Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin (2024)
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Today the dioceses in the United States celebrate the Memorial of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917), virgin, born in Lombardy, Italy, one of thirteen children. She came to America as a missionary, founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart to care for poor children in schools and hospitals. She is the first American citizen to be canonized.
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We hear in today’s Gospel that Jesus cured ten lepers but only one came to give thanks.
In that process, the Samaritan was also healed totally—we would say holistically—his body and soul, while the other nine were healed only of their physical leprosy.
It is a great lesson to us on the importance of faith and giving thanks to God.
Faith and gratitude are very much connected.
When we have faith in God, we cannot but recognize His goodness and end up expressing our gratitude.
We know that the life of the leper was terrible. They suffered the stigma of being unclean and sinners.
They were not allowed to mix with the people. Their place was outside the city. They were left there to die in pain and agony from their leprosy.
You can just imagine their happiness when Jesus healed them. They could go back to their families and live like any other normal person.
But this one man decided to recognize where this change came from.
Today we celebrate the memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini.
She is a living example of today’s Gospel for us.
We are all familiar with the ongoing debates about how to address issues related to foreigners and immigrants, especially if they are undocumented.
Once, someone approached me and said they wouldn’t give to the Catholic Appeal because it supposedly supports illegal immigration—which is not true. Another time, a strong accusation was directed more personally at me; it didn’t harm me, but it was truly sad because it came from a Catholic who practices faith.
A priest friend of mine once gave a wonderful response to similar accusations.
He said, “I’m not a politician—let politicians do their job. I’m a shepherd, and I’m doing mine.”
As Catholics, we are called to be PRO-LIFE, which means protecting the vulnerable as well.
St. Frances Cabrini came to the United States, even though her heart was originally set on missions in China.
She came at the request of the Holy Father to assist the Italian immigrant community, bringing healing to a group that had been neglected by the Church here.
Cabrini didn’t play politics; she didn’t care about it.
She cared for the body and soul of those whom she served.
At her funeral homily, Father Francis Clement Kelley explained where this dedication came from: “Cabrini named her order after the Sacred Heart. She spread the devotion by every means in her power. It is from love that comes fortitude of soul, which she had to a most remarkable degree.”