our Father Founder’s 110th Death Anniversary on 25 May 2019, together with our brothers, the Missionaries of Mariannhill.

Why does Mariannhill make us family?  We do not just passively come together every year to celebrate a ritual memorial.  It is the mysterious founding gift of our ancestral memory – the missionary Charism of the founder of Mariannhill — that makes us brothers and sisters.  – Sr. Monica Mary Ncube, CPS

The Indisputable Founder of Mariannhill – Reflection by Sr. Monica Mary Ncube, CPS

We are invited to follow
Christ more closely.
In His humanity, Jesus
was tempted but did not give in.
The devil presented every
possible option to make
He succumbed, yet He remained
steadfast and faithful
to the Father. This reminds us
that we are not called to
rely on ourselves or to
gratify our own abilities.
Instead, we are invited to
trust in God’s constant
help and His faithful
presence, especially in
moments of temptation.

 

Lent provides us with a perfect opportunity to
“begin again” in our lives as religious women.

Our lives as CPS are rooted in the
continual flow of life, death and resurrection
– the continual dying
and rising with Jesus –
in our own lives and in the lives of those
to whom we minister and meet daily.
But before we can be women of reconciliation
for those to whom we minister and encounter,
we must first be women of reconciliation
among ourselves.

“If no one goes, I go!”
These courageous words of our Founder,
continue to echo in our hearts today.
They remind us that our vocation as
Missionary Sisters of the Precious Blood
is rooted in availability, sacrifice and love
without limit.

In this lent season, we are invited to
renew our personal response to Christ,
to go where we are needed, 
to serve even in difficulty and 
to offer ourselves more
deeply to God’s service.

lent is our time to say again,
with faith and courage…

Lord, I go!

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