Daily readings with reflections

Readings & Reflections: Wednesday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time & St. Theodora Guerin, October 3,2018

Readings & Reflections: Wednesday of the Twenty-sixth Week in Ordinary Time & St. Theodora Guerin, October 3,2018

Following Jesus Christ requires self-abandonment, dedication, and total focus. Jesus himself, “wise in heart and mighty in strength,” becomes our true home, the source of all mercy, and the love that soothes family, even when we live at a distance. Only by following in an unconditional way do we discover how Jesus “does great things past finding out, marvelous things beyond reckoning.”

AMDG+

Opening Prayer

“Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess you have given me. I surrender it all to you to be disposed of according to your will. Give me only your love and your grace — with these I will be rich enough and will desire nothing more.” Amen. (Prayer of Ignatius Loyola, 1491-1556)

Reading 1
Jb 9:1-12, 14-16

Job answered his friends and said:

I know well that it is so;
but how can a man be justified before God?
Should one wish to contend with him,
he could not answer him once in a thousand times.
God is wise in heart and mighty in strength;
who has withstood him and remained unscathed?

He removes the mountains before they know it;
he overturns them in his anger.
He shakes the earth out of its place,
and the pillars beneath it tremble.
He commands the sun, and it rises not;
he seals up the stars.

He alone stretches out the heavens
and treads upon the crests of the sea.
He made the Bear and Orion,
the Pleiades and the constellations of the south;
He does great things past finding out,
marvelous things beyond reckoning.

Should he come near me, I see him not;
should he pass by, I am not aware of him;
Should he seize me forcibly, who can say him nay?
Who can say to him, “What are you doing?”

How much less shall I give him any answer,
or choose out arguments against him!
Even though I were right, I could not answer him,
but should rather beg for what was due me.
If I appealed to him and he answered my call,
I could not believe that he would hearken to my words.

The word of the Lord.

Responsorial Psalm
Ps 88:10bc-11, 12-13, 14-15
R. (3) Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

Daily I call upon you, O LORD;
to you I stretch out my hands.
Will you work wonders for the dead?
Will the shades arise to give you thanks?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

Do they declare your mercy in the grave,
your faithfulness among those who have perished?
Are your wonders made known in the darkness,
or your justice in the land of oblivion?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

But I, O LORD, cry out to you;
with my morning prayer I wait upon you.
Why, O LORD, do you reject me;
why hide from me your face?
R. Let my prayer come before you, Lord.

Gospel
Lk 9:57-62

As Jesus and his disciples were proceeding
on their journey, someone said to him,
“I will follow you wherever you go.”
Jesus answered him,
“Foxes have dens and birds of the sky have nests,
but the Son of Man has nowhere to rest his head.”
And to another he said, “Follow me.”
But he replied, “Lord, let me go first and bury my father.”
But he answered him, “Let the dead bury their dead.
But you, go and proclaim the Kingdom of God.”
And another said, “I will follow you, Lord,
but first let me say farewell to my family at home.”
Jesus answered him, “No one who sets a hand to the plow
and looks to what was left behind is fit for the Kingdom of God.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

Reflection 1 – I will follow you wherever you go

Glory awaits all of us when we surrender fully to our Lord. When we do, we realize that the only way to greatness is through the path our Lord has prepared for us. But to choose such path, we must pay the price and place God above all. We cannot be of the world and live for the world and be a man of God at the same time. Following God by being a disciple of Jesus requires total commitment, sacrifice and dedication.

Commitment means an unwavering decision to abide by God’s will and plan and to follow His Word and His ways with a passion. Being committed to the Lord is simply being COMMITTED and never giving the enemy any space in one’s life.  It is never looking back at the pleasures that the world can offer but being totally focused to a lifelong relationship with the Lord.  It is walking straight paths with the Lord despite problems, trials and tribulations that come one’s way.

Being committed to Jesus implies one’s decision of great sacrifice to forget oneself for the sake of neighbor and God. It is to turn away from the pleasures of the world and the avoidance of what will pamper our lustful desires. To be with Jesus means giving our all for His glory and being able to dedicate all that we have, our resources, our time and talent to His cause. To be dedicated to God means being obedient to Him, living for Him and being a faithful and loyal follower EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.

Being a disciple of Jesus, one should repudiate anything that will cause us to be separated from God and completely serving Him at all cost.

Following Jesus and living for God means giving up the world and never turning back as Jesus once said: “Whoever puts his hand to the plow but keeps looking back is unfit for the reign of God.”

Giving up everything for Christ is nothing compared to what God has prepared for all of us.

Direction 

Live our lives for Jesus with all our mind, with all our soul and with all our heart.

Prayer

Heavenly Father, give me the grace to be a true and faithful disciple of Jesus. In Him, I pray and hope. Amen.

Reflection 2 – Excuses

Excuses are expressions of regret for failing to do something and are usually accompanied by explanations. Luke portrays Jesus inviting followers to join in proclaiming the kingdom of God. They promptly offer many reasons why they cannot respond with an immediate commitment; instead, they give excuses suggesting that they might consider doing so in the future.

Some were perhaps startled when they heard Jesus providing them with little or no security, for the Gospel states that, the “Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” Others were probably shocked and began to seek their need for safety by prioritizing their sense of duty/obligation to home and family over and beyond the Lord’s invitation. In any case, they adhered to their securities and gave excuses about why they could not focus completely on plowing forward because they kept turning and looking back.

What Luke describes is a typical situation, that is, someone asks us to do something and instead of a simple response, our immediate reaction is to make excuses as to why we cannot commit. Maybe we need to stop making excuses and start applying ourselves as well as our expertise to that community/ Church project. It might consume our time and talent, but it would finally help the person who requested assistance many times before and had to listen to our many excuses. More importantly, we can stop making excuses for why we cannot pray or become active in charitable works, especially those that benefit the poor and the needy.

Making excuses simply creates more excuses. The more we give credence to them, the more we will lose their credibility with other people. If those around us stop buying our excuses, then imagine how Jesus feels when we are plowing and always looking back!

Reflection 3 – No Looking Back

No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God. —Luke 9:62

When I was a boy on the farm, my dad would tell me, “You can’t plow a straight row if you look back.” You can test this for yourself by looking back as you walk through snow or along a sandy beach. Your tracks won’t be straight.

A good farmer doesn’t look back once he has put his hand to the plow. Jesus used this analogy to teach us that if we are to be His disciples we must make a complete break with all loyalties that hinder our relationship with Him.

Total allegiance to God is a principle that is rooted in the Old Testament. The Israelites, after being freed from slavery and fed by supernatural means, looked back longingly to the days when they enjoyed fish, cucumbers, melons, leeks, onions, and garlic in Egypt (Numbers 11:5-6). God was greatly displeased, and He judged His people. Their looking back indicated a lack of commitment to Him.

Today, people who cling to old sins and the worldly pleasures they enjoyed before becoming Christians cannot be loyal disciples of Jesus Christ. When we repent and believe in Him, we become citizens of a new kingdom. We are to break with the sins of the past.

Discipleship means no looking back.  — Herbert Vander Lugt

As a follower of Jesus,
I am walking in His way;
Straight ahead till life is over,
I will walk with Him each day. —Hess

In the dictionary of discipleship, you won’t find the word “retreat.” (Source: Our Daily Bread, RBC Ministries)

Reflection 4 – Fit for the kingdom of God

Are you ready to follow the Lord Jesus wherever he may lead you? With the call the Lord gives the grace to respond and the strength to follow all the way to the end. Why does Jesus issue a challenge with the call? Jesus was utterly honest in telling people what it would cost to follow him. When a would-be disciple approached Jesus and said he was ready to follow, Jesus told him it would require sacrifice – the sacrifice of certain creaturely comforts. Jesus appealed to this man’s heart and told him to detach himself from whatever might hold him back. Spiritual detachment is a necessary step for following the Lord. It frees us to give ourselves without reserve to the Lord and his service. While many of us may not need to give up the comfort of our own home and bed to follow Jesus, we, nonetheless, must be willing to part with anything that might stand in the way of doing God’s will.

Don’t let anything hold you back from following the Lord Jesus
Another would-be disciple said he would follow as soon as he had buried his father. What he meant by this expression was that he felt the need to return to his home to take care of his father through old age until he died. The third had no obligation to return home, but simply wanted to go back and say good-bye. Jesus surprised these would-be disciples with the stark truth that nothing should hinder us from following the Lord. Was Jesus being harsh and rude to his would-be followers? Not really. We are free to decide whether we will take the path which Jesus offers. But if we choose to go, then the Lord wants us to count the cost and choose for it freely.

Don’t miss the good path God has set for you – it will lead to joy and freedom
What does the story of a plowman have to do with the journey? A plowman who looked back while plowing his field caused the line or furrow he cut into the soil to become crooked. One crooked line easily leads to another until the whole field is a mess. The plowman had to look straight ahead in order to keep the plow from going off course. Likewise, if we look back on what we have freely left behind to follow the Lord – whether that be some distraction, attachment, or sinful habit which leads us away from doing God’s will – our path will likely diverge and we’ll miss what God has for us.

Will you say “yes” to the Lord’s call for your life?
The Gospel does not record the response from these three would-be disciples. We are only left with the question which Jesus intends for us as well.  Are you ready to take the path which the Lord Jesus offers? His grace is sufficient and his love is strong. There is nothing greater we can do with our lives than to place them at the service of the Lord and Master of the universe. We cannot outmatch God in his generosity. Jesus promises that those who are willing to part with what is most dear to them for his sake “will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life”(Matthew 19:29). The Lord Jesus offers us a kingdom of lasting peace, unending joy, surpassing love, enduring friendship, and abundant life. Is there anything holding you back from pursuing the Lord and his will for you life?

“Take, O Lord, and receive my entire liberty, my memory, my understanding, and my whole will. All that I am and all that I possess you have given me. I surrender it all to you to be disposed of according to your will.  Give me only your love and your grace – with these I will be rich enough and will desire nothing more.” (Prayer of Ignatius Loyola, 1491-1556) – Read the source: http://dailyscripture.servantsoftheword.org/readings/2018/oct3.htm

Reflection 5 – How much are you willing to lose?

In the book of Job (9:1-12, 14-16), because Job had lost nearly everything that was dear to him, he is now in danger of also losing his trust in God. Isn’t that how we feel when bad things happen to us? We wonder why God has let us down. We think he’s being unfair and cruel. It feels like his love has abandoned us, and we choose to trust in our feelings instead of what we cannot see, hear or feel from the Lord.

God never abandons us. The fact is we need to abandon everything that is not Godly.

This does not mean that all of us are called to give everything away and embrace poverty in order to be holy, like some of the Saints have done. There are other ways to abandon everything to God, namely, by considering everything as less important than Jesus. Everything is less important than our obedient dependence upon God.

Even those activities that God has called us to do, and even the possessions he has provided for us through our jobs, and even the people he has given to us in relationships: All must be abandoned into an awareness that God is more important.

God and me alone – that’s the foundation true holiness. From this intimate friendship everything else is built up: our families, our friends, our ministries, our jobs, our homes, our possessions, etc. Whatever is good and right for us, whatever will enhance our friendship with God, whatever is a gift of his love for us, these come from the solitude and solidarity we experience with God.

Job protected himself from a loss of faith by recalling God’s awesomeness. He realized that nothing truly matters except God, for he is far greater than all else. He recognized this awesomeness in the vast difference between God and himself: “If I appealed to him and he answered me, how amazing that he would hear my words!” Humility put his terrible situation into the right perspective.

Nothing really matters but God. We can lose everything, and as long as we still have God, we are doing exceedingly well. It might not feel that way, but it’s the reality.

Today’s Gospel passage reminds us that we have to lose (abandon, sublimate, reduce in priority) everything earthly to follow Jesus. He set the example: He gave up his home, his career in carpentry, and his earthly life for our sake. If we look back and miss what we’ve given up, wishing to once again make them a higher priority than our union with Christ, we break our unity with him. Who, then, are we following? Where will it lead us?

We must keep our eyes on Jesus. By abandoning everything into his hands, he gives back to us whatever truly is right and good. – Read the source: http://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2016-09-28

Reflection 6 – When prioritizing means change

We all have good reasons for not following Jesus all the way all the time. The man in the Gospel reading today, who wanted to first bury his dad, seems to have his priorities right. After all, he was obeying the commandment to honor his parents. However, we don’t know if his father was even dead yet.

Jesus knew that the man was just making excuses. He was procrastinating on his personal decision to change his life and become a follower of Christ.

The guy who wanted to go back home to say goodbye seems to be someone who had a strong sense of responsibility. He knew it was wrong to abandon his family. After all, he couldn’t call them on the phone to let them know that he was safe and that he was not forgetting about their needs. But Jesus knew that this man felt torn between the life he had left behind and his life as a disciple; having a divided mind would make him an ineffective Christian.

The past can be a powerful master of the heart, but only God should be the master we serve.

All of our reasons for not fully committing to a direction or a service that Jesus is asking of us could be very good reasons. They can seem very logical and even holy. But if they are excuses instead of blind trust in following Christ, and if they are rationalizations for taking an easier path or remaining in a lifestyle that’s comfortable and familiar, we are choosing death over life. We are the dead burying the dead.

The people in this Gospel story had excellent excuses. We can even say that until Jesus called them to follow him, they were doing exactly what God wanted them to do. Why would he change his almighty mind? Their “yes, but wait” seemed legitimate.

Following Christ is never a static position. It’s an adventure that changes as soon as we get comfortable. God calls us away from doing one good thing to do a different good thing. The hard part is recognizing when it’s time to let go of the old to start something new, especially when it makes perfect sense to keep on doing what we’ve been doing, and even more especially when no one else can do it quite as well as we can.

Should we answer the pastor’s call for more liturgical readers, even though it means switching our schedule to a different Mass? Should we reach out to that person who could become a new friend, even though we’d have to sacrifice time that we’d normally spend with old friends? Should we turn our ministries over to someone else so that we can fill a need elsewhere?

You and I really do want to do what Jesus asks of us. If we truly trust him, we truly want to follow him wherever he leads. Choosing the right priorities is not our problem; our struggle is with recognizing the surprise changes in God’s plans.

After that, it’s a matter of moving forward in the new direction while trusting that if we’ve misinterpreted God’s plans, he will make sure we don’t go far in the wrong direction.

Instead of wishing that life could be predictable, we need to focus on what Jesus wants us to do today. How does he want you to follow him right now? Be content with whatever you’re doing but be ready for God to design another curve in your path. – Read the source: http://gnm.org/good-news-reflections/?useDrDate=2017-10-04

If you need help getting through this struggle to move in the right direction, my e-book “Knowing God’s Will and Doing It Well” could help. It’s available at Catholic Digital Resources: catholicdr.com/ebooks/GodsWill.htm.

Reflection 7 – St. Theodora Guérin (1798-1856 A.D.)

Trust in God’s Providence enabled Mother Theodore to leave her homeland, sail halfway around the world, and found a new religious congregation.

Born in Etables, France, Anne-Thérèse Guerin’s life was shattered by her father’s murder when she was 15. For several years she cared for her mother and younger sister. She entered the Sisters of Providence in 1823, taking the name Sister St. Theodore. An illness during novitiate left her with lifelong fragile health; that did not keep her from becoming an accomplished teacher.

At the invitation of the bishop of Vincennes, she and five sisters were sent in 1840 to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, to teach and to care for the sick poor. She was to establish a motherhouse and novitiate. Only later did she learn that her French superiors had already decided the sisters in the United States should form a new religious congregation under her leadership.

She and her community persevered despite fires, crop failures, prejudice against Catholic women religious, misunderstandings and separation from their original religious congregation. She once told her sisters, “Have confidence in the Providence that so far has never failed us. The way is not yet clear. Grope along slowly. Do not press matters; be patient, be trustful.” Another time, she asked, “With Jesus, what shall we have to fear?”

She is buried in the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, and was beatified in 1998. Eight years later she was canonized.

Comment:

God’s work gets done by people ready to take risks and to work hard—always remembering what St. Paul told the Corinthians, “I planted, Apollos watered, but God caused the growth” (1 Corinthians 3:6). Every holy person has a strong sense of God’s Providence.

Quote:

During his homily at the beatification Mass, Pope John Paul II said that Mother Theodore “continues to teach Christians to abandon themselves to the providence of our heavenly Father and to be totally committed to doing what pleases him. The life of Blessed Theodora Guérin is a testimony that everything is possible with God and for God.”

Related St. Anthony Messenger article(s) 

Mother Theodore Guerin: Indiana’s Very Own Saint, by John Fink

Read the source:  http://www.americancatholic.org/features/saints/saint.aspx?id=1157

SAINT OF THE DAY
Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the Church honors responded to God’s invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint. 

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Th%C3%A9odore_Gu%C3%A9rin
SAINT THEODORA GUERIN SP
MothereTheodora Guerin
RELIGION Roman Catholic
ORDER Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
PERSONAL
NATIONALITY  France  United States
BORN Anne-Thérèse Guérin
October 2, 1798
Étables-sur-Mer, France
DIED May 14, 1856 (aged 57)
Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, United States
RESTING PLACE Shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin and Sisters of Providence Convent Cemetery, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
PARENTS Laurent Guérin, des Sieurs du Rocher and Elisabeth le Fèvre
SENIOR POSTING
TITLE Foundress and Superior General of theSisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
PERIOD IN OFFICE 1840 – 1856
SUCCESSOR Mother Mary Cecilia Bailly
RANK Superior General
RELIGIOUS CAREER
PROFESSION September 8, 1825
POST Foundress and Superior General
SIGNATURE SaintMotherTheodoreGuerinSignature.jpg

Mother Théodore Guérin (1798–1856), designated by the Vaticanas Saint Theodora, was a French-American saint and is the foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, a congregation ofCatholic nuns. She was beatified by Pope John Paul II in October 1998 and canonized a saint of the Roman Catholic church on October 15, 2006, by Pope Benedict XVI. Her feast day is October 3.

Guerin is particularly known for her advancement of education in Indiana and elsewhere, founding numerous schools including Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana.

Early life[edit]

She was born Anne-Thérèse Guérin on October 2, 1798, in the village of Étables-sur-Mer in Brittany, France. Her parents were Laurent Guérin, an officer in the French Navy under Napoleon Bonaparte, and Isabelle Guérin, née Lefèvre. Anne-Thérèse was born near the end of the French Revolution, which had torn France apart and caused a crisis within French Catholicism. Schools and churches were closed, and many Catholic priests had chosen exile over the guillotine.[1]

Laurent and Isabelle had four children, but only two — Anne-Thérèse and Marie-Jeanne — survived to adulthood. Anne-Thérèse was mostly educated at home by her mother. At the age of 10, she was allowed to take her First Communion, which was two years earlier than the custom of the time. On the day of her First Communion, she confided to the priest in Etables that she wished to enter a religious community.

When Anne-Thérèse was 15, tragedy struck the family when her father was killed by bandits as he traveled home to his family. The grief proved to be too much for her mother, who already had lost two children, and she fell into a deep and incapacitating depression. For many years, Anne-Thérèse accepted the responsibility of caring for her mother and sister, as well as the family’s home and garden. At the age of 20, Anne-Thérèse asked her mother’s blessing to join a religious order, but Isabelle — still unable to cope with her loss — refused. Five years later, Isabelle recognized the depth of Anne-Thérèse’s devotion and permitted her to leave.[1]

Entering religious life[edit]

In 1823 Anne-Thérèse entered the young congregation of the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir. She was given the religious name Sister St. Théodore. She professed first vows September 8, 1825, and perpetual vows, which at the time were optional, on September 5, 1831. Sister St. Théodore was first sent to teach atPreuilly-sur-Claise in central France. There, she became ill, most likely with smallpox, and nearly died. The illness damaged her digestive system and, for the rest of her life, she could only eat a simple, bland diet.[2]

During her career in France, Sister St. Théodore also taught at St. Aubin parish school in Rennes and taught and visited the sick and poor in Soulaines in the Diocese of Angers. During this time, she received a medal for her teaching from the inspector for the Academy of Angers.[3]

From France to Indiana[edit]

A request from Vincennes[edit]

In 1839 the Most Reverend Simon William Gabriel Bruté, the first bishop of the vast Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana, sent Célestine Guynemer de la Hailandière as a representative to their native France. Bruté was in search of a religious congregation to come to the diocese and teach, provide religious instruction, and assist the sick. With only a few priests and a great influx of Catholic immigrants of French, Irish and German descent, the diocese was in need of assistance. Bruté knew the great assistance a religious order could provide, having worked with Mother Elizabeth Ann Seton and her Sisters of Charity during the founding and early years of Mount Saint Mary’s University in Emmitsburg, Maryland.[1]

While Hailandière was in France, Bishop Bruté died in Vincennes, and Hailandière was then consecrated bishop of the diocese. One of the first acts of the newly ordained bishop was to request the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir to send a group of sisters to minister in Vincennes. The superior general of the Sisters of Providence suggested Sister St. Théodore for the task. Although she was unsure of her own abilities to complete such a mission at first, after considerablediscernment, Sister St. Théodore agreed. Later she said that it was a sentence from the Rule of the Congregation, “The Congregation being obliged to work with zeal for the sanctification of souls, the sisters will be disposed to go to whatsoever part of the world obedience calls them,” that convinced her to answer the call to America.

Founding a new order in Indiana[edit]

In July 1840, Sister St. Théodore and five companions (Sister Olympiade Boyer, Sister Saint Vincent Ferrer Gagé, Sister Basilide Sénéschal, Sister Mary Xavier Lerée and Sister Mary Liguori Tiercin) departed from France to sail to America. After a treacherous journey across the Atlantic Ocean, the six women traveled by steamboat and stagecoach to the dense forest of the Indiana territory.[4]

On October 22, 1840, Sister St. Théodore and her companions stepped from a carriage into the wilds of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana, a small village in Vigo County a few miles northwest of Terre Haute. For several months, they lived packed into the small frontier farmhouse of the local Thralls family along with a fewpostulants that had been waiting for them when they arrived. With the founding of this new order separate from that in France, Guerin became known as Mother Theodore, the superior of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.[5]

Life work[edit]

The gravestone of Mother Theodore.

One final resting place of Mother Theodore in theSisters of Providence Convent Cemetery.

Education[edit]

Despite their humble resources, in July 1841 Guerin and the sisters opened St. Mary’s Academy for Young Ladies, which later becameSaint Mary-of-the-Woods College. Guerin did have doubts concerning the success of the institution. In her journals is written, “It is astonishing that this remote solitude has been chosen for a novitiate and especially for an academy. All appearances are against it.”[6]For more than a decade, from 1841 to 1852, this Academy was the only Catholic boarding school for girls in Indiana.

In an attempt to help parishes establish schools for their children, Mother Théodore, from the time of her arrival at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods in 1840 to January 1849, established parish schools at Jasper, St. Peter’s, Vincennes, Madison, Fort Wayne and Terre Haute, all in Indiana, and at St. Francisville in Illinois. In 1853, she opened establishments in Evansville, Indiana and North Madison, Indiana; in 1854, at Lanesville, Indiana; and in 1855 at Columbus, Indiana, south of Indianapolis.

Additionally, with Bishop Jacques-Maurice de Saint-Palais, she established two orphanages in Vincennes, and free pharmacies at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods and in Vincennes.[7]

Growth of the congregation[edit]

Guerin proved to be a skilled businesswoman and leader as well as a beloved general superior. By the time of Mother Théodore’s death in 1856, the Sisters of Providence congregation had grown from six sisters and four postulants to 67 professed members, nine novices and seven postulants.

Death of Mother Theodore[edit]

After a period of sickness, Guerin died at age 57 on May 14, 1856.[7]The Catholic Telegraph and Advocate in Cincinnati, published the following notice about Mother Théodore’s death.

Died – At Saint Mary’s-of-the-Woods (sic), in the 58th year of her age, Wednesday, 14th inst., Sister St. Théodore, Superior General of the Sisters of Providence in Indiana.

This woman, distinguished by her eminent virtues, governed the community of which she was the superior from its commencement, to the time of her death, a period of nearly sixteen years. Being a perfect religious herself, and endowed with mental qualities of a high order, she was peculiarly fitted to fill the duties which Providence assigned her.

Not only her Sisters are bereaved by her death, but all those who knew her excellence and the amount of good she did, join in lamenting that she should have been removed from the sphere of her usefulness. To judge from the celestial expression of her countenance as she lay in death, there is every reason to believe that she has already taken her abode among the Saints in Heaven, enjoying the munificence of God, who rewards His servants ‘according to their works.’

SAINT THEODORA GUERIN
Saint Theodora Guerin
VENERATED IN Roman Catholic Church
BEATIFIED October 1998, Vatican City byPope John Paul II
CANONIZED October 15, 2006, Vatican Cityby Pope Benedict XVI
MAJOR SHRINE Shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin near theChurch of the Immaculate Conception, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana
FEAST October 3
PATRONAGE Roman Catholic Diocese of Lafayette in Indiana

Veneration[edit]

Cause for sainthood[edit]

In 1907, Bishop Francis Silas Chatard, the first bishop of the Diocese of Indianapolis, requested that the body of Mother Theodore be exhumed and examined. Chatard, a medical doctor before becoming a priest, was hearing much about her heroic life and service to the people of the area. When the body was exhumed the brain was found to be perfectly intact after 51 years in the grave. This phenomenon encouraged Chatard to introduce the Cause for Canonization, the long and thorough process of declaring saints in the Roman Catholic Church.[8]

The Cause for the beatification and canonization of Mother Théodore Guérin was opened in 1909.[9] In October 1998,Pope John Paul II bestowed the title “Blessed” on Mother Théodore to signify that the Catholic Church recognizes her as a holy woman, through whose intercession a miracle occurred, worthy of honor and veneration. Pope Benedict XVI later signed a document recognizing a second miracle attributed to her, and her canonization ceremony was held on October 15, 2006.

Miracles attributed to Guerin[edit]

The first miracle attributed to Guérin is said to have occurred in 1908. Before going to bed, Sister of Providence Mary Theodosia Mug prayed at Guérin’s tomb to be healed of her damaged nerves, poor eyesight, breast cancer and an abdominal tumor. When she awoke the next day, Sister Mary Theodosia was healed.[10]

The second of the miracles attributed to her involves Phil McCord of Terre Haute, Indiana, and occurred in January 2001.[11] McCord, who had worked in facilities management for the Sisters of Providence, stopped by the Church of the Immaculate Conception on the grounds and was drawn in by music from the pipe organ there. While in the church he felt compelled to pray to Guérin, asking for strength to undergo a medical operation for his failing eyesight, as his eyes had deteriorated to legally blind status: 20-800 in one eye and 20-1000 in the other. After praying, he went home. When he awoke the next morning, his vision had returned to 20-20, and his eye now needed only laser treatment to remove old tissue.[11]

Shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin[edit]

Guerin’s shrine, called “Journey with a Saint: The Shrine of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin,” is located below the Blessed Sacrament Chapel near the Church of the Immaculate Conception on the motherhouse grounds in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. The shrine includes a small, simple chapel where Guerin’s remains rest in a coffin made of walnut wood from the Sisters of Providence grounds.[12][13] There are also several rooms in the shrine with historical artifacts, relics, photos and information about Guerin’s life and the early days of the Sisters of Providence.[14]

Legacy[edit]

Congregation[edit]

Main article: Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods

More than 5,200 women have entered the Sisters of Providence since 1840. As of 2010, there are nearly 400 sisters in the order, roughly 300 of whom live and minister from the motherhouse grounds in Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Other sisters minister in 19 U.S. states and Asia. (Currently, foreign missions are in Taiwanand China.)

The Sisters of Providence maintain various relics of Guerin’s life in their congregation archives as well as in a Heritage Museum in Providence Center on the grounds.

Schools[edit]

Patronage[edit]

Saint Mother Theodore has been named patron of:

Recognition[edit]

A statue of Guerin, created by artist Teresa Clark, is placed in Mary’s Garden at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C.

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin Memorial Highway[edit]

On October 10, 2006, Mitch Daniels, governor of Indiana, unveiled four highway markers in a ceremony at the Church of the Immaculate Conception at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods. These markers read “Saint Mother Theodore Guerin Memorial Highway” and were placed in four locations along U.S. Route 150, the highway near Saint Mary-of-the-Woods.

Hoosier Pioneer[edit]

On November 3, 2007, Guerin was given the title “Hoosier Pioneer” by the Indiana Historical Society. This honor is given only to persons whose contributions to the development of the state of Indiana were made by 1840, the year that Guerin began her missionary activities with five other sisters in the area of education and care of the sick.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Jump up to:a b c Brown, Mary Borromeo (1949). History of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods: Volume I. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana: Benziger Brothers Inc.
  2. Jump up^ Vatican News Service (October 15, 2006). “Théodore Guérin (1798-1856)”. Rome. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  3. Jump up^ Mug, Mary Theodosia (1904). Life and Life-Work of Mother Theodore Guerin. New York: Benzinger Bros.
  4. Jump up^ Mitchell, Penny Blaker (1998). Mother Théodore Guérin: A Woman for Our Time. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana: Sisters of Providence.
  5. Jump up^ Burton, Catherine; Doyle, Mary K. (2006). The Eighth American Saint: The Life of Saint Mother Théodore Guérin, Foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Skokie, Illinois: ACTA Publications.
  6. Jump up^ Guérin, Théodore (1937). Mary Theodosia Mug, ed. Journals and Letters of Mother Théodore Guérin, Foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana: Sisters of Providence.
  7. ^ Jump up to:a b “About Saint Mother Theodore Guerin”, Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods
  8. Jump up^ Briggs, Bill (2010). The Third Miracle. New York: Broadway Books. pp. 24–30.ISBN 978-0-7679-3269-1.
  9. Jump up^ Ryan, Joseph Eleanor (1987). Positio Super Virtutibus for the Beatification and Canonization of Mother Théodore Guérin. Rome.
  10. Jump up^ Letter to Mother Mary Cleophas located in the Archives, St. Mary of the Woods, dated, November 21, 1908. Quoted in Madden 1991, pp. 411-413
  11. ^ Jump up to:a b Carroll, Jason (December 22, 2006). “Miracle of ‘blind’ man who can see”.CNN. St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Retrieved October 29, 2009.
  12. Jump up^ “Sisters of Providence transfer saint’s remains” (Press release). 3 October 2014. Retrieved 22 October 2014.
  13. Jump up^