May 31 Praised and blessed be the most holy Trinity...

1859: Mother Caroline Friess (1824-1892) wrote in a letter to the St. Louis (USA) mission: “A negro slave girl with a noble heart came to me one evening and pressed $5 into my hand. I said to her, ‘No, I will not take any money from a slave.’ She said however, ‘I am a slave, but not poor and you should know that slaves also can do good,’ whereupon she hurried away.”

Source:  Letter to Louis Mission Society May 31, 1839
quoted in 1995 St. Louis calendar

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1881: Mary Caroline Friess  installed as Commissary General in North America.

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Praised and blessed be the most holy Trinity - and our dearest heavenly mother, Mary - in whose presence we will one day meet again, greet one another, and rejoice eternally in God. 

Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 736
Trust & Dare, May 31

May 30 - let us pray without ceasing

Image: Mother Theresa,
 Hungary

1923: The motherhouse of the Hungarian Province was transferred to Szeged. The original Motherhouse had been at Temesvar, later known as Timişoara. 

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1923: The Romanian Province began with its motherhouse in Timişoara. (The Romanian Province integrated into the Bavarian Province in 2002 )

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Here let us pray without ceasing and with devotion, . . . as we will one day in heaven adore God for all eternity. 

Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 949
Trust & Dare, May 30

 

May 29 - set our prayer aright

Let us begin, dear sisters, to set our prayer aright. Then our life will soon become different, better. 
Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 949
Trust & Dare, May 29

May 28 - If we prayed well...

Fr. Matthias Siegert
(1804-1879)

1879: Fr. Matthias Siegert (1804-1879) died, just three weeks after the death of Mother Theresa.  Trained by Bishop Wittmann, Fr. Siegert was a diocesan priest and lifelong friend of Mother Theresa. He was her confidant, educational consultant, and strong support throughout some very difficult years.

Fr. Siegert's humble grave in the Munich cemetery, a short walk
from the Munich Motherhouse.

Father Francis Sebastian Job once wrote to Siegert, “You, my friend, shall be the leader, confessor, and helper to the religious teachers (at Neunburg) for such is the will of God....I am quite well, but still there is always something wanting: your friendly countenance, your kitchen, your beer cellar, and your pious example.” Taken from Sturdy Roots.

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If we prayed well, we would live altogether differently.  

Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 949
Trust & Dare, May 28

May 27 - Let us examine ourselves...

Founder Statue
by Louis Noel Nicoli, 1899.
St. Peter's Basilica,
Rome.

1897: St. Peter Fourier was canonized by Leo XIII. 

St. Peter Fourier (1565 - 1640) was a French canon regular. Along with Blessed Alix Le Clerc, he founded the Congregation of Notre Dame of Canonesses Regular of St. Augustine. They were committed to the free education of children.

The Canonesses taught Blessed Theresa Gerhardinger when she was a child. Blessed Theresa would later use the basics of their rule when establishing her congregation in 1833.

In this way, St Peter Fourier is part of the spiritual heritage of the congregation of the School Sisters of Notre Dame.

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Let us examine ourselves whether in faith we are always aware of the dear God truly present. How reverently would we then pray!

Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 949

Trust & Dare, May 27

May 26 - Never cease praying, ...

Never cease praying, for if the spirit of devotion decreases in us, everything else slips backward into tepidity and death. 

Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 714
Trust & Dare, May 26

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This image of Mother Theresa is located in the parish church, St. Bartholomew in Kraiburg, Germany. Artist: Georg Gschwendtner.

May 25 - Truly, there is no other means...

Image: The Gambia,
West Africa

Truly, there is no other means at our disposal than the weapon of prayer; then, let us seize it.
Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 3812
Trust & Dare, May 25

May 24 - God's cause

Image: Opole, Poland

For the greater honor of God I may reveal to you: never has the Lord refused me a petition I made to him for you, my sisters, concerning his holy cause.

Blessed Mother Theresa Gerhardinger, 714

Trust & Dare, May 24

May 23 - If we could only stay on our knees...

1841: King Ludwig I of Bavaria gave the Poor Clare Convent on the Anger in Munich to Mother Theresa for the establishment of a motherhouse.

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O, if we could only stay on our knees day and night before the most holy sacrament and, like Moses of old, raise our hands and hearts to him, so that the Lord . . . might send timely help and grant us meekness, humility, and love.

Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 445

Trust & Dare, May 23

May 22 - All the works of God ...

1853: First house opened in Austria at Freistadt. 

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Let us greet our dear Lord Jesus, our crucified love, in the Blessed Sacrament as often as we pass before the Highest Good. 

Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 3222
Trust & Dare, May 22

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In the Freistadt convent, Mother Theresa wrote a letter which contains these well known words of hers: "All the works of God proceed slowly and in pain, but then, their roots are the sturdier and their flowering the lovelier."  

SSND Chapel in Freistadt.

May 21 - “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened; I will refresh you.”

Tabernacle in the Generalate chapel.

 “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened; I will refresh you.” The divine bridegroom calls to us from the tabernacle. There he gives us the bread of the strong in the most holy sacrament and with it comfort, light, and strength. Thus, with courageous hearts we can carry after him to Calvary the cross he has laid upon us, until the last hour strikes and the portals of eternity open.
Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 5328
Trust & Dare, May 21

May 20 - When the bell calls to prayer...

Image of Mother Theresa and child at the Hospital São José,
Criciúma, Brazil.

1804: Father George Michael Wittmann became pastor of the Cathedral parish in Regensburg.

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When the bell calls to prayer, recognize it as the invitation of the divine bridegroom to rest in his heart . . . , there to gather new strength, new comfort, and new courage. 
Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 5327 
Trust & Dare, May 20

May 19 - What wonderful, great things ...

SSNDs
Elm Grove, Wisconsin 

Artist: Sue Peoh

What wonderful, great things Abraham, Moses, Elias, and others pleaded for from God in their prayer! Is God not still the same? Can we not still obtain similar favors from him through prayer since our dear Lord promises us from the Father all that we ask in his name?

Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 714
Trust & Dare, May 19

May 18 - Cultivate the seeds of the Divine Word in us

1982: A commission of theologians declared Mother Theresa a woman of heroic virtue.

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Let us spare no pains to cultivate in good ground and bring to maturity the seeds of the divine word sown in us.

Blessed M. Theresa Gerhardinger, 4554
Trust & Dare, May 18