Three days of prayer, three days of closeness, three days of communion, three intense days, three days to remember. This is how we can summarize the peregrinatio of the relic of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque who from Wednesday 14 to Friday 16 May stopped in Soresina, at the Monastery of the Visitation, which opened its doors not only to the relic, but to the whole community to spread the charism of the Visitandine saint and devotion to the Sacred Heart and to share a moment as profound as it is unique.
And the community, not only from Soresina, but from different parts of the diocese and beyond, responded to the invitation of the Visitandines with great participation and closeness to this moment included in the only four Italian stages of the Peregrinatio.
The relic was received on Wednesday 14 May around 10 am. She arrived from Salò, escorted by the superior of the monastery who had hosted her in the previous days. She was welcomed by the parish priest Fr. Andrea Bastoni, the vicar Fr. Alberto Bigatti and the superior Mother Maria Teresa Maruti. After the blessing on the door of the church, the shrine containing the relic was taken to the church of Santa Maria and the celebration continued with the prayer of the Midday Hour.
A large reliquary, the one placed near the ambo, containing the right rib and the left rib of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque: those closest to the heart that, during an apparition, Jesus had taken, placed in his Heart and then gave back to the Saint. In the reliquary there is also a fragment of the brain of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, which remained incorrupt. The contents of the reliquary, despite the fact that the saint died on October 17, 1690, are incorrupt.
The day continued with personal and community prayer until 5 p.m. The afternoon influx was constant and intense; many people came who felt the need to participate, but also groups from religious communities who joined the proposal of the Monastery of Soresina. The wide participation thus transformed personal prayer into community prayer: visitors and Visitandines together.
On Wednesday evening, Eucharistic adoration, led by the nuns of the Daughters of the Oratory Institute of Lodi, had the same response and the liturgical animation brought those present closer to devotion to the Sacred Heart.
On Thursday, May 15, the day opened at 7 a.m. with the prayer of Lauds and Mass presided over by Fr. Enrico Maggi, episcopal delegate for consecrated life. Then personal prayer throughout the day.
At 4.30 p.m. a moment dedicated to the boys led by the seminarians of the Seminary of Cremona. The communicants-confirmation and the boys of the Mystagogy participated: together with the seminarians they prayed, reflected and became familiar with the devotion to the Sacred Heart.
In the evening, at 9 p.m., the catechesis on the history and spirituality of devotion to the Sacred Heart led by the Soresinese Fr. Daniele Piazzi on the theme “This is the heart that loved so much”. With his speech, Fr. Piazzi reconstructed the life of St. Margaret Mary, presented her experience in the wake of mysticism, illustrated the devotion and cult to the Sacred Heart of Jesus through the origins, the liturgical feast, the influence on spirituality and pastoral care, also recalling the magisterial interventions. A passionate and engaging “lesson”, also for the speaker’s ability to involve those present through personal memories of the Monastery, the Seminary, and devotion to the Sacred Heart.
The text of Don Piazzi’s catechesis
On Friday, May 16, at 7 a.m., the prayer of Lauds and Mass, then the departure of the relic for the Monastery of Treviso, accompanied by the parish priest Fr. Andrea Bastoni and the superior of the monastery of Soresina, Mother Maria Teresa Maruti.
The Peregrinatio of the relic underlined, once again, how much the Monastery of the Visitation of Soresina is alive and inserted into the community. This is evidenced by the participation and informal moments in the parlor among the nuns and the communities who came to share this moment, in particular the sisters of the Daughters of the Oratory Institute of Lodi and the seminarians of the Seminary of Cremona. The Visitandines are a silent and constant presence who, with their prayer and listening, are close to the community and its needs. They are the silent and strong support in the face of so many adversities.
On more than one occasion, the parish priest Fr. Andrea Bastoni and the various “guests” thanked the Visitandines for their exquisite welcome and willingness to live, in communion, the gift of the presence of the relic of St. Margaret Mary Alacoque, because the charism of the Saint (together with that of St. Francis de Sales and St. Jeanne Frances de Chantal, founders of the Order) is alive in the midst of all.
SAINT MARGARET MARY ALACOQUE
Among the best-known daughters of the Order of the Visitation, founded by St. Francis de Sales and St. Jeanne Frances de Chantal, is the mystic of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Margaret was born on July 22, 1647. Visitandine of the monastery of Paray-le-Monial, in France, she died on October 17, 1690. Pope Pius IX beatified her on September 18, 1864 and Pope Benedict XV canonized her on May 13, 1920.
A special thanks to the people who prepared the floral decorations and helped the nuns prepare the arrangement to better accommodate the relic. (here more photos)
Source Days of spirituality and devotion to the Sacred Heart in Soresina – Monastery of the Visitation