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July 31 marks the 200th anniversary of the founding of the Sisters of Charity by St. Elizabeth Seton in Emmitsburg, MD. Sisters, Associates and friends throughout the U.S. and Canada rejoice. God has indeed blessed us beyond all imagining! August brings Mary’s feast of the Assumption, as well as the birthday of St. Elizabeth Seton (Aug. 28).
From centuries ago, the words of our founders still resound, full of wisdom and insight for today. As summer days stretch before us, Saints Elizabeth Ann Seton, Vincent de Paul, and Louise de Marillac invite us to open ourselves to the Spirit’s life in us and around us. They remind us that a loving God waits to meet us at every moment.
ST. ELIZABETH ANN SETON
Never be hurried by anything whatsoever; nothing can be more pressing than the necessity for your peace before God. You will help others more by the peace and tranquility of your heart than by any eagerness or care you can bestow upon them.
All nature speaks to us of heaven – the delights of the morning – a flower of the field.
A thousand pains –
a thousand thousand pleasures –
order of grace –
(Elizabeth later wrote her memories of arriving in Emmitsburg,
June 1809, in her “Dear Remembrances.”)
ST. VINCENT DE PAUL
Be united, and God will bless you, but this union must be the love of Jesus Christ within you. Any other source of harmony, not being cemented by the blood of Jesus Christ, will not endure. It is in Jesus Christ, by Jesus Christ, and for Jesus Christ that you must be united with one another.
ST. LOUISE DE MARILLAC
After having been continuously sustained by the grace of God, it seemed to me that all that I am is but grace. I implored God to draw these graces in that I might be totally God’s beloved. |
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