06 Jan TRANSFER OF THE GENERAL CURIA
Happy Feast of the Epiphany!
On December 21, after some intense weeks of preparation, the Sisters of the community of the General Curia arrived in Via XX Settembre in the center of Rome. With great emotion, we have experienced our first Christmas in this beloved house, where we can feel in a special way the presence of Saint Raphaela Mary. She has welcomed us from the very first moment.
On this Feast of Epiphany, St Raphaela and her definitive Pasch have a special place in our heart. If we go to Foundations for a Building, on page 672 there is a narrative of how she received the Sacrament of the Anointing of the Sick:
The Religious were around her bed. Infinite peace filled the atmosphere. She renewed her vows, and on reaching the words asking for grace to fulfil them – «as You have given me the grace to desire and offer it, so also you may give me abundant grace to fulfil it» – M. Sacred Heart looked at all those present. There was a moment of silence; then, the calm, serene voice of the patient added a meaningful change to the ritual: «She looked round with motherly eyes – says a witness – and added in Spanish: “and to all my sisters”». She included all Handmaids in her promise and in her humble «asking for grace». Her immense love once more was vibrating in that definitive surrender; it was a kind of profession of faith in the mysterious communion which, in life and in death, united her with all the members of the Institute.
