A TRIDUUM
in preparation for the feast
of Mary Mother of the good Shepherd 2012
Dear Sisters,
we prepare for the feast of Mary Mother of the good Shepherd by
contemplating three details of the mosaic in the chapel of the Generalate. We want to
emphasize the theological dimension that forms the background to our pastoral mission.
May Mary, our mother, who is our inspiration grant us to live this Triduum in
preparation to her feast-day with the intensity of love and joy of belonging to Christ the
Good Shepherd and to be concerned for humanity, which in this our time, is thirsting for
Life.
Wishing you a fruitful contemplation of the mystery of Mary the mother of Christ, of
the Church and of the resurrected life, we embrace you.
Sr Marta and Sisters of the Council
Rome, 28 August 2012, St Augustine, Bishop.
Following the example of Mary,
Mother of the Good Shepherd,
who offered herself as a ‘generous’,
humble associate in the plan of salvation,
our collaboration, in Christ’s pastoral ministry
is lived out by our becoming mother and sister
of all those who make up God’s people.
(RoL 8)
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FIRST DAY
Friday 31 August
Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd
by the Cross
Introduction:
Mary embraces Christ. This stance expresses in a strong manner our vocation as Pastorelle, called to a
real participation in the pastoral mission of Christ and his ministers. In fact our vocation asks us to stand
alongside the pastors of the Church as our Founder would remind us: “The Pastorelle Sisters carry out
with the priest pastor a single mission, they have the same care ,the same goal and the same means.”1.
Invocation to the Holy Spirit
From the Gospel according to John (19,25-30)
Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother's sister, Mary the wife of
Clopas, and Mary Magdalene. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple whom he loved
standing nearby, he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son!” Then he said to the disciple,
“Behold, your mother!” And from that hour the disciple took her to his own home.
After this, Jesus, knowing that all was now finished, said, “I thirst.” A jar full of sour wine stood
there, so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a hyssop branch and held it to his mouth. When
Jesus had received the sour wine, he said, “It is finished,” and he bowed his head and gave up his
spirit.
From the preaching of Bl James Alberione
Jesus the Good Shepherd brought salvation to mankind. But be it at the beginning and at the end,
we find Mary. Mary who gave the world the Good Shepherd; Mary who assisted the Good Shepherd
when he placed the seal on his mission there on Calvary. And then took care of humanity, that is the
Church, and continued her ministry towards the Apostles whom the Lord had entrusted to her.(...)
In many areas of priestly ministry you need to give your assistance: You are not to administer the
sacraments, nor engage in preaching as the word indicates; but you are to prepare the people for the
sacraments, and invite them to hear the word of God. And meanwhile, distribute this word depending
on your condition and your apostolate. PrP VI, 1962, p. 72
Let u spray together (First part of the Chaplet to Mary Mother of the Good Shepherd)
Mary, Mother of God, may all generations sing of the great thiings whaich God has done for you. You
are the Virgin, the one full of grace, the Mother of the Good Shepherd. You raised him, loved him,
listened to him, followed him, contemplated him as he died on the cross for us. Everything comes to us
from him and from you: the Church, the Gospel, the sacraments, religious life, eternal life. You are the
joy of the Church in heaven, the hope and the refuge of the pilgrim Church. I offer you myself and
everything I have. Enlighten me; make me docile and faithful.
O Mary Mother of the Good Shepherd, pray for us.
1
So 1947, p. 57
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SECOND DAY
Saturday 1° September
Mary Mother of the Good Shepherd indicates the open side
of the Son, the birth place of the Church.
Introduction:
In the culminating moment of the mystery of Jesus the Good Shepherd, when he lays his life for the
sheep, Mary is still there, at the Cross in a gesture of accepting the free initiative of God the Father,
who in Christ accomplishes the work of salvation of humanity. The Mother is the image of the Church
that is born from the open side of Christ. Her hands are empty and open as are the hands of Christ,
together with the Son, in total gift of self. Her right hand indicates the open side, the birth place of the
Church of which she herself is an image.
Invocation to the Holy Spirit
From the Gospel according to John (10:11-18)
I am the good shepherd. “The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a
hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the
sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired
hand and cares nothing for the sheep. I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know
me, just as the Father knows me and I know the Father; and I lay down my life for the sheep. And
I have other sheep that are not of this fold. I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice.
So there will be one flock, one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves me, because I lay down
my life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I
have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received
from my Father”.
From the preaching of Bl James Alberione
The Good Shepherd is one who takes care of his sheep and loves them to the point of giving his life
for them. All people together, form the great flock of Jesus the good Shepherd. However, not all are
docile and good sheep; some of these sheep venture among shrubs and gullies and would meet harm if
the Shepherd does not leave the ninety-nine safely, to go looking for the others, just as a father
searches for his son. (…)
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What happens in the order of nature, also happens in the realm of grace: Jesus the first Apostle the
one sent by the Father, placed alongside himself Mary. The ministry of the Sister of Jesus Good
Shepherd is like that of the Virgin Mary.(...)
The Sister of Jesus Good Shepherd loves and in the word “LOVE” has her whole programme.
The love that the Sister has for the souls placed in her care goes beyond the confine of eternity:
after having accompanied them step by step in the development of their Christian life on earth, she
prays even for those who are left in purgatory, awaiting purification.
There is need to have a big heart able to love, to understand to comfort all the souls that have been
entrusted to us. Have a big heart and you will be able to do much good as Mary, who followed Jesus in
giving of herself totally to him.
Understand the value of a catechesis well done, a school well cared, an act of assistance carried
out with motherly love.
You must feel the need to imitate Jesus Good Shepherd and follow him as Mary did, bringing with
him through valleys and ravines your flock and the lost sheep in your arms.
(So 7-10)
Let us pray together (Second part of the Chaplet to Mary Mother of the Good Shepherd)
Mary, Mother of the Good Shepherd and my Mother, I contemplate you in sorrow on Calvary.
There your Son gave his life for the sheep. There he placed his flock in your hands and
recommended to you the pastors of the Church. Your heart was opened to receive all the faithful,
all priests. You sustained the newborn Church, you raised it with prayer and the word, you fortified
it with your example. From heaven you have always assisted the people of God: through you the
Faith has been kept pure, many saints have risen, the forces of evil have been conquered. Mother
of the Church, make us more docile, devoted and strong members. Through your powerful
intercession, hasten the coming together of the one fold under one shepherd. Hearten the
Supreme Pontiff, inspire the teachers of Faith, guide all pastors.
O Mary Mother of the Good Shepherd, pray for us.
THIRD DAY
Sunday 2 September
Mary, Mother of the Good
Shepherd indicates Lazarus
Introduction:
Mary who embraces Christ, and while with her right hand indicates his side, with her left hand she
points to Lazarus, the image of Christ dead and risen, showing in Lazarus humanity that has
resurrected in Christ. Mary turns to Lazarus to bring him to Christ expressing her spiritual maternity to
which we too are called. “They shall be the sisters, the mothers, the teachers, the catechists, the
consolers of every pain, a ray of light and of continual beneficial sun in the parish””2.
2
So, 1947, p. 60
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Invocation to the Holy Spirit
From the Gospel according to John (11:17-44)
Now when Jesus came, he found that Lazarus had already been in the tomb four days.
Bethany was near Jerusalem, about two miles off, and many of the Jews had come to Martha and
Mary to console them concerning their brother. So when Martha heard that Jesus was coming, she
went and met him, but Mary remained seated in the house. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if you had
been here, my brother would not have died. But even now I know that whatever you ask from God,
God will give you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha said to him, “I know that
he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and
the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and
believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you
are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.”
When she had said this, she went and called her sister Mary, saying in private, “The Teacher
is here and is calling for you.” And when she heard it, she rose quickly and went to him.Now Jesus
had not yet come into the village, but was still in the place where Martha had met him.When the
Jews who were with her in the house, consoling her, saw Mary rise quickly and go out, they
followed her, supposing that she was going to the tomb to weep there. Now when Mary came to
where Jesus was and saw him, she fell at his feet, saying to him, “Lord, if you had been here, my
brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw her weeping, and the Jews who had come with her
also weeping, he was deeply moved in his spirit and greatly troubled. And he said, “Where have
you laid him?” They said to him, “Lord, come and see.” Jesus wept. So the Jews said, “See how he
loved him!” But some of them said, “Could not he who opened the eyes of the blind man also have
kept this man from dying?”
Then Jesus, deeply moved again, came to the tomb. It was a cave, and a stone lay against it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.” Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, “Lord, by this
time there will be an odour, for he has been dead four days.” Jesus said to her, “Did I not tell you
that if you believed you would see the glory of God?” So they took away the stone. And Jesus lifted
up his eyes and said, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear
me, but I said this on account of the people standing around, that they may believe that you sent
me.” When he had said these things, he cried out with a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out.” The man
who had died came out, his hands and feet bound with linen strips, and his face wrapped with a
cloth. Jesus said to them, “Unbind him, and let him go.”
From the preaching of Bl James Alberione
The resurrection of Jesus Christ: our resurrection. When Jesus went to the tomb of Lazarus, Martha
pointed out to him, "If you had been here, my brother would not have died. But now I know that
whatever you ask God He will give it to you.” Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” Martha
replied” I know that he shall rise again at the resurrection on the last day” And Jesus said: “I am the
resurrection and the life: he that believes in me, though dead will live; and whoever lives and believes in
me will never die. Do you believe this?” “ Yes Lord,” she replied, “I believe that you are the Christ, the
son of the living God that you came into this world "(Jn -28 11.25). Here are the two resurrections: that
of Jesus which occurred on the third day, and that which will happen at the end of the world, our
resurrection.
(From Per un Rinnovamento Spirituale, 1952, p. 143)
Let us pray together (Fifth part of the Chaplet to Mary Mother of the Good Shepherd)
Mother of the Good Shepherd, have pity on your scattered children, on so many who are still straying
like sheep without a shepherd. Save the innocent, convert sinners strengthen the weak, sustain the
wavering, comfort the troubled, assist the sorrowful, form many saints, give us apostles and good
pastors. You know, Mother, in what valley of tears we live in how we walk in the midst of so many
enemies, what fragile clay we are made of. Turn your merciful gaze towards us. Humanity has no other
hope that you! May you lead us to Jesus Way and Truth, and Life, to the Eternal Shepherd of all, to the
joy of heaven.
O Mary Mother of the Good Shepherd, pray for us.
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