Feast of the Seven Servants of Mary.

The Feast of the Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order. 

"Jesus summoned the crowd with his disciples and said to them, “Whoever wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow me. 

"For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and that of the Gospel will save it.

"What profit is there for one to gain the whole world and forfeit his life? What could one give in exchange for his life?

"Whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this faithless and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”

"He also said to them, “Amen, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see that the Kingdom of God has come in power.” (Mark 8: 34 - 9: 11).

Friday 17th February 2023 in the 6th Week of Ordinary Time is the feast of the Seven Holy Brothers of the Servite Order, also known as the Order of the Servants of the Blessed Virgin Mary.  

On Friday, April 13, 1240, the hermits received a vision of Our Lady, who told them:

 

 "You will found a new order, and you will be my witnesses throughout the world. This is your name: Servants of Mary. This is your rule: that of Saint Augustine. And here is your distinctive sign: the black scapular, in memory of my sufferings." 

Ecclesiastical recognition for the order as a religious order was given in 1304.  They lead a life of prayer and penance.

Our reflection is from the Gospel of today: The Cost of Discipleship. Being a disciple of Jesus is not easy. It was not easy for the first Apostles: Peter, Paul, Andrew, James and John, etc. 

It was not easy for the seven saints we celebrate today. The Seven Holy Founders of the Servite Order. 

It was not easy for the young St Therese of Lisieux from whom I learned so much about the gentle yoke of Jesus. 

It is Jesus Himself in His locution to a Benedictine mystic in IN SINU JESU who showed me that I too can bear His sweet and gentle yoke tailor-made for me. 

"Suffering, for you, is the humble acceptance of every limitation, fatigue, humiliation, disappointment, and sorrow. It is the joyful acceptance of infirmity and weakness. It is adhesion to all the manifestations of My will, especially those that you are incapable of understanding in the present moment. Suffering offered in love is precious in My sight. Accept the sufferings that I allow and that I will for you; thus will you participate in My Passion through patience and accomplish the mission that I have entrusted to you." (IN SINU JESU - pg 146).

A most recent testimony of the simple spirituality of St Therese of the Child Jesus is Blosius. 

"Blosius, a great Benedictine mystic, says that the best form of mortification is to accept with all our heart, in spite of our repugnance, all that God sends or permits, good and evil, joy and suffering. I try to do this. Let us try to do it together, and to help one another to reach that absolute abandonment into the hands of God…."

Blessed Columba Marmion, o.s.b.

Anyone who wants can be a disciple of Jesus and bear his cross daily in his walk with Jesus. As St Therese teaches: You will discover that it is Christ inside you that enables you to bear the Cross. 

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com