The Infant Jesus Homes and Children's Centres was formerly known as the Convent Orphanage and Home for Abandoned Babies. In 1854, the Sisters of the Infant Jesus came to Singapore to provide education for girls. A school, the Convent of the Holy Infant Jesus (CHIJ), was set up at Victoria Street. The care of children also began in 1854 when poor and disabled girls were sent there. Babies were abandoned at the Convent gates because of poverty or superstitious beliefs.

Fr Nicolas Barré, the founder of the Sisters of the Infant Jesus, was born in France in 1621. He grew up in a deeply religious family and was a brilliant student. At the age of 18, he joined the Seminary to study to become a priest.

At that time, there was widespread poverty in France and only the rich could afford to have their children educated. Children, especially girls, were illiterate and exploited. Further, they knew little about the religion that they professed. Fr Barré saw the need to open schools for these girls so that they could learn to read and write and come to know and love God.

In 1662, he gahtered together a few generous and devoted young women to start "little schools" for the poor. Their aim was to help the young, especially girls, to develop their talents, to become the persons God wants them to be - happy, loving and living committed and meaningful lives.

In 1662, Fr Barré invited these ladies to form a community so as to be better able to serve God in this mission of education and to make Jesus Christ known and loved. Although they did not have any material security, these women committed themselves wholeheartedly to the mission. They trusted completely in God for everything they needed and God blessed their efforts and their trust.

Dear Child of God, let your life be characterized by wonder, adoration, silence, nothingness, obedience, humility and love.

First of all, dwell on the wonder, allowing yourself to be taken over by a sense of awe at the sight of God reaching out to you, as though you were the only one that mattered. Reflect on the mystery and wonder of being chosen to be God's dwelling place.

Bow down in adoration before God whose greatness exceeds all that we could ever imagine. May this sense of greatness so permeate you that it will be reflected in all that you do and say.

Pay attention to inner silence, which means trying to quieten the thoughts, emotions or impulses, which lead to anxiety. Too much inner activity and even multiplying acts of devotion, prevent us from hearing the gentle voice of God in the depths of our being.

Enter into your own nothingness before the immense greatness of God. Recognise your total dependence and be ready to let go to God's desires. Ask for nothing more and desire nothing more.

It is not enough to reach this stage in thought and desire; it calls for a response in obedience to God's will as it makes itself known. With humility, gentleness and discernment, be alert to the ways in which God reaches out to you through the people with whom you live and work.

Seek to live your life in a true spirit of humility. Pray for the grace to be able to say thanks when you are not offered the first place or recognized for what you have done. Jesus has gone this road before you.

Above all, reflect on the immensity of God's unique and personal love for you. Listen to the invitation: "Come then, my beloved, my lovely one, come."

The real mystery is in God's love for us rather than in our love for God.

"My beloved is mine and I belong to the beloved."