Since October 15, the seven junior sisters in their Final Probation have been in Rome for their month of Ignatian Spiritual Exercises, which will continue through November 15. Before they began, we asked them to express in a few words and images what they hoped for during this time of grace. Today, now that the month is well underway, we want to share those hopes with the entire Mother Candida Family, so that we may continue to accompany them in prayer.
What They Hope for from These Spiritual Exercises
Mary Mae
A desire to encounter God in what unfolds in silence and prayer.
Inma
My hope for the Spiritual Exercises: to be willing to walk through the door of the heart that God has already opened, to get to know myself, to encounter Christ, and for my heart to remain open to living out my vocation to love and serve.
Crystal
I long to have an open heart so that I may encounter Jesus deeply and allow Him to transform my heart according to His will.
Cintia
I hope to experience the Spiritual Exercises with depth and great trust in God.
Celina
May this be a time of grace, a time to feel and savor the love of God that has given meaning to my life, so that I may love and serve Him more wherever He sends me. I desire to be open to His guidance and to prepare myself for the purpose He has in mind for my life. Here I am, Lord; help me to let go of whatever prevents me from embracing and responding with confidence to the new life you wish to give me.
Ann
During these Spiritual Exercises, I wish to open myself freely to God’s love, so that I may love Him and become more and more like Him.
Cecilia
Inner freedom and listening to one’s inner promptings in order to make life’s important decisions according to God’s will and not one’s own.
We accompany them with our prayers
These words speak of silence, of open hearts, of trust, and of readiness. They are simple yet profound wishes, and also an invitation to the entire Mother Candida Family: to pray with confidence that God may grant them what they have asked for—and, even more, that which only He knows each one needs.
Let us join them in singing—for them and with them—the song that so beautifully expresses the “I belong only to God” of Juana Josefa, that Basque girl who would later become Mother Candida:
“I will set my heart, my hope, and my love on God alone; I will set my gaze on God alone, without looking back…”
May the Lord continue to guide you during this time of encounter, listening, and discernment, and may He strengthen your vocation to love and serve.
