ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON

[On Feb. 22, 1810, Mother Seton welcomed 3 day students to St. Joseph’s Valley in Emmitsburg, Maryland, and so began her free school, the seed of the educational ministry of thousands of Sisters of Charity.]

[The Sisters of Charity]… honor the Sacred Infancy of Jesus in the young persons…whose heart they are called upon to form to the love of God, the practice of every virtue, and the knowledge of religion, whilst they sow in their minds the seeds of useful knowledge….

….Above all things the Sisters will endeavor to form [the children’s] hearts to a solid piety which [is] the chief motive of educating them. (Rule of 1812)

To speak the joy of my soul at the prospect of being able to assist the poor, visit the sick, comfort the sorrowful, clothe little innocents, and teach them to love God.

ST. VINCENT DE PAUL

Certainly it is the great secret of the spiritual life to abandon to Him all whom we love, while abandoning ourselves to whatever He wishes, with perfect confidence that everything will go better in that way.

Make use of God’s gifts simply; if you think you have done anything good, attribute it to God.