On Ardent Love and Eager Desire to Receive Christ [IV]

Let all people, tribes and tongues (Rev. 7:9) praise and exalt Your
sweet and holy Name with great joy and fervent devotion. And may all
who reverently and devoutly celebrate Your sublime Sacrament, and
receive It with full faith, merit to obtain Your grace and mercy,
humbly interceding for me, a sinner. And when they shall have obtained
the devotion they desire, and blissful union with Yourself, and have
left Your sacred and heavenly Table truly comforted and marvellously
refreshed, let them, I pray, remember me, who am so poor.
--Thomas à Kempis--Imitation of Christ Book 4  Ch.17

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11 October – Saint Maria Soledad Torres Acosta

(1826-1887)
Religious Nun and Founder of Servants of Mary. Her apostolic actions –
and those of her order – were dedicated towards the nursing of the
sick and the poor.  Patronage – the Servants of Mary.

St Maria Soledad was born and baptised with the name Bibiana Antonia
Acosta, in Madrid, Spain, on 2 December 1826. She was the second of
five children. Her parents ran a small business in Madrid. St Maria
Soledad was educated by the Daughters of Charit, and often visited the
sick in her neighbourhood. She performed small penances for the
benefit of others.

Because of her poor health, she was unsuccessful in entering the
Dominican community, as she desired to become a nun. In 1851, Fr
Michael Martinez, a parish Priest and member of the Third Order of the Servites, asked her to minister to the sick and poor of his parish, in
their homes. She accepted and with six companions she began this
ministry taking the name Maria Soledad.

Five years into the ministry, Fr Michael took six of the Sisters with
him to the missions, leaving only six behind. Maria Soledad was
appointed as their Superior and the Sisters that remained with Maria immediately removed her from this office. The move so disorganised the community, that the Bishop threatened to dissolve it. The Bishop held
an investigation and re-appointed Maria as Superior, with the help of
the new Director, Fr Gabino Sanchez, an Augustinian. It was at this
time that the community took the name of “Handmaids of Mary Serving
the Sick”. The Bishop formally approved their ministry and extended
their work to care for the delinquents of Madrid. Their order received
much publicity by their care for the sick when the cholera epidemic
broke out.

St Maria Soledad faced several trials throughout her time of
leadership in the congregation and was the victim of slander and was
once again removed from her office as superior. Fr Gabino reinstalled
her as the Superior for a second time, after an investigation. The
Handmaids grew in number and in 1875, began a ministry in Havana,
Cuba. The new institute received Papal approval in 1876. Maria
governed the community for 35 years.

St Maria Soledad was working in Havana, Cuba when she contracted
pneumonia. She died on 11 October 1887. At the time of her death there
were 46 Houses in Europe and Latin America. She was buried in the
Sisters cemetery in the Motherhouse in Madrid, Spain and in 1893 her
body was exhumed and transferred to the Chapel. Her body was intact,
exuding a bloody liquid, her body exuding a sweet odour.

She was Beatified in 1950 by Pope Pius XII, and Canonised by St Pope
Paul VI in 1970. In the United States, the Congregations is known as
the Sister Servants of Mary, Ministers to the sick. There are six
communities in the US, still providing health care as of today.

https://anastpaul.com/2019/10/11/


Saint Quote:
He who speaks rightly should recognize that he receives the words from
God. For the truth belongs not to him who speaks, but to God who is
energizing him.
--St. Mark the Ascetic

Bible Quote:
A tree is identified by its fruit. A tree from a select variety
produces good fruit; poor varieties, don't.... A good man's speech
reveals the rich treasures within him. An evil-hearted man is filled
with venom, and his speech reveals it.  (Mt. 12:33, 35)


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Meditation for the Day

   Painful as the present time may be, you will one day see the reason
for it. You will see that it was not only testing, but also a
preparation for the life work, which you are to do. Have faith that
your prayers and aspirations will someday be answered. Answered in a
way that perhaps seems painful to you but is the only right way.
Selfishness and pride often make us want things that are not good for
us. They need to be burned out of our natures. We must be rid of the
blocks, which are holding us back, before we can expect our prayers to
be answered.

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