Augustinian Recollect Nazarene Nun of Motril
Augustinian Recollect Nazarene Nun of Motril – Sister Madalena Caterina of Jesus, O.A.R.
Ordo Augustinianorum Recollectorum
“Caritas veritatis” – “service to charity but its love is truth”
The love of God diffuses itself in the Trinity and in Creation. So, she lives to intensely shine light on devotion to the Passion of Christ. This nun not only hears the melody of His cries, but she knows the words.
Foundress: Mother (Madre ) Sebastiana Maria de la Cruz Gomez
Place: Motril, (Granada) Spain
Year: February 3, 1699 A.D.
Her Charism: This Augustinian nun possesses a love for monastic perfection and an ardent desire to follow the chaste, pure, and obedient Christ. She meets Christ in the middle of His pain and He meets all of Creation in theirs. Only then does healing take place. Following the Rule of St. Augustine, the “Theologian of Grace”, she is a “silent achiever” who goes beyond the limits of her monastery and discovers – ever so clearly – the demands of charity: the intensity of recollection, a constant search for God by means of a deep interior life, the love of neighbor, and the unwavering pursuit of truth. In other words, evangelical radicalism. Her life involves and requires a dimension of tenderness and human warmth in her devotion to and in imitation of the Holy Virgin, Mother of God, and the perfect model of a life consecrated to God, thus being Marian. With her Sisters in Community she lives with “one mind and one heart intent upon God.” Her sublime mission is to enlighten children of all ages for Heaven while her charity embraces the world (Amor Diffusivus – a diffuse love). This nun carries out her contemplative work with a peculiarity: her special devotion is to pray for the preservation of the devotion to Jesus of Nazareth Whose image is venerated in the monastery. Because of this devotion, she dresses in a purple habit instead of the traditional black one and lives in the style of the Nazarene Carmelites of Lima, Peru. Lent is lived all year round in her convent. She prays the Way of the Cross daily. On Good Friday, this moment is more intense because then she prays the Way of the Cross bearing a crown of thorns, a rough rope cincture and a Cross on her shoulder., meeting Christ in His pain. In addition, fasting and abstinence are practiced every Friday of the year and all these actions are carried out in the monastery 15 days before Good Friday. 300 years later, the Monastery of the Visitation of St. Mary continues to be the “heart” of devotion to Jesus of Nazareth which beats to the rhythm of this Augustinian nun who accompanies Jesus and carries His Cross and His children and their pain every day with her prayers. Her spirituality is based on St. Augustine’s charism – a passion (love) for the truth. Therefore, she holds a continual conversation with God and pursues a passionate search for love and truth that gives meaning to life, fills the heart with authentic happiness, and overflows the desires of everyone who, upon finding it, feels fully loved. Her prayers and sacrifices build a universal “City of God.” As a missionary in the “heart” of the Church, this little nun is a beacon that guides lost souls, a torch that lights the path of everyone who seeks the Lord, and a source of love, inspiration, hope, and strength in these critical times we live today. She understands that TRUTH preserves and expresses CHARITY’S power to liberate in the ever-changing events of history.