Feast of Elizabeth Ann Seton (“A Foundress with Fortitude”)
Feast of Elizabeth Ann Seton (“A Foundress with Fortitude”)
A good example may have more ramifications than we ever could imagine. This was the case in the life of Elizbeth Ann Seton who is the patron Saint of Moline’s Catholic School.
Elizbeth Ann Seton was born in 1774, right at the beginning of our Republic. Her father was a well-known physician. Her family was Episcopalian. When she was 20 Elizabeth married a wealthy shipping magnate, William Seton. They had five children together. Misfortune struck the family and William got tuberculosis and his shipping company went bankrupt.
William and Elizbeth went to Italy in hopes that a dryer climate would help William’s health. Unfortunately, the change did not work. William died and Elizabeth was left alone in a foreign country.
While she was in Italy, Elizabeth stayed with an Italian family. She was so impressed by their piety and their Christian charity that she decided to become Roman Catholic. This did not sit well with her family. They disowned her and her family when they returned to the United States.
Elizabeth ran a boarding house for schoolboys to earn a living in New York. She did other jobs to make money. The rector of St. Mary’s Seminary in Baltimore became aware of her plight. He invited her to establish a school for girls there. She did this and founded a religious community. This became the genesis of the Catholic School system in the United States.
Before the end of her life Mother Seton started over twenty schools and expanded her order to other countries. She is a patron saint for Catholic School teachers, mothers and widows. She persevered in faith when she could have left the church to please her family. She exercised the virtue of fortitude many times in her life.
Reflection Questions:
- Have I ever had to practice my faith in the face of objections? Did I compromise my principles?
- Whose example inspires me as I live my Catholic faith. How do I model Catholic living?
Dear Parishioners,
Yesterday we put the three kings into our nativity sets. If we look at them, we notice that in most nativity sets one king is black, one king is white and one king looks like he is from the orient. One king is young, one is old and one is middle age.
What are artists trying to say? What they are saying is that Jesus is the savior of the whole world. It is sad that one of the magi was not a woman. This would be a fuller symbol of the inclusivity that is being represented.
We might ask ourselves, once more, about our own prejudices. Do we try to get acquainted with other racial groups and cultures? 2021 might be a good time to explore this. It is hard during a pandemic. We might start by praying for all who suffer throughout the world. Our country is not the only one that is struggling.
May Our Lady and all the angels and saints watch over you today.
Fr. Mark