North Carolina Franciscan Novice Professes Vows

Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity Community Director Sister Natalie Binversie shares a Holy Family Convent breakfast reflection honoring Novice Sister Marie Guadalupe Martinez Lopez’s First Profession on the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Sister Maria Guadalupe is the daughter of Reuben and Anna Martinez, Cary, North Carolina. Sister’s home parish is St. Michael the Archangel, Cary, North Carolina in the Diocese of Raleigh. Watch for more coverage of this blessed moment in our Community and in our Church.

Good morning on the Feast of Corpus Christi, commemorating The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ! The Scripture readings for Mass affirm this as a day of commitment. In the first reading from the Book of Exodus (Ex. 24: 3-8) we will hear the people tell Moses, “We will do everything that the Lord has told us,” and the covenant was sealed with the blood of the sacrificial offering. The second reading from the Book of Hebrews (Heb. 9: 11-15) speaks of Jesus as the mediator of a new covenant. The passage from the Gospel of Mark (Mark 14:12-16; 22-26) relates the story of the preparation for the Passover and the Lord’s Supper. There was an offering of thanks, the cup was blessed and all drank. Jesus then said, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many.”

Today is a day of blessing for you, Sister Maria Guadalupe, as you anticipate your covenant response to Our Lord through profession of your First Vows as a Franciscan Sister of Christian Charity! I received your letter, March 26, 2021, requesting permission to take your Vows to be a Bride of Christ. You believe that Jesus’ call and will for you is to follow Him by living the Evangelical Counsels of Poverty, Chastity and Obedience after the example of St. Francis of Assisi.

You mentioned how your relationship with Jesus has deepened and grown. Your desire to respond is positive and strong. Struggles and challenges will not deter you from loving God and serving His people. You are aware of the needs of others and you respond generously, with humility and kindness. You wrote in your letter that being in the Community gives you a sense of peace and joy. Your Sisters in Community have shown you their love and support during your Postulancy and Novitiate. They affirm your desire to be a professed member of the Congregation.

The Sisters will continue to journey with you, living out the Gospel way of life in the footsteps of Jesus and St. Francis of Assisi. We also acknowledge the generosity of your Father, Mother, Brother, Sister and extended family in supporting your vocational call.  We thank them for sharing your life with the Community in service to the Church.

Sister Maria Guadalupe, you are a Daughter of Divine Trust. At your Profession Mass we will pray part of Psalm 116 with you and for you:

How can I repay the Lord for all the good done for me? (12)

I will raise the cup of salvation and call on the name of the Lord. (13)

Lord, I am your servant, the child of your maidservant, you have loosed my bonds. (16)

I will offer a sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the Lord. (17)

I will pay by vows to the Lord, in the presence of all his people. (18)

Congratulations, Sister Maria Guadalupe! We rejoice with you this day and the Franciscan Sisters of Christian Charity are joy-filled to call you our Sister.

Graces, blessings and prayers abound for you, for your biological family and for your Franciscan Sisters. God bless you.