Rehabilitation Of Mother Clare's Feast Day Letter

FEAST OF THE REHABILITATION NAME 

OF MOTHER M. CLARA PFAENDER

February is a special month for our congregation. We are grateful for the exceptional blessings we have received especially after the year 2018 in which Mother M. Clara’s good name was (being) rehabilitated. We are so proud of being the daughters and sons of this extraordinary woman. Hence, what does this celebration day mean to us today?

The theme of our General Chapter: “You are the light of the world” (Mt 5:14) was really the deepest longing of Mother M. Clara. She wanted to carry the light of the Lord into the darkness of her time – to the poorest of the poor, the oppressed, the orphans and the sick. She did it without concern for herself. She did it in the difficult time of the Kulturkampf. She stood under the Cross for she believed that “under the Cross we will conquer!”. There is no Easter without suffering and death. Therefore, she wanted us to be true cross bearers as she herself was.

In the same way for us, unless someone is prepared to sacrifice her life to be consumed for the sake of God, then she will not become light. Why sometimes does our life not radiate light? Perhaps, we are not willing to sacrifice and to be consumed for the Lord. We don't want to fully give of ourselves. We reject that pattern of life. In fact, if we are not ready to give ourselves totally and ready to die, thus no light emanates from our life. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus himself asserts “Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me.” (Mt 5:10-11).

This Gospel passage was fully lived out by Mother M. Clara throughout her life. Living the Gospel must be the source of our joy as our Foundress showed by her example and this should be the main reason that we are proud of her. Mother M. Clara's faithfulness and steadfastness in living the gospel is a source of joy for all of us. She had shown us the way to true happiness. It leads us to find a new vision, a new purpose in life and a new strength to always live in God's design while we are in this mortal and very temporary world.

May this Feast become a moment of reflection for us. There are many challenges that we experience in living out our vocation in this progressively technological era. Mother M. Clara's experience may also be experienced in our own context. But we have a figure from whom we can learn how to live life according to God's will. She is our common mother; she must be praying for us in our struggle to live the Gospel. She would also be proud and happy to see all of us who continue to strive to fulfill her dreams, vision, mission, spirit and charism in different areas of the congregation. She smiles at the faithfulness and the wisdom of the elders. She is also proud to see the determined spirit of the young ones. This piece of music titled "A Perfect Heart" might be Mother M. Clara's words of wisdom for today:

Bless the Lord, who reigns with beauty.
Bless the Lord, who reigns with wisdom and with power.
Bless the Lord, who reigns my life with so much love,
He can make a perfect heart.

 Therefore, we do not need to be afraid to live in truth because God always strengthens our hearts. Only by living in truth will our light become brighter. God will perfect our imperfect hearts because God is the perfection.

We, the sisters from the General Council and the Generalate community are wishing you a happy Feast of the Rehabilitation of the Name of Mother M. Clara Pfaender with many blessings. Let’s make her proud of us through our extraordinary deeds and words! Let's become extraordinary daughters and sons in this extraordinary time!