MARIE RIVIER, woman with a heart of faith
Lord, you who made the spirit of faith and trust
grow in Marie Rivier, following her example, make us unshakeable in this way of love:
"Everything comes to us from God," she said. "Holiness begins with the spirit of faith and is
consumed by divine love.�
WORD OF GOD: Ep 3: 12 - 21
For this reason I bow my knees before the Father,
from whom every family in heaven and on earth takes its name. I pray that, according to the riches of his
glory, he may grant that you may be strengthened in your inner being with power through his Spirit, and
that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, as you are being rooted and grounded in love.
I pray that you may have the power to comprehend,
with all the saints, what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that
surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
Now to him who by the power at work within us is
able to accomplish abundantly far more than all we can ask or imagine, to him be glory in the Church and
in Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.
WORD OF GOD FOR US from our Rule of Life
The Spirit leads us always further in this extraordinary adventure of faith toward the fullness of love.
What can be more striking than Marie Rivier’s faith? A poor village girl certainly needed a lively faith to dare to found a
new religious congregation at a time of civil strife when all religious orders were being suppressed. Only a lively faith
could have sustained her in the midst of so many trials and difficulties – a faith that never allowed her to become disheartened or discouraged.
Where else would she have drawn her many forceful and energetic instructions if not from her lively faith – She was
led by the spirit of faith in everything she did, and she sought to foster this spirit in all her daughters. She wanted
them to ask themselves often: Is it the spirit of faith that leads me to think, say, or do such a thing? (Marie Rivier, Her Spirit and Virtues, p. 1)
We praise the Lord ‌. For the spirit of faith of Marie Rivier that
made her seek your holy and adorable will in everything and always, Lord, we praise you. R:
Lord, to you we pray ‌. God our Father, revive in us the faith of our
baptism so that we may live more and more of you and for you, we pray. R:
Our Father‌
Teach us to be an open Gospel where our
world, thirsting for love, can read Jesus Christ. Intercede for us so that we might live the
heritage you have given us: an ardent love for Jesus Christ, faith in the power of prayer, apostolic boldness and compassion for all suffering‌
in such a way that it continues to bear fruit today. By the witness of
our lives, may we make Jesus Christ known and loved with audacity and zeal to all those to whom we are sent. Amen