Our Core Values
The defects l have pointed and that you pointed out will, with the necessary watchfulness, disappear. All will depend on the diligence of the Superiors, and this too will improve when you have more mature Sisters to be placed in positions of responsibility.
(Meeting with Superiors and Formators) 15th OCT, 2020
REFLECTION BY SR. MARIA OLUEBUBE OBULE, IHM
During the time l was reflecting on Our Father Founder’s letter of today, l asked myself two important questions………
What are the defects in Our Institute, which Our Father Founder pointed out…….
And those we ourselves pointed out…….
From the book “Some letters of Our Founder to his IHM daughters and their Formators (1937_1966) pg 34. Some of the defects listed out includes:
1. Disunion among the members: We have to pay serious attention to this because most times in our communities, we see sisters quelling, calling themselves different negative names, shouting at each other, living in biting and tearing. Today, we are reminded that we are supposed to live in the closest union with one another. There should be peace, unity, and love among ourselves. We should develop a team spirit of togetherness. Our communities should be a home and not a house. We should remember that “IN UNITY WE STAND.”
Living in disunion is never healthy for any human life because it does not promote prosperity. This is why our Father Founder said that “Nothing is more detrimental to the congregation than disunion among the members, and if it is among the councilors, it is disastrous. He also said that Superiors are in the best position to promote this unity. It was knowing fully well that we are all Superiors in our various places of work. Even the Sister that is assigned to take care of the toilet is also a superior there. May we always strive to bloom wherever God has planted us by Himself.
2. PAYING TOO MUCH ATTENTION TO WORLDLY QUALIFICATION: We Should equally pay serious attention to this because most times, we forget our main purpose of becoming religious. We see sisters crying and being unhappy simply because they were assigned to work in the kitchen, and when you approach them, they will tell you that all their sets members have been sent to school.
My dear young heererians, Are we called to be sent to school in order to achieve worldly qualifications or to work for God? If all the Srs should go to school at the same time, who will now look after their stomach? Who will also sew their habits?. May we always tell ourselves that any apostolate given to us at a particular point in time in the year is where God wants me to work for Him, and we should try to do it with divine Joy.
3. Living with Pride: We should avoid all sorts of pride so that we
be able to live in HUMILITY. The legitimate pride we should only cultivate is loving our congregation, maintaining its Spirit, Nature, Charism, Secret, and Objectives.
4. NOT ATTENDING MASS, CONFESSION, AND RETREAT REGULARLY: All Sisters should always go for the Holy Mass daily. In Jesus, we draw more strength to live for Him.
Moreover, We should also avoid any prolonged visit of Priests in the parlor and never Solus cum sola( a lonely man with a lonely woman). Hence as superiors we are, we should strive to be on guard to bring about an effective disappearance of these defects through the powerful intercession of Our Lady, Amen.
“You Superiors must be so imbued with humility that all the members would easily catch the spirit and practical* *humility radiating from* *you.” (15th October 1959 ).
REFLECTION: BY SR. MARIA JULIET NWACHUKWU
Today our Father Founder calls our attention to the core of our spirit, which is HUMILITY. This identifies who we are as religious belonging to the Sisters of Immaculate Heart of Mary, Mother of Christ. This is the value of our calling, that Gospel value; an aspect of JESUS’ life that our Founder wants us to live – a mark and flavor that colors all our actions and interactions with others. Incidentally, our superiors are meeting today for a workshop, and we wish them happy learning with a promise of our prayers. Our Founder, though addressing the Superiors, we must bear in mind that our Founder speaks to all of us as we are all superiors in our respective areas. It will be wonderful if you will join me to dig deep into this message. Our Founder is only pointing at one thing repeatedly, *the mark of a good religious, which is* *_humility_*. He was quite straightforward to use the image of a *Superior* as one who has greater responsibility in leading and directing others. The core of this message is that our lives (practically) lead others to God, whether as a Leader or a follower. Our God-given responsibilities as religious have, in no little measure, made us superiors, and we must be the fairest in virtues, especially that of humility which is living the TRUTH. Truth like a light lightens everywhere. Our Founder insists that our life of humility must be such that others will easily be attracted to God by our lives. To be a Superior also requires us to be quite exceptional in goodness and in simplicity so as to be effective in preaching and in living the gospel value. To be Superior is not limited to being in charge of people. By our calling, all of us are expected to lead others in their faith in God. By our calling to religious life, we are also called to collective responsibility to edify others as a special group. In this way, our religious life achieves its purpose through collective responsibility, where every member has a quota to contribute towards the upbuilding of our religious family and God’s kingdom here on earth. Finally, our Father Founder further stressed that … *practical humility* *must radiate* *from us so that others* *can easily catch the* *spirit*. This simply implies that we owe a lot to people who come in contact with us. Our life of humility needs to be such that no one will be in doubt to spot us out as humble and compassionate Sisters. People will not need to ask us, “which is your congregation? Because our actions will convince them of our identity. Let us, therefore, strive to acquire the virtue of humility. Let us stick to the good we know and let others come to know the good we know. Remember, as Superiors, we have to be firm in goodness, especially as pertaining to our religious calling. May God help us to be faithful, available, and responsible in carrying out our mission as religious and be God’s representative in our different areas of life.
*THURSDAY 22ND OCTOBER, 2020*
**BUT I WARN YOU TO BE SURE THAT THE HOUSE IS SUCH AS WILL BE CONDUCIVE TO THE LIFE OF A RELIGIOUS COMMUNITY.** (8th January 1963)
*Reflection:* BY. SR. Maria Juliet Nwachukwu, IHM
Whenever it comes to the matter of material and spiritual needs, there is always a tendency to be meticulous in the use of terms, in other to be absolute and direct.
I have strictly observed that all the words of our Father Founder are deep-rooted in both human and spiritual growth.
He fully envisioned what religious life is and what it will be and made it clearer that there should be material and spiritual support in order to be proficient in our ministry.
For our convents to be conducive, what does it imply? Conducive does not necessarily mean how equipped and how well furnished our communities should be. The *conducive* I perceived here is the peace and tranquillity we transmit in our various communities and how far we are able to accept and make it our home.
Of course, He was very keen on addressing the issue of our physical structure because he wants the best for his daughters.
In making our convents conducive requires the collaborative support of every member in the community, bringing in our individual gifts and talents. The furniture in the community, for example, needs to be clean and repaired on time before they get too bad. Sometimes, these are neglected, and newer ones are procured only to be neglected again until they get too bad. Maintenance culture is part of making the convent physically conducive for religious life. Such neglect infringes on our collective poverty.
Secondly, for our communities to be conducive does not require luxury, not extravagance, nor unnecessary relaxation. Rather, those comforts are important for our physical and spiritual nourishment to be effective in our *Mission* and *Ministry*.
“… It should be conducive to the life of a religious community,” which means it should be a holy place dedicated to those aspiring for holiness.
Thanks to our leaders, both past and present, for their illustrious supports in ensuring that they meet the demands of our Founder… God bless them for their efforts.
Finally, to my fellow Young Heerians, the future is already bright. Let us keep the flag flying. Let us love and cherish our God-given communities and make them a place to live and conducive for others bearing in mind that it is a holy place too. Remember! to be conducive is not only to be *_okay,_* but to be *_okay_* and available for *Mission* and **Ministry* as an Apostolic Religious…*God bless us all. As we join in prayer for the anniversary of the Dedication of our Novitiate Chapel Nkpor, let us equally commend our institute and individual communities to the hand of God. Amen!
*THURSDAY 15TH OCTOBER, 2020*
*ST. TERESA OF AVILA, V AND D Mem*
“There is a legitimate pride in one’s congregation that is a virtue: loving one’s congregation, maintaining its spirit, charism, nature, secret, objectives, being satisfied and fulfilled in it as well as helping to promote all these. This type of pride you should strive to promote from the early stage of formation and continued in all stages of ongoing religious formation.” (15TH OCTOBER 1959)
