Mrs. Maria Fischer is originally from a small town near Oberkirch (Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg). Years ago, she faced a crucial question that affects every human being: What is my vocation? What path has God dreamed for my life?
Listening to this call in the depths of her heart, she chose the consecrated life and entered the community of the Ladies of Schoenstatt. “Thanks to my participation in the Catholic Rural Youth, I met young people who lived their faith with conviction. Many of the friendships I made during those years still exist today. At some point, I realized that all of them belonged to the Schoenstatt Youth. Through them, I found an increasingly personal access to the Covenant of Love with the Blessed Mother in the Shrine.”
A few months ago, Maria Fischer was elected General Superior of the Institute of Our Lady of Schoenstatt. On this Day of Consecrated Life, celebrated on February 2, she offers us more details about her vocational journey and the beauty of a life totally dedicated to the Lord.
Vocation and Decision
How did you perceive God’s call to consecrated life, and what specifically moved you to say “yes” to this vocation?
For me, the encounter with the Lord in the Eucharist is a profoundly personal experience. The desire to live following Jesus had awakened in me at a very early age. I was searching. I had come to know Schoenstatt. At the same time, I learned about Charles de Foucauld’s spirituality. I could also imagine a life as a “Little Sister of Jesus.”
It was during this time that the Vocations Shrine was built in Freiburg, and through personal relationships, I came into close contact with the process of its growth and construction. At that time, someone took me to the blessing of the cornerstone, which took place during the “Catholics’ Day” in 1978 in Freiburg. Little by little, I realized how much my personal vocation was linked to Schoenstatt. So, I was able to decide for Schoenstatt on the occasion of the laying of the cornerstone of the Vocations Shrine. It quickly became clear to me that it would be a life of following Jesus in the midst of the world. I decided to live as a Lady of Schoenstatt. To this day, it is a special gift for me that my personal prayer for vocations is “walled in” together with others in the walls of this Shrine.
Consecrated life in everyday life
How is consecrated life expressed in your daily life: in small decisions, at work, in relationships, and in prayer?
Seen from the outside, as a Lady of Schoenstatt, I live hidden in the midst of the world this life of following Christ in the evangelical counsels of poverty, consecrated chastity, and obedience.
My professional life, my personal relationships, and my friendships—everything is marked by this lifestyle. In my work as a parish assistant, I always found it challenging to maintain a regular daily routine. It took great determination on my part to ensure that my relationship with God did not become secondary. As a community, we attend Holy Mass every day, either in person or online, whenever possible. Our participation in the Eucharist nourishes our vocation. We need to cultivate daily moments of prayer. These moments help us to enter into a life of daily intimacy with God. All our paths, activities, and encounters must be imbued with our dedication and our willingness to walk this path with Jesus.
Often, this is not possible without making concrete sacrifices. This is where the theme of “poverty” becomes concrete. Much of my “free time” belongs to the Lord.
Connection to Mary and the Schoenstatt charism
To what extent do the Schoenstatt charism and the relationship with the Blessed Mother characterize your identity as a consecrated woman and your mission in the Church and in the world?
For me, the covenant of love with the Blessed Mother, renewed daily in the Shrine, is the source that nourishes, strengthens, and inspires me in my service to people. From Mary, I can learn, again and again, how to live my following of Christ in the midst of the world. She herself lived it in her small daily life in Nazareth. She accompanied Jesus to the end. She was faithfully at his side in all phases of his life.
For me, Mary’s visit to Elizabeth has special meaning. She is “on the way” in the joy of the Magnificat. This is also how I see my vocation: I know that I have been sent by Mary from the Shrine to the people, always carrying God’s promise in my heart to bring his charity, mercy, goodness, and love to humankind.
Challenges and joys of vocation
In your opinion, what are the most significant challenges of consecrated life today, and what joys confirm the beauty of this decision day after day?
We live our vocation “alone” in the midst of the world. That is a challenge. Sometimes we feel lonely. That is why it is so important to cultivate our friendship with Jesus Christ and his Mother daily. If we lose touch with this inner source of strength, our lives become more than superficial. It becomes empty and loses its deep meaning. It is equally essential that we cultivate our bond with people, with our community. We need them to keep our feet on the ground. That is why we regularly cultivate contacts and relationships in our community: we meet for gatherings, we have moments of spiritual renewal, we celebrate the liturgy and the feasts of life together. It is equally important not to neglect contact with our personal family and to keep friendships alive in our profession and in our apostolate.
In the life of a Lady of Schoenstatt, as in every human life, there are many joys. A good part of our daily contemplation consists of discovering them with faith in Providence and giving thanks for them.
The vocation of being a Lady of Schoenstatt makes us participants in the dignity and beauty of Mary in her vocation. We can live in this awareness. It helps us gauge the difficulties we face each day and say yes to them.
Testimony and message to young people
What message would you give to young people who are unsure of their vocation or who wonder about the meaning of a life dedicated entirely to God?
From my own experience when I was a teenager, I would like to say:
Have the courage to listen to the voice of the Lord and His Mother in your heart and follow it. It is always a question of personal vocation: What does God want from me? A vocation to marriage? A vocation to a religious community? A vocation to the priesthood? Or another ecclesiastical vocation?
Also, the decision about what career to pursue, what education to pursue, etc. Everything is a call from God. I am invited to recognize my own personal path and to follow it.
You cannot do it alone. It’s important to have companions who care about living their faith. And it’s good to have someone by my side, a spiritual guide who already has experience on this path and can accompany me in my searches and questions.
What is the meaning of my life consecrated to God?
It is a life of dedication: to people, to the world. It is not about success. It is about the simple presence of the Lord and his Mother in my life. And through me, he is present in the place where I work and with the people with whom I live and for whom I am responsible. He is also present in my shortcomings, in my failures, in my powerlessness in the face of so much need and misery that I encounter every day.
We need this deep faith in the reality of the supernatural in our world and in our time. Otherwise, this life has no meaning.
More than 50 years have passed since I decided to follow Jesus Christ. There have been many challenges, disappointments, and crises along the way. But to this day, I can say with a joyful and free heart: “If I had to decide again, I would make the same choice.”
Translation: Sr. M. Lourdes Macías
