Maria Bernarda Bütler

thumb|Sister Maria Bernarda María Bernarda Bütler (28 May 1848 – 19 May 1924), born Verena Bütler, was a Swiss religious sister. She founded the Franciscan Missionary Sisters of Mary Help of Sinners and served in the missions in Ecuador and Colombia. Bütler worked for the care of the poor in these places until her exile from Ecuador and entrance into Colombia where she worked for the remainder of her life. The congregation moved there with her, and continued to expand during her time there until her death. Bütler was beatified by Pope John Paul II on 29 October 1995, and canonised by Pope Benedict XVI on 12 October 2008. Quotes (To his sisters) Open your homes to help the poor and marginalized. Prefer caring for the destitute to any other activity. Quoted in María Bernarda (Verena) Bütler (1848-1924), vatican.va, 12 October 2008. The Holy Spirit taught me to worship, praise, bless, and give thanks to Jesus in the tabernacle, at all times, in the midst of work, and even in the daily reality of life. Quoted in María Bernarda (Verena) Bütler (1848-1924), vatican.va, 12 October 2008. Explaining this state of the soul (call from God) to someone who has never experienced anything like it is extremely difficult, if not impossible. Quoted in María Bernarda (Verena) Bütler (1848-1924), vatican.va, 12 October 2008. Quotes about Da perfetta figlia di San Francesco d'Assisi, desidera servire Dio servendo i fratelli. È ammirabile la sua generosità. Si spoglia di tutto in modo radicale e rischia la sua vita per Cristo, poiché il suo desiderio più grande è annunciare il Signore fino agli estremi della terra. As the perfect daughter of Saint Francis of Assisi, she desires to serve God by serving her brothers. His generosity is admirable. He strips himself of everything radically and risks his life for Christ, since his greatest desire is to proclaim the Lord to the ends of the earth. Pope John Paul II, Beatification of Beatificazione di Maria Theresia Scherer, María Bernarda Bütler and Marguerite Bays, 29 October 1995, Rome.Madre Maria Bernarda, una figura molto ricordata e amata soprattutto in Colombia, comprese a fondo che la festa che il Signore ha preparato per tutti i popoli è rappresentata in modo molto particolare dall'Eucaristia. In essa Cristo stesso ci riceve come amici e si dona a noi nella mensa del pane e della parola, entrando in intima comunione con ognuno. Sono la fonte e il pilastro della spiritualità della nuova santa, come pure del suo impulso missionario che la portò a lasciare il suo paese natale, la Svizzera, per aprirsi ad altri orizzonti evangelizzatori in Ecuador e in Colombia. Nelle serie avversità che dovette affrontare, incluso l'esilio, portò impressa nel cuore l'esclamazione del salmo che abbiamo ascoltato oggi: "Se dovessi camminare in una valle oscura, non temerei alcun male, perché tu sei con me" (Sal 22, 4). In tal modo, docile alla Parola di Dio, seguendo l'esempio di Maria, fece come i servi di cui ci parla il racconto del Vangelo che abbiamo ascoltato: andò ovunque proclamando che il Signore ci invita tutti alla sua festa. Così rendeva partecipi gli altri dell'amore di Dio al quale dedicò con fedeltà e gioia tutta la sua vita. Mother Maria Bernarda, a figure much remembered and loved especially in Colombia, understood deeply that the feast that the Lord has prepared for all peoples is represented in a very particular way by the Eucharist. In it Christ himself receives us as friends and gives himself to us in the table of bread and speech, entering into intimate communion with each one. They are the source and pillar of the new saint's spirituality, as well as of her missionary impulse that led her to leave her native country, Switzerland, to open herself to other evangelizing horizons in Ecuador and Colombia. In the serious adversities he faced, including exile, he bore in his heart the exclamation of the psalm we have heard today: "If I were to walk in a dark valley, I would fear no evil, for you are with me" ("Ps" 22, 4). In this way, docile to the Word of God, following the example of Mary, he did as the servants of whom the Gospel story we have heard tells us: he went everywhere proclaiming that the Lord invites us all to his feast. Thus he made others partakers of the love of God to whom he devoted his whole life with faithfulness and joy. Pope Benedict XVI, Papal Chapel for the Canonization of the Blessed Gaetano Errico, Maria Bernada Bütler, Alfonsa dell'Immacolata Concezione, Narcisa de Jesús Martillo Morán'', 12 October 2008, Rome. External links Category:1848 births Category:1924 deaths Category:Nuns Category:Missionaries Category:Religious leaders Category:Catholics from Switzerland Category:Catholic saints