Today we honor one who is truly a mother's model, the example of so many of our mothers.
Elizabeth Seton: convert from her New York Episcopalian roots; wife of William, a serious businessman who had taken over his father's business at the time of his death, (as well as Will's seven siblings); mother of five children (one son buried with other siblings at the Catholic cemetery in nearby Emitsburg graduated from the Naval Academy); widowed at an early age when Will died in Italy of tuberculosis; convert because of Italian Catholic friends who initiated her own RCIA program; religious woman who established a community of woman, the first native American religious community for women; started first Catholic free parish school, the first Catholic orphanage and on and on ... just like so many mothers we have all experienced.
In the "White House" on the grounds of the motherhouse of the Daughters of Charity, also located in nearby Emitsburg (and formerly Mt. St. Joseph's College for Women -- which eventually merged with all male college just down the road, Mt. St. Mary's College, she lived and taught many children from the neighboring areas. A worthwhile ride and place to show our young people about an American saint whose remains are buried beneath an altar in the Basilica in Emitsburg.
John's first letter has these words: "No one who is begotten by God commits sin, because God's seed remains in him ...." Truly the Word of God was planted in the heart of Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton. You have just read much of what see started. Truly the seed of God's word was planted in her heart and from there it sprouted out in so many different directions.
Having just finished my first year at OLV parish ... with a grammar school, a first for me ... I can see why this noble lady turned from the high society life that was a part of her early life to work with children, especially those who has special needs. "Mother Seton," as she was called once she founded the Sisters of Charity, modeled on the religious community of St. Vincent dePaul and the Daughters of Charity, is truly the genuine mother in so many ways.
For you readers who are mothers, if you ever feel "down and out" this mother can easily lift your spirits.
Dr. Wayne Dyer's calendar has the following sentence for January 4th: Remain humble and grateful for all your accomplishments, and know that a force greater than your ego is always as work in your life. As I looked at the calendar this morning, I said these words so speak to me of Mother Seton: she was always humble, always grateful for what she was able to accomplish and she knew well that God was the force in her life which she experienced through her daily reading of a part of the bible.
A lengthy reflection? Yes .... because the first time I was summoned by my diocesan superior to assume the duties of a pastor, Mother Seton Parish in nearby Germantown was the location where I was missioned by then Archbishop Hickey. What a blessing!
Mother Seton, pray for all of us ... especially those involved in education.
