Blessed MARIA ANNA SALA of the Sisters of Saint Marcelline Marcelline Edition New edition by Sister Vittoria Bertoni 3rd edition Milan – May 2020 Introduction «A great and strong wind passed that split the mountains and shattered the rocks - but the Lord was not in the wind. There was a fire - but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the soft whisper of a voice. And the Lord was in that soft whisper» (see 1 King 19, 11 13). The type of holiness of Maria Anna Sala makes us think of that calm and quiet voice, in which God was present. In order to reach great heights to soar free and joyous to the peaks of the spirit, we must, first, sink to the lowest depths of humility and live trusting in God, who can accomplish everything. This is the message that Maria Anna Sala conveyed all through her life. A hymn to God, a continuous prayer, while becoming more and more absorbed in the mystery of Jesus Christ, who knew the humility of the sepulchre; a confident progress of faith clearly knowing she was loved by God, whilst her being was possessed by Love and was singing to Love. Sister Maria Anna Sala dedicated herself totally to the religious observance of the Rules of her Congregation and to apostolic work, with an incomparable spirit of sacrifice. She was a very humble and shy person, but God had endowed her with such remarkable intellect that she was quickly recognized as a teacher of outstanding value, who gave to her pupils not only formal education and this in an age when women were kept away from intellectual learning - but also wisdom and the fear of the Lord. 3 Without pretention nor flauntering sectoral redemption programs, she worked quietly and wisely for the promotion of women to give them adequate learning and piety based on sound theological knowledge. Among her pupils was Giuditta Alghisi, later Mrs Montini, the mother of Pope Paul VI. This makes us think of the silent but grandiose function that holy mothers have had in the education of their children. And aside to them, the educators. Card. Pietro Palazzini (Prefect of the Holy Congregation for the Causes of Saints) 4 Who are you? Who are you? We did not know your face so young so new. Your eyes do not meet ours, they are looking far away: contemplative eyes absorbed in mystery. Your lips do not hatch to smile but they seem to be about to utter the eternal Word that is born from silence. Who are you? A presence A Sign Our sweet sister (Sister Teresa Frova) 5 Prayer O Lord, our God, Holy Trinity, who in your infinite mercy delighted to give cho- sen gifts to our Blessed Sister Maria Anna Sala, I humbly beg you, if this is your will, to show me how dear she is to you by granting me, by her intercession, the grace I am asking you now. Prayer of Mons. Carlo Maria Martini, Archbishop of Milan Blessed Maria Anna Sala, who have been among us sharing and living the daily experiences of us all, look at our present situation, our difficulties, understand the effort we make on the path to God, understand our desire for a life in which the values that you have proclaimed may be brought to everyone's heart and mind. Look at our educational effort, look at our difficulties, at our fears, at all the things that could make us lo ose hope. Get from God, through the gifts that God has given you, for the love that God brings you and for the love you bring to us, that our heart may be filled with hope. 6 The first years of her life Brivio: the banks of the river Adda Maria Anna was the fifth of Giovanni and Giovannina Comi's eight children. She was born on April 21rst 1829 at Brivio, an old village in Brianza on the banks of the river Adda, near Lecco. Her father was a very religious and industrious man, well known in the timber trade. He possessed a solid, comfortable house with a spacious porch in a vast, noisy courtyard in the center of the village. Maria Anna was born in this house and she grew up with her brothers and sisters in the warmth of family affections, in an atmos- phere of peace and serenity. 7 Brivio (Lecco) The house where Maria Anna Sala was born 8 The commemorative plaque affixed to the front of the house Her large family, faithful to Christian traditions, was well inte- grated in the parish community, of which Giovanni Sala was a vestry- man wise and listened. Maria Anna was baptized in the neighbouring church on the day of her birth and there she received the seed of Divine Life that would lead her to holiness. During her simple and innocent childhood, she would study the Truths of our Faith, which had always had a strong hold over her vivid intelligence, with great interest, thus deepening her piety. Brivio: the parish church As a little girl, she liked to visit a little church called «The Oratory of St. Leonard», which was near the village and where the good people of Brivio venerated the Virgin Mary to whom they took their sorrows, receiving in turn the comfort of Christian hope and often graces, as well. 9 It is right in front of that statue that Maria Anna, with one of her sisters gathered in fervent prayer in a moment of great sorrow for her girlish hearth: when their mother was seriously ill. And while the young girls were praying, as recalled in a small vo- tive family picture, their mother recovered, certain of having seen Our Lady by her side, blessing her. Brivio - Sanctuary of S. Leonardo: nursing Virgin Mary 10 Marcelline student Maria Anna's parents, fully conscious of their responsibility to- wards their children, tried to educate them through their example of Christian life and a solid intellectual and moral formation. With wis- dom and prudence, they prepared them to live the difficult situations of the society, in the second half of the XIXth century, when it was opening itself to the conquests of progress. The fame of a recently founded girls' boarding school had reached Brivio: the Marcelline School. It was founded in Cernusco sul Navi- glio, in 1838, by Don Luigi Biraghi, the spiritual director of the Semi- nary. Cernusco sul Naviglio (Milano) - The first school of the Sisters of St. Marcelline. 11 The aim of the institution was to educate young women of the emerging bourgeois class to the Christian faith, according to a solid curriculum for studies without neglecting domestic activities. Having immediately secured approval, the Sisters of St. Marcel- line opened a second boarding school at Vimercate in Brianza. Gio- vanni Maria Sala sent his more gifted daughters to complete their ed- ucation at this school. Maria Anna was there from 1842 and was followed by her sisters Genoveffa and Lucia. Maria Anna distinguished herself as an exemplary student and in 1846 she obtained her teaching diploma with full marks. Vimercate (Monza). The hall of the ancient school of the sisters of St. Marcelline 12 Her religious vocation In the absorbing atmosphere of the school life, she had found an even greater joy than her diploma had prepared her for. Her heart had received the call of Jesus, asking her to follow Him in a life of devo- tion, to become an apostle and an evangelist like her teachers, whose piety she had admired, under the guidance of Mother Videmari, the fervent collaborator of the Founder. Vimercate (Monza): the sanctuary of our Lady of the Rosary, where the first 24 Marcelline sisters pronounced their religious vows. Maria Anna answered Jesus immediately, with complete devo- tion. However, she had to wait for two years before she could carry out this generous proposition. 13 Her mother's illness, the responsibility of a large family, the eco- nomic failure of her father, who had been defrauded, required her kind and serene presence at home. Her mother appreciated her very much and through her, her fa- ther found the strength of Christian forgiveness and the courage to resume his business. On February 13th 1848, Maria Anna fulfilled the sacrifice her heart longed for. She went back to the boarding-school at Vimercate, as an aspirant, following the call of a religious life. After her novitiate, she took her vows on September 13 th 1852, which coincided with the canonic creation of the congregation and the profession of the first 24 sisters of St. Marcelline. 14 The testimony of her life Chambéry (Savoia-FR). The castle of the Dukes of Savoy. She then began her life as a nun and as a teacher rising above the humdrum of everyday tasks and of the regular observance that was to carry her through the humble and incessant practice of uninterrupted Christian virtues to the only true realization of human existence: ho- liliness. The boarding school of Cernusco, Via Amedei Milan, Genoa and during the autumn holidays Chambery in the Savoy, were the 15 grounds for her fertile apostolate; during the last years of her life she was again sent to Milan, this time to general house of Via Quadronno. The perfect obedience of Sister Maria Anna was manifested not only in welcoming with an always-willing heart all these transfers, even if painful to her because of her vivid and deep sensibility, but also in her full dependence of the Mother Superior and the Sisters, in her ready availability towards the students and anyone who had turned to her help.