Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration 

(SSpSAP)

The Third Congregation Founded by Arnold Janssen

 Every evening after her day’s work a young woman kneels in the glow of the sanctuary lamp in a mission church in north Germany.  Adolfine Toennies, the teacher of the one-class mission school in Rendsburg, Schleswig-Holstein, wishes to be near her Eucharistic Lord in whom she finds her strength.  Her worldwide heart goes out to the many people who are longing for the Savior.

 “Fire fell in your heart; you became a flame, following the Lamb, Christ the Lord,” as the Church sings in the Office.  For Adolfine this fire of the Holy Spirit was her missionary vocation which led her to the mission enterprise in Steyl.  Supported by her uncle, Fr. Hermann Wegener, she had contacted Arnold Janssen and he had accepted her as the 16^th candidate of the Mission Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit, which he had founded in 1889.  As “Sister Michael” she made her first vows on 12 March 1894 among the first group of missionary Sisters.  In this group were also Helena Stollenwerk (Sr. Maria) and Hendrina Stenmanns (Sr. Josepha), who had been waiting patiently for this great day for over ten years.

 However, with Sr. Michael something new would begin to flourish.  For Arnold Janssen “all activity for the kingdom of God is first and foremost a matter of prayer.”  That is why already at the opening of the first German mission house in Steyl in 1875 he had considered introducing a form of perpetual adoration in the Society of the Divine Word (SVD).  Only now, twenty years later, could Arnold Janssen put into practice this plan of his, which he had kept pending for so long.

 From those Mission Sisters who had shown interest in the cloistered section Arnold Janssen chose six and on 8 December 1896 they received a rose-colored religious habit – pink being the symbol for the burning love of the Holy Spirit.  Among this group was Sr. Michael Toennies, now called Sr. Mary Michael.  With this group Arnold Janssen laid the foundation for the Congregation of the Servants of the Holy Spirit of Perpetual Adoration, thus fulfilling his burning desire.  This third branch of the Steyl missionary enterprise would work alongside the two active missionary communities for th e spread of the faith and the sanctification of priests as a contemplative-missionary congregation and through prayer, sacrifice and the witness of their lives would bring down God’s grace on the mission work.  Two years later Helena Stollenwerk, Co-foundress of the Mission Sisters, joined the cloistered branch.  But already on 3 February 1900 after a severe illness her death brought the offering of her life to completion.

 Soon the Founder entrusted the direction of the youngest of the foundations to Sr. Mary Michael.  She was very persevering, prudent and far-sighted, this was combined with a deep piety and unshakeable trust in God.  She worked tirelessly for the inner and external growth of the Congregation for the next 37 years until her death as Superior General on 25 February 1934.

 Today there are almost 400 Adoration Sisters on four continents who pray, sacrifice and work in twenty convents in the USA, Argentina, Brazil, Germany, the Netherlands, Poland, the Philippines, India, Indonesia and Togo

 Besides their specific task of prayer the Sisters carry on various other activities for their daily support.  Without exception they work within the cloister.  Yet they serve the common apostolic goal of the Steyl missionary family though activities such as vestment making, artistic works, making candles and cards, baking hosts (the leftover from this is made into tasty cookies and sold), preparation of agricultural products, preparing ointments from herbs grown in the convent garden, which are appreciated as an effective substitute for chemical medicines, washing and ironing for the church and the convent.

 Through a life shaped by contemplation the Sisters fulfill their vocation under the guidance of the Holy Spirit through a faith-filled immersion in the love and saving mystery of the Triune God.  In this way they witness to God as the center of all being and as the one who alone can bring peace to the human heart.  This attitude of withdrawal helps the Sisters to be freer to share more deeply in the sufferings and the hopes of people.  Life is found in death - may all people have it in its fullness and “may the holy triune God live in the hearts of all people” (Arnold Janssen).   

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