A new saint’s legacy

The French-born founder of the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Ind., took a small band of women to the fringe of the American frontier in the 1840s. She built schools to educate children and tended to the health care needs of area settlers. Her religious community today continues her work in education and carries on a vibrant peace and justice apostolate inspired by her spirituality.

For lay Catholics, the fact that the vast majority of Catholic saints are martyrs, ascetics, mystics or founders of religious orders may suggest that one must live an extraordinary life and accomplish extraordinary things if one wishes to become truly saintly.

A layperson’s call may appear quite different from those holy men and women who have gone before us, and yet on another level it is one and the same. The Second Vatican Council explicitly recognized a universal call to holiness when it stated that, "in the church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness" ("Lumen Gentium," Dogmatic Constitution on the Church, No. 39). That call to personal sanctity is rooted in Christ’s "come, follow me" and St. Paul’s exhortation to keep our eyes fixed on heaven and to live accordingly.

We share with Mother Guerin and all the saints the vocation of serving others and faithfully taking up our daily cross, whatever that might be. Even though our lives may seem relatively ordinary when compared to Mother Guerin’s life, there is so much saintly virtue that we can learn from her example:

— Persistence. Mother Guerin listened for God’s call and responded to it. Although her mother would not allow her to enter the convent at 20, she continued to discern her vocation until her mother relented five years later.

— Courage. Her order to leave France for a mission in pioneer America presented a tremendous challenge under harsh conditions. Mother Guerin accepted her assignment obediently and was equal to the task, despite suffering a chronic, painful illness throughout adulthood.

— Prayer. She was devoted to the Blessed Sacrament and remained steadfast in prayer, which carried her through rough times. "What strength the soul draws from prayer!" she wrote in her journal. "In the midst of a storm, how sweet is the calm it finds in the heart of Jesus."

— Selflessness. Mother Guerin’s life was one continuous gift of herself. The generosity and love she showed to those in need serves as a powerful witness of faith.

— Patience. Anti-Catholic bigotry was rampant in the Midwest in those days. Mother Guerin and her sisters faced these venomous assaults with love and humility.

— Trust. In the face of so many trials and tribulations, Mother Guerin never lost sight of God’s providential care. "Our hope is in the providence of God which has always protected us until the present, and which will provide, somehow, for our future needs," she wrote.

We may never be raised to the altars ourselves, but we can become saints if we live our daily lives in the spirit of Mother Guerin — who, as in the prayer proper to her Mass, may "inspire us to dedicate our lives to proclaiming the Gospel through works of love, mercy and justice."