Monday, November 13, 2006

Frances Xavier Cabrini: Truth Acting in Love



St Francis Xavier Cabrini was born in Italy and came to America at the urging of Pope Leo XIII in 1889. Here she worked with Italian immigrants, founding schools, hospitals and orphanages in both North and South America. She died in 1917 in Chicago and became in 1946 the first American citizen to be canonized as a saint.

She recognized the faith present in the unlearned, perceiving the mystery of the Truth which leads us to practice love for others. Here is a sample of her wisdom:
Everyone has a heart, the learned and the ignorant. How many uneducated souls with pure hearts have raised themselves to God in blessed contemplation. Thus, even the mysteries that are beyond science and the mind were not superior to the vastness of their hearts.
No, the mind does not comprehend the mysteries of faith, but, because they are mysteries of love, the heart of one who has the gift of faith feels, rather than understands them.
Yes, the Trinity, the Incarnation and the Eucharist are mysteries of a God who makes himself for us father, brother, victim and food. They are proof of an infinite love; the heart perceives the truth because it needs to be infinitely loved.
God our Father,
you called Frances Xavier Cabrini from Italy
to serve the immigrants of America.
By her example teach us concern for the stranger,
the sick and the frustrated.
By her prayers help us to see Christ in all the men and women we meet.

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