By Christina Galeone
CFP Correspondent

When Sister Mary Anne of the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary was a little girl growing up in a devout Protestant household in Singapore, she couldn’t have imagined becoming a religious sister. But through experiencing Gregorian chants at the Latin Mass and reading works from the Ante-Nicene fathers and other early Church writings, like her sisters, she converted to Catholicism.  
It wasn’t long before Sister Mary Anne – who hopes that her parents will eventually convert to Catholicism as well – received her call to the religious life.
“We have to be silent to listen and courageous enough to act once we have obtained the knowledge of his will,” Sister Mary Anne advised.
After confiding to an American family about believing that she had a calling, she learned about the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary. And after two years in the novitiate, she made her first profession as a bride of Christ last month on the feast of Our Lady of Fatima.
She described her life in Singapore as quite comfortable.
“The government made life very easy and convenient for all its citizens and residents,” Sister Mary Anne admitted. She added, “I would say I grew up very comfortably on this sunny island with nothing lacking. In Singapore, I obtained a bachelor of laws (degree) from the University of London and worked across different industries … specializing in legal compliance matters for the most part.”
Despite her comfortable life and despite how challenging it was to become Catholic, she was determined to serve God.
“If we yearn to do his will, he will help us,” she said. “One must remember that serving God is not a career choice but a marriage choice, where we choose Our Lord for our spouse.”
Sister Mary Anne notes that her time in the novitiate has given her the chance to learn new skills. She believes that now knowing how to sew, garden and cook for 30 people has helped her to become well-rounded.   
Although she has enjoyed learning those skills, Sister Mary Anne – who aspires to sainthood – finds even greater joy in the vows she professed.
“To be able to say the words of those vows, which I know pleases God, is what I consider to be most joyful,” she shared.
 “Man is finite, and God is infinite. How can man make God happy? To be able to make some return to God for all that he has done for me is a great relief for me while I am still alive.”
 

Sisters sing about the Latin Mass

By Christina Galeone
CFP Correspondent

In the early 18th century, St. Louis Marie de Montfort, whose writings heavily influenced the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary religious community, wrote more than 100 hymns to evangelize and catechize the rural people that he served as a priest in France. He paired the lyrics that he wrote with familiar or memorable tunes to help people be more engaged.
In the past, the Slaves of the Immaculate Heart of Mary of Still River have followed in the saint’s footsteps with their own songs. Recently, the sisters created and recorded “The Mass of All Time.” The emotionally stirring, beautiful and reverent song defends the Latin Mass while sharing why the Mass is and has been so precious to the hearts and souls of the sisters and  many others.
The lyrics, which were written by the sisters, are set to the tune of “The Town I Loved So Well.” The sisters’ performance of their song – which has a strong focus on the miracle of the real presence in Christ in the Eucharist – is as heartfelt as the lyrics they wrote.
“The Latin Mass can never bring anything but blessings and grace,” Sister Katherine Maria Mueller, MICM sister superior, explained. “It is the Mass of so many saints – St. John Marie Vianny, St. Therese, and so many others throughout the centuries. There is unquestionable evidence of its merit. It is its own witness.”
Sister Katherine Maria and her fellow sisters were inspired to create the song for a couple of reasons.
“We are all united in our love for the traditional liturgy; it has united us in a common spirituality,” she said. “Almost all of us grew up with the Latin Mass and identify it as the very core of our prayer life. We were very happy when Pope John Paul II and Pope Benedict XVI supported the open return of the Mass. Recently, when it was portrayed as something divisive and subversive, we became alarmed and wanted to join our voices with the many Catholics who want the Latin Mass and, at the same time, make people aware of the deep historical background, holiness and suffering attached to preserving this liturgy.”
The Mass of All Time can be found on YouTube (https://youtu.be/5kiSYoaQT7g ) – where it has been viewed more than 18,000 times – and on the sisters’ website, sisters.saintbenedict.com/news. There’s hope that the performance will inspire the Vatican.
“Our message to Rome is that the Church is not based on personal tastes, changing from person to person, but rather it supersedes time and people and is based on Truth,” Sister Katherine Maria shared. “The Mass is the re-enactment of Calvary and has a sacrificial character that brings us closer to Jesus. It is not in competition with the world, but it is a prayerful and intimate time for us to ask for forgiveness, petition for help, and to show our love with the priest as our representative.”