Mother Thecla Mother Thecla MerloMerloMother Thecla Mother Thecla MerloMerlo

First Superior General of the

Daughters of St. Paul

“The way traced out by Mother Thecla is for us a great, spacious and luminous way that

rises towards the heights of perfection.”

“My God, you are always thinking about me. You are with me and around me. I am written on your hands. I surrender myself to you completely and forever.”

The dimension The dimension of trust of trust became the became the secret of her secret of her courageous courageous apostolic apostolic energy.energy.

“By myself

I can do nothing,

with God I can do

everything.”

every

thin

g

““She lived She lived always always

under the under the gaze of gaze of

God.”God.”

““She lived She lived always always

under the under the gaze of gaze of

God.”God.”

“We need to pray just like we need to breathe, we need prayer like we need water to live.”

““The Lord used her as he The Lord used her as he willed because he never willed because he never found resistance in her, found resistance in her, she never resisted the will she never resisted the will of God.”of God.”

““The Lord used her as he The Lord used her as he willed because he never willed because he never found resistance in her, found resistance in her, she never resisted the will she never resisted the will of God.”of God.”

““You sensed that it You sensed that it was the Lord who was the Lord who sustained her. She sustained her. She was a contemplative was a contemplative soul. soul. She knew how to turn She knew how to turn to others, but always to others, but always and in the first place and in the first place she turned to God. she turned to God. Everything had to Everything had to come from God and come from God and everything was done everything was done for God.”for God.”

God at the foundation of EVERYTHING

““Look here: let Look here: let us put all our us put all our wretchedness wretchedness and defects in and defects in our foundation, our foundation, which is God, which is God,

and then let us and then let us build solely on build solely on

him. Let us him. Let us count on him count on him alone. Those alone. Those

who come after who come after us will have us will have

enough if they enough if they continue to continue to

count on count on God.... Jesus is God.... Jesus is

the living the living stone.” stone.” (1928)(1928)

In the foundation of the Congregation there is the humility and littleness of the first sisters, for this reason the foundation is strong.…

Count only on God

Already in 1927 one finds in her a

longing for holiness.

“This year, with the grace of God,

I want to become a saint, quickly a saint, a great saint.”

AJOURNEY OF FAITH, IN TRIAL

in darkness

“I only do that which is bad” (1927).“Jesus have mercy on me.”

The first trial that purified her was

the discovery of herself

as a person

who resists

God. She felt

herself as part of

the world of sin.

Theunderstandi

ng of her personal poverty

brought her to work hard on herself

through the examination

of conscience

so as to remove all that which

was resistance,

in a particular

way, pride.

January 1927

“Search only for Him. Beginning right now, I unite my prayers and sufferings to the intentions of Jesus in the holy Host, and I want to renew this offering with every beat of my heart.”

The understanding of her personal poverty brought her towards an always deeper growth in trustin God.

A trust that in time is transformed into great love for the Master,

a love that is personal and explicit.“This year has just begun. Will I finish it? I don’t

know... I know however that if I do well the will of God, if I love the Lord very much I will go to

Heaven with him... It is not important if I have a long or short life, what is important is to love God”

(1938).

She experienced darkness during the journey of the Congregation. “In certain moments, things seemed so dark we understood nothing.” (1918)

“Here we are truly in darkness”… (1937)

It is a journey of

bare

FAITHThe darkness

was even more dark

when in 1939 she had to guide three

sectors of the apostolate, led by three superiors....

““I am truly in I am truly in darkness… Let us darkness… Let us do as they tell us do as they tell us and we will not and we will not

make a mistake. make a mistake. One can see that One can see that the Lord wants to the Lord wants to

fortify our fortify our Congregational Congregational

charism because charism because he is sending us he is sending us many crosses.”many crosses.”

A constant glance at Jesus. A constant glance at Jesus.

“That my thoughts and my affections become always more humble and united to those of Jesus. Unite myself to him; let myself be transformed into Him” ( 1931).

“That my thoughts and my affections become always more humble and united to those of Jesus. Unite myself to him; let myself be transformed into Him” ( 1931).

Mother Thecla placed her gaze on Jesus, and this gaze

was transformed into a commitment of imitation and

profound union:Jesus is good, I am bad,

Jesus is everything, I am nothing. Jesus is humble,

I am proud.

When she was alive,She became a constant teaching for the Congregation.A Congregation made up of persons who are sincere, simple, poor, carriers of peace: persons committed to the imitation of Christ.“Do we want to be true disciples of Jesus? Imitate him: he responded always with meekness and kindness even to sinners. Let us remember that humble and kind words are seeds that will sprout and bear fruit….”

Her prayer life was expressed through the

practices of piety of the Institute:

Attitude to assume: vigor and spiritual energy.

“Take the points of piety one at a time:1) First moment – spirit of energy2) Preventive Exam – recollection3) The Mass according to our method4) Communion5) Union with God – ejaculations, etc.6) The Visit – Rosary.”

Humility - littleness abandonment

Humility - littleness abandonment

“We need to becomelittle, little.” “Let us kneelbefore the crib….” “We cannot do anythingwithout grace.” “We are nothing….”

I have learned that I have learned that we are nothing, we do not we are nothing, we do not count for anything and we count for anything and we

cannot do anything without cannot do anything without the grace of God.the grace of God.

But the nothingness that we are But the nothingness that we are is gathered up by God, is gathered up by God,

who “made his dwelling among who “made his dwelling among us,” us,”

rewards us, rewards us, has pity on our weakness has pity on our weakness

and who will sustain us and who will sustain us with his strong arms with his strong arms

(Cir 76(Cir 76))

DearestDearest,,

From the littleness of Mother

Thecla springs forth total

trust in God:

“Because God is our Father, if we seek him alone, he will send us the food and clothing we need each day.... We will be nourished by the immaculate flesh of the Savior and his Gospel.”

providence

Let us keep ourselves little, therefore doubt ourselves and place much trust in the goodness of the Lord.”

“BE LITTLE

“Believe that everything is arranged by our good Heavenly Father.... I will examine myself to see whether or not my heart rests serenely in the Lord, in the heart of God, who is continually thinking about me....”

believebelieve

“With Him one can live without worrying, even if the trials are many....

Do not worry yourselves, he will help us gradually….”

A strength that is bornfrom confidence

Abandonment

“Total abandonment in God, complete... I abandon myself like a little child. I completely entrust myself to the Lord in everything.”

“Stay with the Lord in trust and serenity recalling that he loves me and I love him.”

“Full trust in Jesus and in the Madonna. Patience in everything

and with everyone. Trustful serenity” (1947).

Fr. Alberione gave his approval to her resolutions saying:

“Live in Jesus Master. Jesus Master will be light for the mind; comfort and intimate joy. His continual presence in the soul will be always more felt....” (LMT)

Holy Year 1950-1951.

- This year has just begun. Will I finish it? I don’t know.

- I want to dedicate all the minutes, hours, days and months of this year to God, to Him alone.

- I renounce my own will and cling only to the will of God.

- I renounce my preferences and my way of seeing things, so as to have only God’s preferences.

- I want to do everything for him alone.

- May my life be a continual “Magnificat.”

Mother Thecla teaches us that contemplation does not impede the most intense actions.

The apostolate signifies prolonging the apostolate of Jesus and as such unites us to God.

““If there is not recollection, If there is not recollection, a spirit of prayer, one cannot a spirit of prayer, one cannot do good to souls.”do good to souls.”

““The apostolate is The apostolate is vital prayer that vital prayer that

unites us to God..... unites us to God..... When we give a When we give a book, we give book, we give

grace.”grace.”

A strong and constant tensionA strong and constant tension

“That you arrive at full

transformation in Christ”

(1963)

“Live in Jesus. In this way our thoughtsand our affections will be his. Our will is his will, so that we have his same desires.”

“It is Jesus who lives in me with the Father and the Holy Spirit. Adoration, union, recollection….The Trinity is my family.”

“… Live unity of life with Jesus Master.”

Stay united to Jesus. May my thoughts be his thoughts, my will his will. Love the Father above all, for him and with him. Sacrifice for souls.”

Imitate St. Paul in his union with the Divine Master: ‘Who will separate me from the love of Christ’?” (1963)

““Today a more intense life with Jesus Master. Today a more intense life with Jesus Master. Everything with him: unity” (1963)Everything with him: unity” (1963)

““The silence of Jesus in the tabernacle The silence of Jesus in the tabernacle governs the world in silence.”governs the world in silence.”

“Live in Jesus… Arrive at intimate union with the Divine Master; reach the highest degree of prayer, to ‘it is no longer I who live but it is Christ living in me’… to the point of being the praise of God.”

She concentrated all her teaching on She concentrated all her teaching on only one objective: only one objective: the vocation to holiness.the vocation to holiness.

““The apostles The apostles of the press of the press should all be should all be saints: do we saints: do we at least have at least have the firm and the firm and resolute will to resolute will to become one?”become one?”

The key word of her teaching is:

Progress…

Progress to the point of total

abandonment, to the point of being “in

continual adoration,” to the point of

expressing the

“magnificat” with one’s life.

“We need to acquire a heart

full of God so as to carry him

to souls.”

“How beautiful and holy it is to communicate Jesus to souls, this Jesus whom we desire to always carry in the center of our heart.”

“Prima Maestra is not absent, she is present…

do not feel her far away, but feel her always near.”

Blessed James Alberione, Founder)

www.daughtersofstpaul.com