On May 31, the Church celebrates the Visitation of Mary to her cousin Elizabeth. It is a feast that reminds us of Mary’s joyful readiness to bring to others the Good News that she herself had received. And on this date, we also remember the birth of Mother Candida Mary of Jesus. In preparation for this feast, we want to share an experience that has a profound sense of birth and sending.
For a Daughter of Jesus, the formation process is a journey of encounter, discernment and configuration with Jesus. And within this itinerary in the novitiate stage, there are three foundational experiences:
- The Month of the Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, where in silence, prayer and discernment, each novice recognizes the voice of God who calls, confirms and sustains. It is a time to be born interiorly to new life in Christ and to the identity of Daughter of Jesus.
- The Month of Apostolic Experience, where we live the sending out, like Mary, to meet others, announcing the Gospel with our lives, from the closeness and dedication in a concrete presence of a community of Daughters of Jesus “in any part of the world”.
- And the Month of Abnegation, a space to configure oneself more deeply with the poor, humble and obedient Jesus, learning to live with greater availability and detachment.
In this context, we wanted to talk with Jeniffer Castillo and Paola Mariano, novices of the Brazil-Caribbean Province, who share with us what they experienced during their month of Spiritual Exercises. Their words speak to us of a process that not only transforms, but also gives life. Because in this intimate encounter with God, they are being born to the life of Daughters of Jesus.
We invite you to watch this video and to prepare ourselves to celebrate together the faithfulness of God who continues to call, send and sustain new generations of women who, like St. Candida, want to “go to the end of the world in search of souls”.
