Opening prayer: “May the strength and true consolation of the Holy Spirit be in you all, so that you can sustain and carry out vigorously and faithfully the charge laid upon you.”
Saint Angela Merici, Introduction to the Counsels
Leader: Our formation sessions for 2025-26 are inspired by Jane Cruthirds’ talk on Associates and Sisters Day, titled “Angela: A Pilgrim of Hope.” This session will focus on “Perseverance.”
It would be nice if all of the journeys we take – our internal and external pilgrimages – were an unending avenue of green lights and smooth travel. We know that is rarely the case. In fact, even when we feel certain that we are on the right road and going in the correct direction, the pitfalls we face sometimes make us want to throw our hands up and walk away.
Reader 1: “You may encounter many defeats, but you must not be defeated. In fact, it may be necessary to encounter the defeats, so you can know who you are, what you can rise from, how you can still come out of it.”
Maya Angelou
Reader 2: “Dripping water hollows out stone, not through force but through persistence.”
Ovid, Roman poet
Leader: Consider these questions with your group:
- Have you had an experience where you wanted to give up, but were able to persevere?
- What helped you to keep going?
Reader 3: “I assure you that every grace you ask from God will infallibly be granted to you. And I shall always be in your midst, helping your prayers. Therefore, encourage them to continue courageously the task they have begun, and at the same time rejoice, because, without doubt, what I say to you will be so.”
Saint Angela Merici, Ninth Counsel
Reader 4: “Let me not pray to be sheltered from dangers, but to be fearless in facing them. Let me not beg for the stilling of my pain, but for the heart to conquer it.”
Rabindranath Tagore, Bengali writer and philosopher
Leader: When recalling how Saint Angela became temporarily blind while retracing the footsteps of Christ, Jane Cruthirds said it made her wonder about her own “expectations” and how they may differ from what God wants. Angela “only saw with her heart in the Holy Land.”
Consider these questions with your group:
- Have you found yourself temporarily blinded to what God wants you to do?
- How were your eyes reopened?
Reader 5: “If you faithfully carry out these and other similar things, as the Holy Spirit suggests to you, according to the times and circumstances, rejoice, go forward willingly. See, a great reward will be prepared for you.”
Saint Angela Merici, Last Legacy
Reader 6: “I was taught to strive not because there were any guarantees of success but because the act of striving is in itself the only way to keep faith with life.”
Madeleine Albright, former U.S. Secretary of State
Leader: Angela lost family members early in life. What did that teach her about trust in God? She had a vision early in life about beginning a community of women, but it was 40 years before she truly acted on it. Did she stick that vision in a drawer and not think about it for 40 years? Or was it part of her everyday life? If it was part of her daily life, doesn’t that say something about perseverance that she waited until God was ready for her to start her Company?
Consider these questions with your group:
- Is there something you’re carrying in your heart that you think God is calling you to do?
- What will it take for you to answer that call?
Closing prayer: “We even boast of our afflictions, knowing that affliction produces endurance; and endurance, proven character; and proven character, hope; and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out into our hearts through the holy Spirit that has been given to us.”
Romans 5:3-5
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