Here is the text of Bishop Slattery's homily on the occasion of the Triennial Profession of Mother Miriam of the Lamb of God, Foundress of the Daughters of Mary, Mother of Israel's Hope.
My dear daughter, Miriam of the Lamb of God, the Holy Spirit speaks to us, instructs us, and consoles us principally through the Sacred Liturgy of the Church. It is no mere coincidence, then, that today's Gospel is that of the Genealogy of Our Lord Jesus Christ.
In a very real sense, as you listened to the ancient chant of the Genealogy, you were listening to your own story, the story of a people chosen by God, from among all the nations on earth, to be His own people. Out of this chosen people's flesh and blood, God brought forth an immaculate blosson, "our tainted nature's solitary boast," to become, by the overshadowing of the Holy Spirit, the Virgin Mother of the Messiah, the Light of the World.
In His wonderful providence, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the God of Miriam, of Judith, and of Esther, the God of Mary, of Joseph, of Simeon, and of Anna, led you into the Church, One, Holy, Catholic, and Apostolic, and in the heart of that Church, the Bride of Christ and the Mother of All Nations, you have found your true home.
As you came to know the Church, Bride of Christ and Mother, a longing rose up in your own heart. You desired to enflesh in your own life the mystery of the espousals of the Church with the Atoning Lamb. You desired to become like the Church and with the Church, like Mary and with Mary, a spouse of the Word, and a mother to all in search of light, hope, and beauty.
From the among the myriads of saints in paradise, the Holy Spirit sent you Saint Francis de Sales, the humble and gentle Doctor of Divine Love, to instruct you in the devout life and invite you to taste the sweetness of holy charity.
The saints in heaven -- because they are humble, and because they are all ablaze with a single unifying flame of charity -- delight in collaborating one with another. In this way, from their places in heaven, they continue to guide and encourage souls on earth. And so it happened that, at the right hour, the hour of God's providence, Saint Francis de Sales introduced you to Saint Benedict.
You are beginning to discover Saint Benedict's "little rule for beginners," in which, just as Saint Francis de Sales would want, there is "nothing that is harsh or burdensome." The soul of your missionary vocation and of all your apostolic activities will be safeguarded by the Rule of Saint Benedict, and by the vows that now, I invite you to pronounce for the glory of God, and the joy and upbuilding of the Church entrusted to my care.
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