by Jenna Legg
Today, January 15th, the Sisters of the Precious Blood remember our foundress, Mother Maria Anna Brunner, on this 183rd anniversary of her death.
As a lay woman, Mother Brunner is a particularly attractive role model for me. Not only was she married and a mother of six children, but she faced many challenges in her family life with faith. Her husband was known to be a pessimist and one of her daughters passed away at the age of two. She had long walks to Mass, but attended frequently and ensure her children participated in the Sacraments. At home, she made sure they grew in love for the Sacred Heart and Precious Blood of Jesus.
Two of her children grew up to become priests, one became a nun and the other two married. As if her ability to maintain a holy family wasn’t enough, she felt a continued call to pursue holiness once her children were grown. She God-mothered as many as 20 children, cared for the poor by constantly baking them bread, and traveled extensively to pray at the site of many shrines.
She felt a particular call to ensure the adoration of the Blessed Sacrament and the honoring of the Precious Blood. At the age of 70, she gathered a community of women to serve priests and the poor during the day and ‘keep watch’ in prayer at night. She died two years later, but is known for saying:
“I wish only that before my death I could have assisted in causing the Sacred Heart and the Precious Blood of Jesus in the Most Blessed Sacrament to be specially honored by perpetual adoration in a number of places. For this cause I would have given not only my last farthing but also the last drop of my blood. If, however, I shall find mercy before God, I hope to contribute toward this good work even in eternity.”
So, on this anniversary of her death, we ask for her intercession. May we never tire proclaiming the love of God, no matter what state of life we find ourselves in.
For more information about the Sisters of the Precious Blood or our foundress, please visit our website!