“The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. Therefore the child to be born will be called holy, the Son of God” (Lk 1: 35).

 The presence of the Holy Spirit accompanies Mary throughout her life in the fulfillment of her mission as the mother of Jesus. He helps her understand the events related to the birth and childhood of her son:“And Mary kept all these things, reflecting on them in her heart” (Lk 2: 19).

“It is especially through her (Mary) that we can expect from her divine Son the fruit of this retreat. Here, as always, she will be our advocate and our model, for she knows the weakness of her children and no more than she, has better understood what kindness and profit there is talking with Jesus, she who was not content with reanimating each day her charity by contact with this centre of love but who continually meditated on the words which she received attentively from his divine lips, guarding them preciously in her heart (cf. Lk 2: 19)”. (De Brésillac, Retreat to missionaries, p. 25-26).

“The grace that Mary has received is a special grace. But the Lord also given us special graces, for we are “blessed and filled with the blessings of the Spirit, in heaven in Christ”

The Lord chose us from the womb of our mother, he chose us before the foundation of the world so that we may be holy in love. The Lord has willed us “missionary priests”, not by our merit but by his holy goodness and will: “It was not you who chose me, but I who chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit that will remain” (Jn 15: 16).

How wonderful that to know that we are for God a particular field, we can count on him and trust him. He loves us as we are and he takes care of each of us.  Mary, the Mother of Jesus and our mother, remains an example for us to follow. Never think about our life, especially our life as priests, outside Mary. Jesus has foreseen everything. Indeed, He who promised the Holy Spirit, gave us his mother even before the Spirit descended on the disciples at Pentecost. He knows how much it is necessary for us to have and his Mother and his Spirit, a defender and one who intercedes for us. Mary and the Spirit accompany us in our missionary life. Like Mary, let us assume our yes, our commitment to the end by trusting the gifts of the Spirit.

We may ask ourselves: How are Mary and the Spirit present in the heart of our life, our apostolate, our encounters? How can we make our missionary life a thanksgiving and let the Spirit of the Lord guide us and renew our vocation day after day? “.

  Laurent Ore SMA, Togo. Lyon

– 8 – We have given up everything

– 7 – Who is the greatest

– 6 – Do not trust every spirit…

– 5 – Like the Apostles… Filled with the Holy Spirit

– 4 – Like the Apostles…“Go thus all the nations…

– 3 – Like the Apostles… The supreme good of knowing Christ Jesus

– 2 – Like the Apostles… In communion withe Christ who sends us

– 1 – LIKE THE APOSTLES… FOLLOWING JESUS SENT BY THE FATHER…