MISSIONARY CATECHIST OF ST. THERESE OF THE INFANT JESUS

Missionary Catechist of St. Thérèse of the Infant Jesus  –  Sister Estrellita Caritas, M.C.S.T.                            This Sister defies the trite and hackneyed portrayal of women in a habit.                                   She is a spiritual guardian who preaches the Word of God from the rooftops.                                                                     “Evangelization through Catechesis”                                                               “Let us love since that is all our hearts were made for.”  –  St. Thérèse  of Lisieux                                         “Faciam Tuam Domine Requiram”  –  “Your Face, O Lord, I seek”

Founder:  Venerable Alfredo María Obviar y Aranda  (“The Meek Shepherd of Lucena”)        First Superior:  Mother Mercy Mendenilla

Place:  Tayabas, Quezon, Philippines

Year:  1958 A.D.

Her Charism:  A committed witness to the Pachal Mystery of Jesus, equipped with unwavering faith, the simplicity of St. Thérèse and the charism of her founder, this Sister addresses the need to teach the Christian faith at all levels and in every part of the world – urban and rural – that is engaged in the work of evangelization.  Called to holiness, she serves as a loving and gentle vehicle to lead people to a personal communion with Jesus through catechesis and the very witness of her life.  Through her dedication to the poor – not the materially destitute, but those hungry and thirsty for intimacy with a loving God –  this Sister becomes a living memento to the legacy of her founder who was inspired by the Holy Spirit to spread the Kingdom of God with pastoral zeal.  Because she firmly believes that to save souls is to love them, her distinct form of discipleship is to consecrate herself to living Christ’s life radically and publicly, and thereby be transformed into Christ Crucified and consumed in the conquest of souls for God.  Her solitude is as eloquent as her preaching.  Like St. Thérèse, the patroness of the missions, the Holy Spirit traces a path of authenticity which reveals in this missionary the depths of Trinitarian love.  Her Carmelite “little way” is one of humility, trust, radical purity, total surrender to the grace of divine mercy of the Lord and total consecration to the Immaculate Virgin.