ELIZABETH BAYLEY SETON

Elizabeth Bayley Seton (28 August 1774 in New York City – 4 January 1821) was the first United States-born canonized Saint in the Roman Catholic Church. She was the foundress of the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph's, the first community of religious women founded in the United States. Her establishment of Saint Joseph's Academy and Free School for girls paved the way for parochial school system in the United States later in the nineteenth century.

Mother Seton came from a Protestant background, converted to Roman Catholicism, and was a co-worker with John Carroll in the formative years of the Catholic Church in the new nation of the United States. She was one of the most influential Catholic women in the early nineteenth century; her legacy and influence continues in the twenty-first century.

She was canonized by Pope Paul VI on September 14, 1975. Her feast day is January 4.

Biography

Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born into a prominent Episcopalian family in New York City, August 28, 1774, the second of three daughters of Dr.Richard Bayley and Catherine Charlton Bayley. Catherine Bayley's father was Dr. Richard Charlton, rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church on Staten Island. Dr. Bayley was a physician and professor of medicine (anatomy) at King's College (now known as Columbia University). He was one of the first health officers of New York City. Catherine Charlton Bayley died in 1777, probably as a result of childbirth. The first child born to Richard Bayley and Catherine Charlton Bayley was Mary Magdalene Bayley (1768-1856, married in 1790 to Dr. Wright Post [1766-1828] of New York). The third child was Catherine Bayley (1777-1778).

In 1778, the year after the death of his first wife, Richard Bayley married Charlotte Amelia Barclay; three daughters and four sons were born to them. One of these was Guy Carleton Bayley (1786-1859). His son, James Roosevelt Bayley (1814-1877), became an Episcopal priest and then converted in 1842 to Roman Catholicism. He was ordained to the Roman Catholic priesthood on March 2, 1844 in New York, became first bishop of Newark (1853-1872) and served as eighth archbishop of Baltimore (1872-1877).

Charlotte Barclay Bayley did not accept Elizabeth and her sister. During their father's travel abroad for medical studies, the girls lived temporarily in New Rochelle, New York, with his brother, William Bayley (1745-1811) and his wife, Sarah Pell Bayley. Ultimately, the marriage of Richard Bayley and Charlotte Amelia Barclay ended in separation.

Elizabeth married William Magee Seton, scion of a wealthy New York mercantile family with international connections, January 25, 1794, at the home of her sister, Mary Bayley Post. Five children were born between 1795 and 1802, Anna Maria, William, Richard, Catherine, and Rebecca. As a young society matron, Elizabeth enjoyed a full life of loving service to her family, care for the indigent poor, and religious development in her Episcopal faith, nurtured by the preaching and guidance of Rev. John Henry Hobart, an assistant at Trinity Church. She and her sister-in-law, Rebecca Mary Seton, became known as the "Protestant Sisters of Charity."

As the eighteenth century drew to a close, a double tragedy visited Elizabeth. Political and economic turmoil took a severe toll on William Seton's business and on his health. He became increasingly debilitated by the family affliction, tuberculosis. Hoping to arrest the disease, Elizabeth, William, and Anna Maria embarked on a voyage to Italy. On their arrival in Leghorn (Livorno), they were placed in quarantine; soon after, December 27, 1803, William died. At age twenty-nine, Elizabeth had become a widow with five children.

While waiting to return to their family the the United States, Elizabeth and Anna Maria spent several months with the Filicchi family of Leghorn, business associates of her husband.

For the first time Elizabeth experienced Roman Catholic piety in her social equals. She was deeply impressed, especially by the doctrine of the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist. She returned to New York in June 1804, full of faith turned to religious conflict when the Setons heard of her inclinations.

After almost a year of searching, she made her profession of faith as a Roman Catholic in March 1805, a choice which triggered three years of financial struggle and social discrimination.

To support her children, she opened a school in New York City. The good reputation of the school resulted in an invitation of several priests of the Society of Saint Sulpice to open a school for girls next to Saint Mary's Seminary. In June, 1808 she moved with her family to Baltimore to open the school.

Soon Catholic women from along the east coast came to join her work. Gradually, the Sulpicians' dream of a religious congregation became a reality. The women soon moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where they formally established the Sisters of Charity of Saint Joseph on July 31, 1809. Elizabeth Seton was named first superior and served in that capacity until her death.

As the community took shape, Elizabeth directed its vision. A Rule was adapted from that of the French Daughters of Charity, a novitiate was conducted, and the first group, including Elizabeth, made annual vows for the first time July 19, 1813. These vows were: service of the poor and to live in poverty, chastity, and obedience. In 1814 the community accepted its first mission outside Emmitsburg, an orphanage in Philadelphia. By 1817 sisters had been sent to staff a similar work in New York.

During her years in Emmitsburg, Elizabeth suffered the loss of two of her daughters to tuberculosis, Anna Maria in 1812 and Rebecca in 1816. By that time she herself was weak from the effects of the disease. She spent the last years of her life directing St. Joseph's Academy and her growing community. She died of tuberculosis January 4, 1821, at the age of forty-six.

The Elizabeth Bayley Seton Collected Writings (New City Press) offer a rich insight into her life and her times. Her spirituality and deep personal relationships as well as the detail of her life as widow, convert, single mother, educator and religious leader are revealed in hundreds of letters, personal journals, meditations, and instructions to the sisters, some never before published.

Canonization

In 1880 James Cardinal Gibbons (then Archbishop), who suceeded Elizabeth's nephew James Roosevelt Bayley as Archbishop of Baltimore, urged that steps be taken toward Mother Seton's canonization. After official inquiries in the cause of Mother Seton were held in Baltimore for several years, the results were given to the postulator of the cause in Rome on June 7, 1911. She was beatified in 1963.

On September 14, 1975, Pope Paul VI canonized Elizabeth Seton, the first native-born saint of the United States.

http://famvin.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Ann_Seton

JOAN ANTIDA THOURET

Born on November 27, 1765 in the Sancey-le-Long in the Doubs department in France, Jeanne Antide Thouret was the fifth child of a family of eight. When she was just 15 years old, her mother died leaving the responsibility of maintaining to Jeanne Antide.

As a young girls she searched for a way that would give meaning to her life and believed that it was important to respond to God's will for her. At 22 she left her home and joined the Daughters of Charity, a congregation at the service of the poor founded by St. Vincent de Paul in Paris.

In 1793, when the French Revolution was at its height, all religious congregations were banned and Jeanne Antide was forced to leave theDaughters of Charity. She returned to her home knowing that she would carry on what she had learned from St. Vincent de Paul. She cared for the sick, the wounded, and the poor - all of which grew numerous during the chaos of the French Revolution. Jeanne Antide also taught the children, helped the priests who were forced to hide, and gathered Christians in prayer.

Because of her desire to commit herself to Christ and to her religious vocation, Jeanne Antide fled France and escaped to Switzerland to join a different religious itinerant community where she cared for the sick. With them she traveled across Switzerland and Germany.

When she decided to return to France she did so on foot, alone, without a passport and through unknown places at the risk of her own life. Jeanne Antide passed through Einsiedeln and reached the villge of Landeron in Switzerland. It was there the representatives from the doceses of Bescanon, also in exile, made a request of her to continue on to France and take in young girls who she should train in the same way she was trained. With these girls Jeanne Antide returned to Besançon, France to teach children and to care for the sick. She accepted this request and in 1799 she opened a school, a dispensary, and a soup kitchen for the poor in Besançon. She had founded a new congregation.

In 1810 Jeanne Antide was called to Naples. There she and a group of sisters faced working in a very hierachial social system where the wealthy never encountered the poor. Jeanne Antide was in charge of the Hospital of the Incurable, the largest hospital in the city. The sisters often visited the poor and sick in their homes.

In 1819, the Pope approved the Rule of Life, a book she used to organize her congregation and the life of the women who had followed her. In fact, the Rule of Life is still used today by the Sisters of Charity of St. Joan Antida.

Jeanne Antide died in Naples in 1826. In 1934, she was canonized by Pope Pius IX.

http://famvin.org/wiki/Joan_Antida_Thouret

MARCANTONIO DURANDO

Blessed Marcantonio Durando (1801-1880)

Marcantonio was born in Mondovì, on 22 May 1801, of the distinguished Durando family, whose house overlooked the Main Square, near the Cathedral and the Church of the Mission. In contrast to his mother, a very pious person, who instilled religiosity and faith in the heart of her eight children, his father had liberal ideas and was of lay and agnostic tendencies. In particular, two sons absorbed his convictions, becoming involved in the events of the Italian Revival (Risorgimento). They occupied high positions in political and military life. Giacomo was Foreign Affairs Minister in the Rattazzi government of 1862. In 1848, Giovanni, a general and head of the pontifical troops, disobeyed the orders of Pius IX by taking the papal troops beyond the Po River in order to bar the Austrians’ way. Having reentered the army of Piedmont, he participated together with Carlo Alberto in the Battle of Novara, the expedition in Crimea and the war of independence.

The Missionary Passion

Marcantonio took more after his mother. At the age of 15 he manifested a desire to go to China as a missionary. He entered the Congregation of the Mission, which was being rebuilt in Italy at that time. At the age of 18, he made his perpetual vows and on 12 June 1824 was ordained a priest. He remained in Casale Monferrato for five years then, from 1829 until his death, in the house of Turin, of which he became superior two years after his arrival. Instead of China, his destination was the popular missions, into which he infused the missionary passion of announcing Christ. He supported and diffused the newly-born work of the Propagation of the Faith, instituted in Lyon in 1822; and in the height of his responsibility as Visitor, in 1855, he inaugurated the Brignole-Sale School for the foreign missions, with the purpose of forming priests for the missions ad gentes.

In the early years of his priesthood, the missionary tension was absorbed by the missions, which he preached in many towns of Piedmont. Avoiding both the extremes of laxity and the rigorism of Jansenism, Fr. Durando preached the mercy of God, attracting the populations to conversion: “The people—according to a commentator on the mission of Bra—thronged to hear him and were so silent and attentive they listened to him as if they were a single man.” During these missions, he did not limit himself to preaching, but wherever he found grave situations of poverty, in agreement with the confreres, he intervened in concrete ways. For example, at Locana, he had “the entire legacy of the mission, consisting of 700 lire, converted into corn flour for the poor of the country,” thus putting into effect the teaching of St. Vincent to intervene spiritually and corporally in favor of the poor.

Love for the Poor

First Director of the Daughters of Charity in Italy

Concern for the poor was the other face of his missionary passion. Shortly after he was elected superior, he saw the usefulness of introducing into northern Italy the Daughters of Charity, born of the charitable charism of St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac. The sisters, after having been dispersed during the French Revolution, had just begun to reorganize. The apparitions of the Miraculous Medal in 1830 to St. Catherine Labouré, a novice among the Daughters of Charity, can be considered the origin of the new flowering which the community was experiencing. It was Fr. Durando’s astuteness to recognize this. He wanted them in Piedmont. King Carlo Alberto welcomed them in 1833 and they began by taking responsibility for various hospitals, both the military ones in Turin and Genoa, and the civil ones in Carignano, Castellamonte and Turin. In 1855, he had the courage to send them to the front during the Crimean War in order to help the wounded. At the same time, he spread the Marian Association of the Miraculous Medal among the youth, and from that came new vocations: in a short period of ten years 20 foundations were established and 260 sisters joined the community. The number of vocations was overflowing to such an extent that in 1837 Carlo Alberto placed at their disposal the convent of St. Salvario in Turin. With the increase of sisters, Fr. Durando provided the city of Turin with a network of charity centers, called Misericordie, from which the sisters with the Ladies of Charity set off to serve the poor in their homes and to help them in other ways. Around the Misericordie various works were formed, like the first nursery schools for poor children, workplaces for young girls, orphanages. Because of their works of assistance among the sick and the poor, together with taking on various educational works, the Daughters of Charity were precious collaborators in the development of social Catholicism in Italy.

Man of administration and Director of Conscience

In 1837, at only 36 years of age, he was appointed Visitor (or major superior) of the Province of North Italy of the Vincentian Fathers, a position which he occupied for 43 uninterrupted years, until his death. Consequently, he had to reduce his participation in the missions. His time was absorbed in organizing the Congregation of the Vincentian missionaries and preaching spiritual retreats to priests and clerics of the Turin Diocese. The quality of his spiritual direction attracted the attention even of new foundations, which were being established in Turin. The Archbishop, Msgr. Fransoni, entrusted to him the direction of the Sisters of St. Joseph, who had just arrived in Italy. He contributed to the writing of the rules of the Sisters of St. Ann. He became the spiritual guide of the Poor Clares in the new St. Claire monastery. The Marchioness of Barolo, who had founded a monastery for the recovery of lost girls, the Repentant Sisters of St. Magdalene, wanted him as adviser for the constitution of the rules and director of the work. But the work that distinguished him was the foundation of the Nazarene Sisters.

At the School of Jesus Crucified, Founder of the Nazarene Sisters

As happens with works of God, without having willed it, on 21 November 1865, the Feast of the Presentation of Mary, Fr. Durando was able to entrust to the Servant of God, Luigia Borgiotti, the first postulants of the new Company of the Passion of Jesus the Nazorean. They were young girls who turned to him because, although desiring to consecrate themselves to God, they were lacking some of the canonical requisites for entering religious communities. He gave them the task of serving the sick as suffering members of Christ crucified, going to assist them in their homes, day and night. The work was innovative and original, so much so that a canon of the cathedral exclaimed: “If Fr. Durando were to come to confess to me, I could not in conscience absolve him.” And yet, thanks to the charity of those sisters, who knew how to accompany the dying with gentleness, discretion and faith, because they contemplated in those suffering, the suffering of the Lord, various excellent conversions occurred, such as those of Guido Gozzano, Felice Raccagni, Sofia Graf, Annie Vivanti.

Death and Glorification

Father Durando died on 10 December 1880; he was 79 years old. His mortal remains were buried, significantly, in that little sanctuary of the Passion, annexed to the Church of the Visitation in Turin, where the community of Nazarene Sisters was nourished on devotion to the passion of the Lord in order to place itself, in a missionary spirit, at the service of the suffering.

The cause of beatification, which began in Turin in 1928 and continued in Rome with the apostolic process in 1940, concluded in 2001 with the recognition of the miracle obtained through his intercession.

http://www.vatican.va/news_services/liturgy/saints/ns_lit_doc_20021020_durando_en.html (http://cmglobal.org/en/2014/12/10/marcantonio-durando-1801-1880/)

JOHN GABRIEL PERBOYRE

1. CHILDHOOD

John Gabriel was the second child and the oldest son in the family. It was presum¬ed that he would follow his father in running the farm. It so happened that from his youngest years,.he was esp-ecially intelligent and pious. Before he was five years old, he could say all his prayers from memory ( and the French used many many prayers in those days and also, most of the cate¬chism. He not only prayed with the family, but often by himself at home or in the church, kneeling very straight and concentrating with his whole heart on the prayers.

At 6 years of age, he was given charge of the small flock of sheep. According to the custom at that time all children worked at home or on farms for 6 months of the year in summer. For the other 6 colder months, they went to the parish church, where the pastor taught them catechism and usually had a small school to teach other subjects. When John Gabriel was 8 years old, he began

going to the parish school. He loved to read, but he al-ways finished his work first. At school, he was often put in charge of the class when the teacher was absent, because he was the most popular boy with the other stu-dents and all obeyed him. After class, other students who were not so bright, came to him for help in their lessons; he always gave his time to train even the slow¬est students.

Meanwhile, his piety was noticed by the pastor and all the people. He loved to visit the Blessed Sacrament and pray. They called him the little saint and said that when he was praying "you could walk over him and he wouldn't no-tice it". At that time, students were permitted to make their first Confession and first Communion between 14 and 16 years of age - and only after strict catechism exam-inations. The pastor allowed John Gabriel to make his first Communion when he was only 10 years old. Not one other student nor parent got jealous or complained; they knew he was special and they all liked this happy little pious fellow.

It was typical of John Gabriel that on the night before his first Communion, when his brothers and sisters were asleep, he came before his parents and on his knees ask¬ed them to forgive him for all his faults and the trouble he had caused them. After his first Communion, he immedi¬ately joined the Blessed Sacrament Society of the parish. He loved the poor and often saved his bread from meals to give to wandering beggars, of whom there were many because of the French Revolution. Meanwhile he was such a good worker on the farm, that his father made him an overseer of the hired men. These men were rough and were used to cursing and very bad language. When John's father advised him to command them to stop, he honestly answered: " I dare not; I'm too young." Though all his life he was short and thin and of feeble health, he was never afraid of the hardest work. All of this information comes from his parents, family and neighbors who were still alive after his early death.

2. 1817 -SEMINARY AT MONTAUBAN

Louis Perboyre had always followed his older brother's example in intelligence, study and piety. He expressed his desire to be a priest. His parents decided to send him to Montauban, where his uncle, Rev. Jacques Perboyre, C.M., was conducting his own seminary. Since Louis was only 13 and quite sickly, the parents sent John Gabriel, then 15, with him. John could look after Louis' health for a few months and help him in his studies, for it was winter and there was little farm work. John, too, could take a few higher classes of his own such as grammar and mathematics.At the seminary, Fr. Jacques Perboyre, C.M., at that time was 54 years old, a very wise and holy priest. As a young priest, he had wanted to go to China, but the French Rev-olution broke out and he had to spend years hiding in

caves and ditches to avoid being captured and killed. This had ruined his health. But he ran this seminary at the invitation of the Bishop and he instilled into his nephews his same love of the Vincentians and of the China missions.

John Gabriel's first letter was written to his parents at this time. It was very short and loving. Like many students away from home, he asks for money to buy clothes From this time on until his death, John was an excellent and faithful letter writer. Most of his letters to his family and friends were kept by them, because he was always considered a special saint. These letters are preserved today in the Archives of the Congregation of the Mission in France.

After a few months, John's father went to Monauban to visit his sons and Fr. Jacques, his brother, and to bring John back home to the farm for the spring work. Fr. Jac-ques persuaded him that John, as well as Louis, had a vocation to the priesthood. The kind father left the de-cision to John Gabriel, who asked to have a few days to pray and think about it. The father returned home alone and a few days later, John wrote his second letter home. He wrote that he thought it was God's will that he be-come a priest, if his parents would give their permission In this case, he wrote, he would need some more money for clothes and a seminarian's cassock. Naturally, the parent were saddened to see their oldest and second sons both gone from home for good, but they cheerfully made the sacrifice.

John began to study Latin. Since he was so very intelligent and studious, he was able to help his brother Louis and several cousins. Soon he was having daily classes for his classmates and younger students. His devotion to the Blessed Sacrament and to Mary were noticed by all, especi ally his love for the rosary. Again he was known to the professors and students as "the young saint". He did not care for sports. The other students liked him and playa tricks on him, which he took in good nature and laughed a much as they did. After his death, the professors and fellow students all gave testimony of his holiness and no one could find a single fault in him. (http://jgperboyre.blogspot.com/)

FREDERIC OZANAM

Frederic Ozanam was born in 1813 in Milan. In 1853 he died at the early age of 40. During those 40 years, Frederic Ozanam lived a life of Christian love that provided an example for his contemporaries.

As a student at the Sorbonne in Paris, this brilliant, sensitive young man of modest middle class background was confronted daily by the misery of the poor of Paris. It was at this time in his life Frederic was challenged to bring his faith to service. He not only devoted himself to service to the poor but, as a charismatic leader, he organized others to do the same. Frederic invited his friends to join his cause saying to them, "If we are too young to intervene in the social struggle, are we then to remain passive in the middle of a world which is suffering and groaning? No, a preparatory path is open to us. Before doing public good, we can try to do good to a few. Before regenerating France, we can give relief to a few of her poor."

In early 1833 Frederic met Sister Rosalie Rendu, a Daughter of Charity, who served the needy and stood at the barricades with the poor. Sister Rosalie inspired Frederic and his companions and through their association with her they learned first hand the needs of persons oppressed by poverty.

Committed to do more than talk about faith, Frederic, with a small group of friends, formed the first "Conference of Charity," which met weekly to contribute to a secret collection and then visit the poor in their homes. This active witness was not only derived from Ozanam's faith vision but also from his "Vincentian Preference" for what he called self-forgetful charity over ostentatious philanthropy.

In 1834 the "Conference of Charity" was renamed the "Conference of St. Vincent de Paul". That was also the year Frederic passed the bar examination. In 1835 Frederic received his first degree in Literature from the Sorbonne. That was also the year he wrote his famous passage about the Good Samaritan.

"Charity is the Samaritan who pours oil on the wounds of the traveler who has been attacked.

It is justice’s role to prevent the attack."

-Blessed Frederic Ozanam

Frederic knew professional success and professorial achievement. While he honored his father's wishes and became a lawyer and professor of law, he also pursued his abiding passion for literature. Having earned two advanced degrees, he was a prolific scholar on a broad range of topics from the theory of law to Italian and German literature.

His journalistic writings are strikingly modern in social analysis, praise of democracy, support of workers' rights. His lectures, books and correspondence document his belief that Christianity and progress, like faith and science, far from being incompatible, are mutually generative.

A loving husband and devoted father, Frederic achieved greatness as a gifted scholar, a dedicated teacher, a generous Christian and a gentle but effective reformer. True to the example of St. Vincent de Paul, he creatively sought to respond to the needy with sensitive charity and worked tirelessly to replace class struggle with just relationships.

A good man is a good man . . . is a good man. Even so, each period of history establishes its concept of goodness, requiring of those so classified the special virtues which match the unique needs and spirit of the times. The model man is usually associated with such terms and practices as personal maturity; social responsibility; sensitivity to others and to all living beings; compassion and authenticity. These are the very qualities which Frederic Ozanam cultivated to an extraordinary degree.

If people everywhere - and especially the young - seek identity in a Man for Now, their best model can be found in the person of Frederic Ozanam.

Enthusiasm for the man and his achievements has not diminished through the passing years; and today many voices are being raised, suggesting and praying that the Church herald his example by declaring him a modern day saint.

Throughout his life Frederic Ozanam remained a constant beacon of compassion and charity. Frederic Ozanam was a true man of the people. (http://www.svdpid.org/pages/fredericozanam.php)

VINSENSIUS a PAULO

Bacaan Kitab Suci: Ayb 1:6-22 | Mzm 17:1-3.6-7 | Luk 9:46-50

Santo Vincentius A. Paulo berasal dari satu keluarga miskin di Perancis. Kendatipun berotak cerdas, Vincentius terancam tidak bisa meneruskan pendidikannya. Sejumlah orang kaya dermawan membantu pendidikan itu sehingga iapun dapat mengembangkan talentanya dengan baik. Dalam sebuah perjalanan, ia ditangkap oleh bajak laut dan dijual sebagai budak belian di Tunisia. Setelah beberapa kali diperjualbelikan, Vincentius menjadi milik seorang Kristen yang murtad. Ia berhasil menobatkan orang tersebut. Bersama-sama mereka beralih ke Perancis. Vincentius kemudian menjadi imam dan berinisiatif menghimpun sejumlah imam praja yang bersemangat misi. Mereka lalu membentuk Serikat imam-imam untuk Karya Misi (CM). Di kemudian hari ia juga membentuk kongregasi suster-suster Putri Kasih (PK). Ia sangat memperhatikan orang-orang miskin dan terlantar dengan mengetuk hati orang-orang kaya agar bermurah hati terhadap kaum miskin. Karya tanpa kenal lelah ini digerakkan oleh rinsip yang dipegangnya, "Cintailah Tuhanmu dengan kedua tanganmu sampai kecapaian dan dengan butir-butir peluh yang mengucur dari wajahmu." (Heuken, A. Ensiklopedi Orang Kudus, Jakarta: CLC, hal. 309-310).

Banyak orang yang bermurah hati membantu karya pelayanan hanya karena tergerak oleh belas kasih. Mereka tidak berpikir, apakah ini sesuai dengan Sabda Tuhan atau tidak. Pada kenyataannya, mereka sudah sangat membantu karya penyelamatan ilahi yang dijalankan oleh para utusanNya.

Yesus menegur Yohanes yang mencegah orang-orang mengusir setan dalam namaNya. Sebagai murid Yesus, Yohanes merasa bahwa kelompoknya lebih berhak berbuat demikian. Padahal, iman bukan milik golongan tertentu, karunia Allah bisa tercurah ke atas banyak orang. Setiap orang yang berkehendak dan bertingkah laku baik memberikan sumbangan bagi tegaknya Kerajaan Allah. Yohanes harus ditegur karena dia menumbuhkan benih-benih kesombongan rohaniah di dalam dirinya.

Iman itu sebuah rahmat Tuhan, Kerajaan Allah itu terbuka bagi siapa saja. Orang-orang yang berkarya demi Kerajaan Allah melaksanakan karya Tuhan bukan karyanya sendiri. Maka peranan sebagai utusan Allah tidak membuat seseorang lebih berhak masuk surga daripada orang lain. Mereka semua adalah saudara-saudara yang berziarah ke Kerajaan Tuhan. Mari kita bergandengan tangan bersama mereka. (ap)

• Apakah Anda pernah marah karena orang lain juga mengalami keberuntungan seperti Anda?
• Syukurilah rahmat Tuhan yang dinikmati banyak orang karena pelayanan Anda.

Disalin dari buku Berjalan Bersama SANG SABDA, Refleksi Harian Kitab Suci 2010 - Provinsi SVD Jawa

ST. CATHARINA LABOURE

Dapatkah kalian menyimpan rahasia? St. Katarina Laboure dengan semangat kerendahan hati yang luar biasa menyimpan rahasianya selama empat puluh enam tahun. Rahasia apakah yang disembunyikannya?

Zoe Laboure dilahirkan pada tanggal 2 Mei 1806 di Fain-les-Moutiers, Perancis. Ia adalah anak kesembilan dari sebelas orang putera-puteri keluarga Pierre dan Louise Laboure. Kesebelas anak itu terdiri dari delapan orang putera dan tiga orang puteri. Pierre Laboure seorang terpelajar yang menjadi petani yang sukses. Ketika Zoe berusia sembilan tahun, ibunya meninggal dunia. Zoe sangat sedih kehilangan ibunya, ia masuk ke kamarnya, berlutut di bawah patung St. Perawan Maria dan berdoa, “Bunda Maria, sekarang engkaulah ibuku.”

Tak lama setelah ibunya meninggal, Marie-Louise, kakak perempuan Zoe, masuk Kongregasi Suster Puteri-Puteri Kasih. Oleh karena itu Zoe dan Tonine, adik perempuannya, harus tinggal di rumah untuk membantu ayahnya mengatur rumah tangga dan mengerjakan sawah. Karena tugas-tugasnya itu, Zoe menjadi satu-satunya anak di keluarga Laboure yang tidak mempunyai kesempatan untuk bersekolah. Ia tidak dapat membaca dan menulis.

Sejak Zoe menerima komuninya yang pertama pada tahun 1818, setiap hari ia bangun pukul empat pagi, berjalan beberapa mil untuk mengikuti Misa dan berdoa di gereja. Sama seperti kakaknya, Zoe juga mempunyai keinginan yang kuat untuk masuk biara, tetapi keinginannya itu ditahannya karena tenaganya masih dibutuhkan di rumah.

Ketika usianya sembilan belas tahun Zoe mendapat mimpi yang aneh. Dalam mimpinya, ia sedang berdoa di gereja di Fains. Seorang imam tua mempersembahkan Misa. Ketika Misa telah selesai imam tua itu menunjuk kepada Zoe dengan jarinya. “Anakku,” katanya, “Merawat orang-orang sakit adalah perbuatan yang baik. Suatu hari kelak engkau akan datang kepadaku. Tuhan telah memanggilmu untuk itu. Janganlah engkau lupa.”

Pada tahun 1828 Zoe berusia dua puluh dua tahun dan Tonine dua puluh tahun. Sekarang Tonine sudah bisa menggantikan kedudukannya mengurus rumah tangga. Tibalah saatnya bagi Zoe untuk berbicara kepada ayahnya mengenai panggilan hidupnya. Pierre berusaha mencegah keinginan puterinya, maka ia mengirim Zoe ke Paris untuk tinggal bersama Charles, kakaknya yang telah menikah.

Suatu hari Zoe mengunjungi Biara Suster Puteri-Puteri Kasih. Ia melihat lukisan terpampang di dinding. Lukisan seorang imam tua – imam yang mengunjunginya dalam mimpi di Fains. Zoe bertanya siapakah imam itu. “Pendiri kongregasi kami, Santo Vinsensius de Paul.” (St. Vinsensius de Paul telah wafat 200 tahun yang lalu!) Jadi, itulah rencana Tuhan.

Pada bulan Januari 1830 Zoe menjadi seorang postulan (postulan: masa percobaan, persiapan masuk biara) di Biara Suster Puteri-Puteri Kasih di Catillion-sur-Seine. Tiga bulan kemudian ia dikirim sebagai novis (Novis: biarawan/biarawati yang sedang menjalani masa percobaan sebagai latihan rohani sebelum mengucapkan kaul biara) ke Biara Suster Puteri-Puteri Kasih di Rue de Bac, Paris. Zoe memilih nama Katarina.

Di Biara Rue de Bac Sr Katarina memperoleh penampakan-penampakan luar biasa. Selama tiga hari berturut-turut ia mendapat penampakan hati St. Vinsensius di atas tempat reliqui St Vinsensius disimpan. Di lain waktu ia melihat Tuhan yang Maharahim di depan Sakramen Maha Kudus; penampakan seperti ini terjadi teristimewa pada waktu Misa di mana Tuhan akan menampakkan diri sesuai dengan bacaan liturgi pada hari itu.

Pada tanggal 18 Juli, menjelang Pesta St Vinsensius de Paul yang akan dirayakan keesokan harinya, seorang Suster Superior menceritakan kepada para novis keutamaan-keutamaan Pendiri Kongregasi mereka serta membagikan kepada mereka masing-masing sepotong kain dari jubah St. Vinsensius. Dengan sungguh-sungguh Sr Katarina memohon bantuan doa St Vinsensius agar ia diperkenankan memandang Bunda Allah. Kemudian Sr Katarina pergi tidur.

Tengah malam Sr Katarina dibangunkan oleh seorang “anak kecil yang bercahaya” yang membimbingnya ke kapel biara. Di sanalah Santa Perawan Maria datang dan bercakap-cakap kepadanya. Dalam suatu penampakan yang lain Sr Katarina melihat Bunda Maria berdiri di atas bulatan seperti bola dengan cahaya memancar dari kedua belah tangannya. Di bawahnya terlihat tulisan: “O Maria, yang dikandung tanpa dosa, doakanlah kami yang berlindung padamu.” Bunda Maria meminta agar medali dengan gambar tersebut dibuat dan dogma Yang Dikandung Tanpa Dosa dihormati. Siapa saja yang mengenakan medali tersebut akan menerima rahmat dari Yesus melalui doa-doa ibu-Nya. Kisah lengkap penampakan.

Demikianlah Medali Wasiat dibuat dan devosi disebarluaskan. Dalam waktu yang singkat banyak orang di seluruh dunia telah mengenakannya. Namun demikian, kecuali Bapa Pengakuannya, tidak seorang pun termasuk para suster Puteri-Puteri Kasih, yang mengetahui bahwa kepada Sr Katarina-lah Bunda Allah menampakkan diri.

Kita cenderung mengharapkan banyak pujian dan ketenaran jika memperoleh keistimewaan dari surga seperti itu. Namun tidak demikian halnya dengan Sr Katarina, ia malahan menjauhkan diri dari semua itu. Ia ingin dilupakan dan tidak diperhatikan agar dapat melaksanakan tugas-tugas sederhananya sebagai seorang biarawati Puteri Kasih. Menurut para suster di biaranya, Sr Katarina adalah seorang suster yang sederhana. Seorang yang pendiam, yang kadang-kadang menjadi bahan gurauan serta olok-olok karena sikapnya yang terlalu patuh. Setelah penampakan Santa Perawan Maria kepadanya, Sr Katarina melewatkan empat puluh lima tahun hidupnya sebagai biarawati dengan merawat mereka yang tua dan yang sakit di Rumah Lansia Enghien di Paris. Ia menyimpan semua rahasianya dengan bahagia, ia hanya tertarik untuk melayani Tuhan sebanyak yang ia mampu.

Pada tahun 1876 Sr Katarina merasakan adanya keyakinan batin bahwa ia akan meninggal sebelum akhir tahun berlalu. Menjelang kematiannya, Sr Katarina berusaha melaksanakan permintaan St Perawan Maria yang terakhir yaitu agar sebuah patung Maria dibuat. Baru pada saat itulah Sr Katarina membuka rahasianya dan menceritakan segala sesuatunya kepada Suster Superior (Superior: Pembesar Biara).

Pada tanggal 31 Desember 1876 Sr Katarina meninggal dunia. Suster Superior menceritakan segala rahasia yang telah dipendam demikian lama oleh Sr Katarina kepada para suster Puteri-Puteri Kasih, yang dengan terkagum-kagum baru menyadari bahwa seorang kudus telah tinggal bersama mereka. Pemakaman Sr Katarina adalah pemakaman yang penuh dengan pesta dan sukacita. Segala lagu sedih dan dukacita diganti dengan lagu-lagu gembira dan ucapan syukur: bagi Sr Katarina, bagi Santa Perawan Maria dari Medali Wasiat, dan bagi Allah yang demikian Mengasihi kita.

Pada tahun 1933, lima puluh tujuh tahun setelah St Katarina dimakamkan,  makamnya dibongkar. Mereka mendapati jenasah St Katarina dalam keadaan segar sama seperti pada saat ia dimakamkan. Matanya tetap biru dan indah, kedua belah tangan dan kakinya lemas dan tidak kaku, seolah-olah ia sedang tidur. Jenasah St Katarina dibaringkan dalam peti kaca dan ditempatkan dekat altar Kapel di 140 Rue du Bac, Paris, tempat di mana Bunda Maria menampakkan diri kepadanya.

Jika kalian mengunjungi Kapel Penampakan, kalian dapat memandang wajah serta bibir St Katarina; bibir yang telah menyimpan rahasia besar selama empat puluh enam tahun, rahasia yang telah menggoncangkan dunia.

Pada tanggal 27 Juli 1947 Sr. Katarina dinyatakan sebagai santa oleh Paus Pius XII. Pestanya dirayakan pada tanggal 28 November, sehari setelah Pesta Santa Perawan Maria dari Medali Wasiat.

“O Maria, yang dikandung tanpa dosa, doakanlah kami yang berlindung padamu.”

disarikan dan diterjemahkan oleh YESAYA:http://www.indocell.net/yesaya

LOUISA dE MARRILAC

Louisa de Marillac lahir pada 12 Agustus 1591 di Paris, Perancis. Ia adalah puteri dari Louis de Marillac, seorang bangsawan, dan Marguerite Le Camus. Ibunya meninggal dunia tidak lama setelah Louisa dilahirkan. Ketika ayahnya menikah kembali, Louisa dititipkan kepada bibinya yang juga merupakan biarawan Dominikan untuk memperoleh pendidikan. Louisa kemudian memiliki ketertarikan untuk menjadi seorang biarawati Capuchinesses pada usia enambelas tahun, tetapi pembimbing spiritualnya mencoba untuk mencegahnya. Ketika ayahnya meninggal, Louisa dihadapkan pada pilihan sulit dan iapun memilih untuk menikah dengan Antoine LeGras, sekretaris Maria de Medici, ratu Perancis. Pernikahannya yang bahagia membuahkan seorang putera pada 13 Oktober 1613.

Louisa berkarya amal dalam membantu orang-orang miskin. Pada tahun 1619, ia berkenalan dengan Sto. Fransiskus dari Sales yang berada di Paris. Pada 21 Desember 1625, Louisa kehilangan suaminya, setelah menderita penyakit yang berkepanjangan. Ia kemudian berkenalan dengan Sto. Vinsensius de Paulo, yang baru mendirikan Kongregasi Misi. Sto. Vinsensius kemudian menjadi pembimbing spiritualnya. Louisa membantunya dalam karya Pesaudaraan Kasih pada paroki-paroki di Paris. Pada 29 November 1633, ia melatih wanita-wanita muda di rumahnya untuk melayani kebutuhan orang-orang miskin, dan menjadi awal berdirinya Putri-Putri Kasih Sto. Vinsensius de Paulo. Pada tahun 1634, Louisa mengucapkan kaul dan pada 1655, kongregasi ini mendapat pengakuan. Louisa de Marillac, D.C., meninggal dunia pada 15 Maret 1660 di Paris, Perancis. Pada 9 Mei 1920, ia dibeatifikasi oleh Paus Benediktus XV dan pada 11 Maret 1934, ia dikanonisasi oleh Paus Pius XI.

dari sumber http://www.newadvent.org/, http://famvin.org/, http://www.catholic.org/, http://www.americancatholic.org/, dan http://saints.sqpn.com/