July 2011: “Behold the Handmaid of the Lord”
The First Anniversary
of Little Handmaids of Our Sorrowful Mother
The first anniversary of Little Handmaids of Our Sorrowful Mother is July 1, 2011, which this year is the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. All praise be to Him for the gift of our Sorrowful Mother’s apostolate!
When I was discerning that Our Sorrowful Mother was calling me to initiate and form this apostolate, I received a beautiful mental image while in prayer of the Blessed Mother sitting on a rock in the wilderness, and there were a group of little girls sitting on the ground circled out from the rock; I was one of the little girls. Then the Blessed Mother sat on the ground, a part of our circle, and she said: “You are little handmaids not because you are my servants, but because you are my daughters.” (She is the “handmaid of the Lord,” and we are her “little handmaids.”)
I would like to introduce you to the other little handmaids, our Sorrowful Mother’s daughters:
I find myself smiling more than usual when I’m with Socorro, and I carry the smile home with me. I think it must be her childlike faith and love, so like the faith and love of her beloved Little Flower (St. Therese de Lisieux). Here is her testimony:
I have always loved the Mother of God with all my heart. Being a little handmaid, one more devotion in my life, has made a great difference. It has brought me more faith, peace, and trust in God. God has chosen me for this group in order to give wonderful things to me and my family. God never makes mistakes. May God bless this group. I love you all very much.
When I think of Mary, another of our little handmaids, I think of her great devotion to the Baby Jesus. Where the Baby is, there is also the Mother. This is her testimony:
I was called to be a little handmaid of Our Sorrowful Mother a little after I had my accident, an accident that left me homebound. During this time my friend Rosie invited me to become a little handmaid, and I accepted because I prayed to Baby Jesus and Mary to help me grow in my faith; at that moment I saw a plaque that said “Believe.” I believe that this is their answer for me always. I know our Blessed Mother loves me no matter what; she has always been there for me, even thou I do not always pray the rosary. I do my best to go to church every day and go to confession often; God has given me many blessings since that accident, which changed my life.
When Magda accepted our invitation to become a little handmaid in Sept. 2010, she quoted Padre Pio: “Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother.” The Blessed Mother has led Magda to a very intimate relationship with Jesus:
Nothing happens by chance . Today I was asking myself, what is it that makes me worthy of talking to Our Lord Jesus Christ in my dreams, and now I know it was so I could give this testimony. I first spoke to my cousin Rosie, because ever since I was a little girl, I would have dreams of the Virgin Mary, Padre Pio and the Angels, but little by little I lost communication with them; I became more distant from them. And then I received a message from the Little Handmaids; with this I knew that they have always been with me. Today Jesus is also in my dreams; I can not only see Him, but He also sits with me and talks to me, and He gives me messages. We all have a mission in this life, and ours as Little Handmaids is to restore the Faith, in these times when restoration of the Faith is so needed.
Ira is a Catholic artist who paints beautiful paintings that she uses for catechesis and evangelization, and she has been very enthusiastic about our apostolate from the beginning. You may view her paintings at www.catholicworldart.com, and you will also find a few of them on our website at www.sorrowfulmother.net. Here is her testimony:
I was going through a period of time in my spiritual life where I wanted to truly “feel” sorry when I thought of Jesus’ passion and death. I struggled with it a long time and desired that, at the thought of Jesus crucified for me, I would emotionally cringe with sorrow, as I ought to. When I heard of the LHSM, I knew it was the answer to my prayer, for who better to teach me to feel sorrowful than she who suffered in union with Him? Since joining, I am experiencing Jesus sharing His passion with me. I am grateful for this apostolate, since it is making me unite my sorrows with Mary’s and Jesus’ and helping me to share in theirs.
For me Rosa Maria is a model of living in God’s perfect will. At the dialysis center where she receives treatments three days a week she is known as “the lady who prays.” She has been very enthusiastic about inviting other ladies to join us and has shared her beautiful gift of writing letters and poetry with us. Here is her testimony:
What drew me to the Little Handmaids is much prayer, so much that by the time I got the invitation to become a Little Handmaid, I yearned to be inside the Immaculate Heart of Mary. My growth has been amazing, something out of the ordinary. It is supernatural, something I cannot explain. I have seen many fruits. I have been able to go inside the Pierced Heart and Holy Wounds of Jesus, and from there I have been able to understand with complete clarity and transparency the sufferings of humanity, and from this place I was taught how to alleviate not only Jesus’ pain, but also the pain of His suffering children. I plan to stay in this place until the greatest of Loves comes for me according to His Holy Will.
I see Rosie—my friend and partner in serving Our Sorrowful Mother and her little handmaids—as being like St. Therese when she described herself as “Baby Jesus’ little ball.” It seems to me that Rosy is willing for Jesus to do whatever He wants with her. She does all of the Spanish translation and most of the Spanish correspondence. Sometimes she collaborates with me on the monthly devotional by making suggestions for changes. She and I have worked together on constructing the website, and we talk a lot about the direction of the apostolate and make decisions about it together, after much prayer and consultation with the spiritual director of the Little Handmaids. Here is her “kind of simple and to the point” testimony:
What I think drew me first to this apostolate was Our Lady of Kibeho and also the fact that this apostolate was not going to have commitment to meetings. I also liked that communication was going to be online. I know I have grown spiritually to the point of wanting to be a better person every day. I believe that the fruit of becoming a little handmaid has shown in my prayer life. Also I see the sacrament of confession in a different light. I see confession as a means to transform ourselves into that saint God and Our Lady want us to be.
As for me (Cami), most of you probably already know that Our Sorrowful Mother came to me when I urgently needed her loving support, and then “sent me out” via internet to draw other women to her. As a little handmaid, I have grown closer than ever before to the Blessed Mother, and I experience the gentle love of Jesus more intimately than ever before. In my family I am able to better accept the difficulties of my life and have grown in patience. Our family is more joyful and peaceful now.
` When I recently expressed our gratitude to Fr. Jaime for what he has done for us as our spiritual director, he waved his hand in a dismissing gesture and said: “Mary is my Mother. What I do for her I love to do!”
Dear daughters of Our Sorrowful Mother, if you know Mary as your Mother and love to do anything that you can for her…If you want to grow closer to her and to her beloved Son, Jesus…If she is touching your heart with her compassion, and opening it with compassion for others, we invite you to ask her if she is calling you to be a Little Handmaid of Our Sorrowful Mother.
Written by Our Sorrowful Mother’s little handmaids
The First Anniversary
of Little Handmaids of Our Sorrowful Mother
The first anniversary of Little Handmaids of Our Sorrowful Mother is July 1, 2011, which this year is the feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. All praise be to Him for the gift of our Sorrowful Mother’s apostolate!
When I was discerning that Our Sorrowful Mother was calling me to initiate and form this apostolate, I received a beautiful mental image while in prayer of the Blessed Mother sitting on a rock in the wilderness, and there were a group of little girls sitting on the ground circled out from the rock; I was one of the little girls. Then the Blessed Mother sat on the ground, a part of our circle, and she said: “You are little handmaids not because you are my servants, but because you are my daughters.” (She is the “handmaid of the Lord,” and we are her “little handmaids.”)
I would like to introduce you to the other little handmaids, our Sorrowful Mother’s daughters:
I find myself smiling more than usual when I’m with Socorro, and I carry the smile home with me. I think it must be her childlike faith and love, so like the faith and love of her beloved Little Flower (St. Therese de Lisieux). Here is her testimony:
I have always loved the Mother of God with all my heart. Being a little handmaid, one more devotion in my life, has made a great difference. It has brought me more faith, peace, and trust in God. God has chosen me for this group in order to give wonderful things to me and my family. God never makes mistakes. May God bless this group. I love you all very much.
When I think of Mary, another of our little handmaids, I think of her great devotion to the Baby Jesus. Where the Baby is, there is also the Mother. This is her testimony:
I was called to be a little handmaid of Our Sorrowful Mother a little after I had my accident, an accident that left me homebound. During this time my friend Rosie invited me to become a little handmaid, and I accepted because I prayed to Baby Jesus and Mary to help me grow in my faith; at that moment I saw a plaque that said “Believe.” I believe that this is their answer for me always. I know our Blessed Mother loves me no matter what; she has always been there for me, even thou I do not always pray the rosary. I do my best to go to church every day and go to confession often; God has given me many blessings since that accident, which changed my life.
When Magda accepted our invitation to become a little handmaid in Sept. 2010, she quoted Padre Pio: “Some people are so foolish that they think they can go through life without the help of the Blessed Mother.” The Blessed Mother has led Magda to a very intimate relationship with Jesus:
Nothing happens by chance . Today I was asking myself, what is it that makes me worthy of talking to Our Lord Jesus Christ in my dreams, and now I know it was so I could give this testimony. I first spoke to my cousin Rosie, because ever since I was a little girl, I would have dreams of the Virgin Mary, Padre Pio and the Angels, but little by little I lost communication with them; I became more distant from them. And then I received a message from the Little Handmaids; with this I knew that they have always been with me. Today Jesus is also in my dreams; I can not only see Him, but He also sits with me and talks to me, and He gives me messages. We all have a mission in this life, and ours as Little Handmaids is to restore the Faith, in these times when restoration of the Faith is so needed.
Ira is a Catholic artist who paints beautiful paintings that she uses for catechesis and evangelization, and she has been very enthusiastic about our apostolate from the beginning. You may view her paintings at www.catholicworldart.com, and you will also find a few of them on our website at www.sorrowfulmother.net. Here is her testimony:
I was going through a period of time in my spiritual life where I wanted to truly “feel” sorry when I thought of Jesus’ passion and death. I struggled with it a long time and desired that, at the thought of Jesus crucified for me, I would emotionally cringe with sorrow, as I ought to. When I heard of the LHSM, I knew it was the answer to my prayer, for who better to teach me to feel sorrowful than she who suffered in union with Him? Since joining, I am experiencing Jesus sharing His passion with me. I am grateful for this apostolate, since it is making me unite my sorrows with Mary’s and Jesus’ and helping me to share in theirs.
For me Rosa Maria is a model of living in God’s perfect will. At the dialysis center where she receives treatments three days a week she is known as “the lady who prays.” She has been very enthusiastic about inviting other ladies to join us and has shared her beautiful gift of writing letters and poetry with us. Here is her testimony:
What drew me to the Little Handmaids is much prayer, so much that by the time I got the invitation to become a Little Handmaid, I yearned to be inside the Immaculate Heart of Mary. My growth has been amazing, something out of the ordinary. It is supernatural, something I cannot explain. I have seen many fruits. I have been able to go inside the Pierced Heart and Holy Wounds of Jesus, and from there I have been able to understand with complete clarity and transparency the sufferings of humanity, and from this place I was taught how to alleviate not only Jesus’ pain, but also the pain of His suffering children. I plan to stay in this place until the greatest of Loves comes for me according to His Holy Will.
I see Rosie—my friend and partner in serving Our Sorrowful Mother and her little handmaids—as being like St. Therese when she described herself as “Baby Jesus’ little ball.” It seems to me that Rosy is willing for Jesus to do whatever He wants with her. She does all of the Spanish translation and most of the Spanish correspondence. Sometimes she collaborates with me on the monthly devotional by making suggestions for changes. She and I have worked together on constructing the website, and we talk a lot about the direction of the apostolate and make decisions about it together, after much prayer and consultation with the spiritual director of the Little Handmaids. Here is her “kind of simple and to the point” testimony:
What I think drew me first to this apostolate was Our Lady of Kibeho and also the fact that this apostolate was not going to have commitment to meetings. I also liked that communication was going to be online. I know I have grown spiritually to the point of wanting to be a better person every day. I believe that the fruit of becoming a little handmaid has shown in my prayer life. Also I see the sacrament of confession in a different light. I see confession as a means to transform ourselves into that saint God and Our Lady want us to be.
As for me (Cami), most of you probably already know that Our Sorrowful Mother came to me when I urgently needed her loving support, and then “sent me out” via internet to draw other women to her. As a little handmaid, I have grown closer than ever before to the Blessed Mother, and I experience the gentle love of Jesus more intimately than ever before. In my family I am able to better accept the difficulties of my life and have grown in patience. Our family is more joyful and peaceful now.
` When I recently expressed our gratitude to Fr. Jaime for what he has done for us as our spiritual director, he waved his hand in a dismissing gesture and said: “Mary is my Mother. What I do for her I love to do!”
Dear daughters of Our Sorrowful Mother, if you know Mary as your Mother and love to do anything that you can for her…If you want to grow closer to her and to her beloved Son, Jesus…If she is touching your heart with her compassion, and opening it with compassion for others, we invite you to ask her if she is calling you to be a Little Handmaid of Our Sorrowful Mother.
Written by Our Sorrowful Mother’s little handmaids
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