Tuesday after Epiphany

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

Saint: Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, First American Born Saint (1774-1821)

Readings of the Day

RB: Prologue 21-32 

Mass: 1 Jn 4:7-10; Resp Ps 72; Mk 6:34-44

May he rule from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

BE CHILDREN OF THE CHURCH.

(Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, on her deathbed, January 2, 1891)

We have the privilege and honor today to commemorate the first American born saint, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, commonly and affectionally known as, Mother Seton. There is much to be said about Elizabeth Ann Seton and you can find a wealth of information on the National Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton website, www.setonshrine.org. To summarize, Elizabeth was born into a prominent Episcopalian family in New York City in 1774. Elizabeth eventually married, was a mother of five, became a young widow, discovered Catholicism, and entered the Catholic Church in 1805. Elizabeth founded the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph, the first community for religious women established in the United States. I just called the Shrine to inquire about 45 minute Live! Virtual Tours scheduled for today and tomorrow. You can register online. The delightful and gracious woman who answered the phone said the tours are excellent and the participant will learn much about the saint's life as a teacher as well about her daily life. I am registered. Check it out.

Another source of information is the homily preached by now Pope Saint Paul VI, at the Canonization of Elizabeth Ann Seton, September 14, 1975. You can find it on the Vatican website, www.vatican.va. In one part of the homily, the Holy Father referred to words of the late Cardinal Joseph Spellman (1889-1967), Archbishop of New York, words the Cardinal "attributed to her as primary and characteristic: 'Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was wholly American!'". Pope Paul VI added, "Rejoice, we say to the great nation of the United States of America. Rejoice for your glorious daughter. Be proud of her. And know how to preserve her faithful heritage. This most beautiful figure of a holy woman presents to the world and to history the affirmation of the new and authentic riches that are yours: that religious spirituality which your temporal prosperity seemed to obscure and almost make impossible. Your land, too, America, is indeed worthy of receiving into its fertile ground the seed of evagelical holiness. And here is splendid proof-among many others-of this fact." Let us rejoice for and be proud of our saint, Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton. Amen. 

SAINT ELIZABETH ANN SETON,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Here a view from Waldport, Oregon, where the Alsea River comes into the Pacific Ocean. 

 

© Gertrude Feick 2022