The Mother of the Congregation of the Resurrection and its great Patroness is Mary, the Mother of God. As noted by Pope Paul VI ("Marialis cultus"), she was and remains "a model for the Christian." Members of the Congregation also see her as "a model for the religious." Mary's life and her dedication to her Son, Jesus Christ, are for us both a source of inspiration and a call to imitation. Her attitude of contemplation and her concern for the poor and neglected remind us that we are to be people of prayer and peace, and that we should stand against every form of social injustice. Mary calls us to live out our vocation in both its contemplative dimension and apostolic service.
Not only do we believe that Mary is our model, but we are also convinced that she intercedes for our Congregation before God, the Creator of all things. Her prayers give us the strength and ability to fulfill our prophetic role in the Church and to follow in the footsteps of our Founders, faithfully working for the resurrection of society.
We recognize the feasts of Easter, the Immaculate Conception, the Assumption, and Our Lady of Sorrows as Congregational feasts, and we celebrate them solemnly. On the vigil of each of these feasts, we practice a form of mortification. Also worthy of note is the special devotion of the Resurrectionists to Our Lady of Grace of Mentorella.
Lady of Grace in the image of Mentorella, Providence has willed to associate You with the Congregation of the Resurrection from the very beginnings of its existence in the Church; in Your sight and in Your presence our Fathers sought the will of God, formed ideas and the foundations of a new religious community, and joining in Your Magnificat, joyfully proclaimed the magnalia Dei, the great works God has done with them, through them, and for them –– grant that this historical bond with You may bear fruit in spiritual life – in humility, in community life – in unity, in apostolates – in zeal.
Our Mother, Your venerable home, hidden in the mountains, creates a unique space filled with silence, in which it is easier to lift the spirit to heaven and to converse intimately with God Himself; from this place, through the beauty of the created world, the grateful thought of man reaches the Creator more swiftly – grant that, following Your example, we may listen to the word of God, ponder it in the sanctuary of our hearts, and live according to it; lead us to prayer through all that is temporal, through weakness, through sin, through discouragement, and through the everyday reality in which we are immersed. Amen.
ACT OF CONSECRATION TO THE MOTHER OF GOD IN OUR CONGREGATION
