The Exaltation of the Holy Cross - M. Maria Celeste Feast Day

The Cross is the altar of the sacrifice of Christ who is always present also in our crosses. Through faith we can transcend the negative aspect of the suffering we meet in our way and allow God to make it an avenue of Grace not only for ourselves but for the Church and the world.

        The Cross is the superabundance of God's Love poured out upon this world and the great sign of Christ's saving presence. Love of the Cross is essentially love and imitation of Jesus Christ.  (Rule of Life #30 - Constitutions OSsR, 57)

On this liturgical feast day of the Triumph or Exaltation of the Holy Cross, the Redemptoristine daughters of Mother Maria Celeste -including this hermitess- celebrate also her triumph and passing into Glory as Jesus himself promised her:

Know, My daughter, that in this world, you will not be separated from My Passion, but will have an abundance of troubles and infirmities, because you cannot acquire love without sufferings. Thus, whatever I dispose and ordain for you, it is all love! Therefore, you must have patience and I promise you, on My word, that the moment your soul leaves your body, I will lead it into heaven where it will enjoy Me for all eternity.  Dialogue IX

Mother Maria Celeste, the Holy Prioress of the Monastery of the Most Holy Savior in Foggia, Italy, was nearing her 59th birthday when on September 14, 1755, the Feast of the Exaltation of the Cross:

.  She had taken communion that morning in the community Mass and the day began as one more day in conventual life.  But, feeling very ill, she had the confessor called, Father Nicholas Lombardi, who administered the viaticum to her and holy unction.  Then, she requested him to read her the Passion according to St. John, and when the confessor arrived at the words “Consummatum est” (‘everything is completed’, Jn. 19:30) Mother Maria Celeste quietly died.  It was at 3 o’clock in the afternoon. (Autobiography, Apendix) 

As we praise and thank God for the great gift of the life and death of M. Maria Celeste, we pray through her intercession for her glorification, and for the future of her legacy, the Order and the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer. We also pray for the new forms in which her spirituality is lived out in various ways around the world, particularly the Redemptoristine eremitic life. Most especially we pray that her very rich doctrine on the transformation of the human person into Christ, which she herself lived and experienced, may be made accessible through publications in different languages, and that many daughters and sons of her spirit be called to live the Christian vocation to the depth of intimacy with God that she was called to mediate.

Receive, My daughter, the spirit of your Institute so that you may instil it into every soul willing to receive it, and through you, be united to Me in love. (Dialogue IX)

Venerable Mother Maria Celeste, pray for us!

Novena to Ven. M. Maria Celeste of the Most Holy Savior

O God, 

who bestowed on Mother Maria Celeste 

the grace of a most intimate communion

in the mystery of your beloved Son's 

death and resurrection, 

we beg you

to glorify your handmaid,

to grant us the request we make to you 

through her intercession,

and to teach us to cooperate, as she did,

in the fulfillment of 

your admirable Plan of Redemption.

Grant this

Through Christ our Lord.

Amen.

"Glory be to the Father ..." (three times)

"Hail Mary" (once)

Alternate prayer:

O Most Holy Trinity,

I adore You from the depth of my nothingness

and I thank you 

for the gifts and privileges

bestowed on your servant Mother Maria Celeste.

I pray you

to will her glorification even here on earth

and for this, I beg you to grant me,

through her intercession,

that grace which I humbly desire

from your paternal mercy.

Grant this through Christ our Lord.

Amen

"Glory be to the Father ..." (three times)

"Hail Mary" (once)

United to all Redemptoristines throughout the world during these days of preparation for her feast on September 14th, let us pray through the intercession of our Mother Maria Celeste that we may receive a double portion of her spirit in order to become, like her, living portraits of Jesus Christ, our Savior and Redeemer in today's world.

Solemnity of the Most Holy Redeemer

Redemptoristine Nuns and Redemptorist Missionaries throughout the world as well as this Hermit of the same spirituality celebrate on the third Sunday in July the solemnity of the Most Holy Redeemer.

Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, 

Redeemer of the world.

The feast of the Title of the Order and the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer "stresses those aspects of Redemption which lie outside the scope of history, namely the love of the Father who gave us his Son, and the love of the Son, giving himself up in our place." (Divine Office - Proper CSsR)


Mother Maria Celeste initially founded the Order of Nuns under the title of The Most Holy Savior. This was also the initial title of the group of Missionaries led by St. Alphonsus following the inspiration of M. M. Celeste when years later during the process of approval by Rome the title was changed from Most Holy Savior to Most Holy Redeemer because the former was already in use by other religious institute.

This picture of Our Savior was originally venerated by M. Maria Celeste of the Most Holy Savior and is cherished by her daughters to this day. It depicts the Savior, God Incarnate, Homo Viator, Jesus the Wayfarer dressed in the traditional colors in which artists have depicted the garments of Jesus and Mary: a red tunic and blue mantle. These are also the colors of the habit of the nuns, called to become living portraits of Jesus, resembling Christ in every aspect, including his garments.

Saint Alphonsus took the Rule originally written by Mother Maria Celeste under divine inspiration for the Nuns and adapted it for his group of Missionaries. But he didn't retain the colors for the habit of the men as intended by M. Maria Celeste. This is no surprise given that the red tunic is used in the Church by Cardinals, that is by the men who are the closest collaborators with the Pope.

Eternal Father, 

To conquer death and bring us back to life

You made your only Son Redeemer of humanity.

May we ever remember your kindness,

Cling to you with unfailing love, 

And so enjoy the benefits of your Redemption.

Grant this through Christ our Lord. AMEN

May our Most Holy Redeemer bless our religious family with abundant fruits of holiness, and grant us many and holy vocations in fire with the mystical love of Venerable M. M. Celeste and the apostolic zeal of St. Alphonsus.