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Reflections from Our Pastors
Tuesday, October 3, 2023
Yesterday, October 1, Colorado celebrated Frances Xavier Cabrini Day. “Today, with so much going on regarding COVID-19, and social and political unrest, it’s really awesome that we have an example like Mother Cabrini, who did so much good and placed so much emphasis on social justice,” Seaman said. “A Cabrini Day highlights what a great humanitarian she was.” (2020)
Here is the press from 2020 Cabrini News followed by what she adds to our catholic way.
Colorado Celebrates Cabrini Day, an American First Posted on 10/5/2020 (1)
Colorado is celebrating Frances Xavier Cabrini Day marking the first paid state holiday
recognizing a woman in United States history. The Colorado Legislature passed Frances Xavier Cabrini House Bill 20-1031 in March [202]0, replacing Columbus Day with Cabrini Day.
Mother Cabrini was an influential missionary who left her home in Italy to profoundly change the lives of disadvantaged peoples, including orphans, the sick, the poor, and immigrants around the world. By the time of her death in 1917, she had established 67 schools, hospitals, and orphanages throughout the United States and Europe, as well as Central and South America. Cabrini was named the Patroness of Immigrants in 1950, four years after she was canonized a saint by Pope Pius XII.
“Mother Cabrini stands out as an example of someone who holds up some of the best things we want to celebrate in our society,” said Ray Ward, PhD, Director of Cabrini’s Wolfington Center, which fosters community-based learning through Catholic social teaching and the Education of the Heart, drawing heavily from Mother Cabrini’s teachings. “I’m glad she’s getting recognition as an exemplar of our American civic religion, but also as a Catholic, bringing the best of Catholicism into the public sphere.”
Mother Cabrini’s travels brought her to Colorado several times in the early 1900s, where she forged a strong relationship with Italian immigrants working the mines in the foothills west of Denver. In addition to the Queen of Heaven Orphanage in Denver, Mother Cabrini also founded a summer camp for children near Golden, CO. Today, Golden is the home of the Mother Cabrini Shrine, a complex of monuments and chapels intended for religious ceremonies, prayer, and personal reflection.
JoAnn Seaman (P’18), who has worked at the Shrine in Golden for 31 years and serves as its Director of Development, said she is thrilled that Mother Cabrini’s legacy is getting mainstream attention with an official state holiday.
“Today, with so much going on regarding COVID-19, and social and political unrest, it’s really awesome that we have an example like Mother Cabrini, who did so much good and placed so much emphasis on social justice,” Seaman said. “A Cabrini Day highlights what a great humanitarian she was.”
According to Ward, Mother Cabrini’s humanitarianism was multifaceted and far-reaching. He points to three of her strongest traits: “service in love, entrepreneurship, and cultural pride and integration.” Though she was Italian by birth, Mother Cabrini became a naturalized American citizen and was the first American saint. Ward said Cabrini’s entrepreneurial spirit was particularly “underrated,” as she had a knack for discovering opportunities for service and business. She founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus (MSCs) in 1880. Today, the MSCs work in 17 countries on six continents, sharing in Mother Cabrini’s legacy.
Learning from St. Frances Cabrini (2)
St. Frances Cabrini is widely known for her energy, her generosity, and her vibrant love for those most in need. It’s easy to admire her but (powerhouse that she was) sometimes a bit hard to imitate her! One way to grow to be like Mother Cabrini is to focus less on her accomplishments and more on three key aspects of faith she can teach us.
Mother Cabrini can teach us how to pray better. Mother Cabrini was a woman of action, but every ounce of her energy came from her rich prayer life. If we ask her, she will deepen our understanding of how to pray. St. Frances Cabrini’s deepest desire was to align her heart with God’s will. This ferocious desire to do whatever Jesus asked outstripped every other concern in her life. Whatever it took, whatever the cost, she put Jesus first. “I trust in you, my Jesus. I place my poor soul in your hands – mold me according to your divine will,” she wrote in 1877.
Mother Cabrini can teach us how to accept difficulty. St. Frances Cabrini was quick to accept every situation she faced. “Live abandoned to God and let [God] treat you according to [God’s] pleasure,” she wrote, “What does it matter if it be Golgotha, Tabor, or Gethsemane? It is enough to know that we are with [God].” When we struggle with difficulties, Mother Cabrini’s example can help, as she said, “If you carry the Cross willingly, the Cross will carry you.”
Mother Cabrini can show us how to grow in humility. Humility is considered a bad word in
today’s culture, but it’s an essential quality for every Christian. Mother Cabrini’s letters to the Missionary Sisters are packed with advice on this. “A single act of humility is worth more than the proud exhibition of any virtue” she advised one Sister. Mother Cabrini’s life is evidence that true humility can lead to bold action and courage.
Mother Cabrini reminds us of Ilia Delio with this quote: I travel, work, suffer my weak health, meet with a thousand difficulties, but all these are nothing, for this world is so small. To me, space is an imperceptible object, as I am accustomed to dwell in eternity.
Peace within,
Rev. Jane
1. https://www.cabrini.edu/about/media-hub/news/2020/colorado-saint-frances-xavier-cabrini-day
2. https://cabrinishrinenyc.org/three-things-mother-cabrini-can-teach-us/
Image by kassoum_kone from Pixabay
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