During Respect Life Week, we should never forget to remember the patron of unborn children and expectant mothers, St. Gerard Majella

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Mama, mama, see what I got from the little boy.” In his hand, he held a small roll of bread. (It was from the baby Jesus)

St. Gerard Majella                                                                aleteia.org

By Larry Peterson

The Annual March for Life took place in Washington. D.C. on Friday, January 24. More than a half-million people marched in defense of the unborn. The President of the United States, Donald Trump, spoke live before the crowd, the first time in history a president has done so. However, many expectant women, unsure of their situation, did not attend.   If you were one of them, you might turn to St. Gerard Majella, the Patron Saint of Unborn Children and Expectant Mothers. Many a miracle has been attributed to this young man’s intercession.

Gerard was the youngest child born to Domenico and Benedetta Majella. They already had three daughters, and Gerard was their only son. The date was April 6, 1726. The Majellas were a hard-working Italian family and, Benedetta brought her children to Mass at the Shrine of Our Lady of Graces as often as she could. Gerard, only three, loved the statue of the “pretty lady with the baby.”

When Gerard got a bit older, he would run off to the shrine by himself. The first time he came home, he yelled out, “Mama, mama, see what I got from the little boy.” In his hand, he held a small roll of bread. No one paid much attention but after several days of coming home with bread, his mom decided to follow him and see what he was up to.

What she saw stunned her because the statue of Our Lady of Graces apparently came to life and the Child she was holding scampered down to play with Gerard. She quickly left and, sure enough, when Gerard came home, he had another small loaf of bread with him. Benedetta kept this to herself.

Gerard’s dad died when the boy was twelve, and the family was left in poverty. Gerard’s father had been a tailor so his mom sent him to her brother so Gerard could learn to sew and be a tailor like his father. However, after a four-year apprenticeship, Gerard was offered the job as a servant for the local Bishop of Lacedonia. Needing the money, he took the position.

The Bishop kept hearing stories about Gerard and his kindness and how he would always stop and visit the poor in the clinic, how he always helped others and would even bring the poor leftovers from the bishop’s table. The young man was gaining a reputation just by being himself.

When the Bishop passed away, Gerard returned to his trade as a tailor. He divided his earnings among his mother, the poor, and in offerings for the souls in purgatory. By the time he was 21 years old, he had established a steady business. His mom was quite worried about her son. He looked thin and frail because he was always fasting and doing penance. She begged him to eat, and he told her, “Mama, God will provide. As for me, I want to be a saint.”

Gerard tried to join the Capuchins, but they thought him to sickly to endure the demands of the order. Finally, after much pleading and nagging, he was accepted as a lay brother into the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer aka the Redemptorists.

As a lay brother, he would never be a priest, say Mass or hear confessions. He would live under the same roof and wear the same habit and share the prayers. He also would take the vows of Poverty, Chastity, and Obedience. He would be a caretaker to the monastery. He embraced this role and served them well acting as gardener, sacristan, porter, cook, carpenter and, of course, the tailor.

But there was always the children. They flocked to Gerard to hear his amazing stories and learn how to pray. Once, when a large group was sitting around listening to him, a little boy fell off a cliff. When they reached the child, they thought he was dead. Gerard said to the boy’s father, “It is nothing.”  Then he traced a cross on the boy’s forehead, and he awoke. It was just one of Gerard’s many miracles that were witnessed by people.

Gerard had tuberculosis and died on October 16, 1755. He was 29 years old. Many miracles have been attributed to his intercession. One stands out as the reason he has come to be known as the patron of mothers. A few months before his death, he was visiting a family. He dropped his handkerchief, and one of the girls picked it up to return it to him. He told her to keep it because one day she would need it.

Years later, as a married woman, she was about to give birth, and the doctor was sure the child would not survive. She remembered the handkerchief and asked for it. When she held it to her womb, the pain disappeared and she gave birth to a healthy baby. There was no explanation.

In 1893 Pope Leo XIII beatified Gerard. And on December 11, 1904, Pope St. Pius X canonized him in Rome. He was now St. Gerard Majella.

St. Gerard;  please pray for all those pre-born children in danger of losing their lives and for all expectant moms everywhere.

Copyright©LarryPeterson 2020 (updated from 2018)

 

Blessed Laura Vicuna—This Patroness of Abuse Victims traded her life for her mother’s salvation.

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She told her mother, “Mama, I offer my life for you.”

Blessed Laura Vicuna age  12          public domain

By Larry Peterson

Laura Vicuna was born on April 5, 1891, to a mand named Joseph Domenico Vicuna. Joseph came from a family of Chilean aristocrats. Laura’s mother’s name was Mercedes Pino and she was the daughter of farmers. Joseph Vicuna had married a woman who was considered “beneath him.” As a result, his family disowned him.

Mercedes and her daughters, Laura and Julia,  were okay while Joseph was alive. However, civil war broke out in Chile and quickly spread to Santiago. The family fled to Temuco, but a short time later, Joseph was killed in battle.  Everything changed for Mercedes and her daughters. As far as her husband’s family was concerned, Mercedes did not even exist. Despised and rejected by the aristocratic Vicuna clan, Mercedes took her two daughters and moved to Argentina.

When Mercedes arrived in Argentina, she quickly discovered that work was not plentiful, and life could turn hard. A local rancher, named Manuel Mora, sensed Mercedes vulnerabilities and offered her a job working for him. However, it was not a job where you could go home every day. On the contrary, Mercedes was told that she would have to live with Mora at the ranch. Manuel Mora also told Mercedes that if she agreed to live with him, he would send Laura to school that was taught by the nuns. Marriage was not an option.

Mercedes weighed her options and knew in her heart that moving in with Manuel and sleeping together was wrong. But she desperately wanted her daughters to receive a Catholic education. She knew that she could never afford to send them to the Catholic school. So she moved into Manuel Mora’s ranch with her children.

When Laura was of age, Manuel kept his promise and had Laura enrolled in the Daughters of Mary Help of Christians (Salesian Sisters of Don Bosco).  Before long Laura began developing a deep love for the Catholic faith.  She began spending extended periods of time in prayer and learning all she could about Jesus and the Blessed Mother.

Written in her First Communion notebook were the words, “Oh my God, I want to love and serve you all my life. I give you my soul, my heart, my whole self.”  She became so pious that many of her classmates began to ignore her. She even tried to join the Salesians, but she was only ten and was told that she would have to wait until she was a bit older.”

Laura loved her school, but her joy at being a student there turned to concern and worry when she returned home for vacation. She now realized that her mother was living with Manuel as his wife. She knew this was a sinful thing to do and began praying that her mom would leave Mora and once again follow God’s commandments.

She was a child of eleven years of age, and Manuel Mora, who probably already harbored lust for the growing girl, heard that she had voiced a desire to become a nun. Enraged at this idea, Manuel beat Laura severely several times to make her forget about becoming a nun. He told her and her mother that if she did not forget the “ridiculous idea” of becoming a nun, he would stop paying for her education with the Salesians. The nuns heard of this and told Mercedes that both of her daughters would have full scholarships to the school and that there was no need for worry.

But Laura was worried about her mom’s soul. She remembered what Jesus had said, “No one has greater love than to give up one’s life for one’s friends,”  Laura decided to give her own life in exchange for her mom’s salvation. She asked Jesus to take her so her mom could be saved. Soon after, the child became seriously ill with pulmonary tuberculosis.

Laura’s health quickly deteriorated. Before she passed away, she told her mom,  “Mama, I offer my life for you. Before I die, mother, would I have the joy of seeing you repent?”

Her mother cried out, “I swear I will do whatever you ask of me! God is the witness of my promise.”  Laura smiled and said, “Thank you Jesus. Thank you Mary. Goodbye, Mother, now I die happy.”

Laura Vicuna, weakened by beatings from Manuel Mora,  died from her illness on January 22, 1904. She had not reached her thirteenth birthday. She was beatified by Pope St. John Paul II on September 3, 1988  She is a patroness of abuse victims, incest victims, and loss of parents.

Blessed Laura Vicuna, please pray for us.

copyright©Larry Peterson 2020

The Roe and Doe “Twins” The rarely discussed “Double Abortion Whammy”

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public domain

By Larry Peterson

We have all heard of Roe vs. Wade, the Supreme Court decision that, to date, has LEGALLY allowed for the termination of more than 60,000,000 children in utero. But many of us are not aware that on the very same day that decision was handed down, the very same court by the very same vote also handed down a decision called Doe vs. Bolton.

The Doe vs. Bolton ruling created the proverbial “double whammy” to the abortion issue. If Roe vs. Wade ever failed or was overturned, Doe vs. Bolton could immediately take its place. In fact, it would not only take its place, it legalizes abortion up to and including a full-term pregnancy. This should be a cause of significant concern to all those who respect life but rarely is this decision ever mentioned. The fact of the matter is, on January 22, 1973, the US Supreme Court had given birth to the “Roe & Doe” twins.

The ruling in the Doe vs. Bolton case is summed up here:  : (The link supplies the details:

  • The Court’s opinion in Doe vs. Bolton stated that a woman may obtain an abortion after viability, if necessary, to protect her health. The Court defined “health,” as follows:

“Whether in the words of the Georgia statute, “an abortion is necessary” is a professional judgment that the Georgia physician will be called upon to make routinely. We agree with the District Court, 319 F. Supp., at 1058, that the medical judgment may be exercised in the light of all factors-physical, emotional, psychological, familial, and the woman’s age-relevant to the well being of the patient. All these factors may relate to health.”

Incredible as it is, if Roe vs. Wade was ever overturned, Doe vs. Bolton would take its place. Doe vs. Bolton allows for abortion “after viability” for almost any conceivable reason. According to Doe vs. Bolton, an abortion could be permitted at full term because the baby’s crying when born might cause too much stress for someone in the house who has a psychological problem. Far fetched? Not really. Just get a doctor to sign off on it.

Ironically, the pseudonym “Mary Doe” was used by her attorney to protect her identity. The attorney general of Georgia at  the time was  Arthur Bolton so the case became known as “Doe vs. Bolton.” The name of the plaintiff was actually Sandra Cano who, years later, claimed to be pro-life and sued because she claimed she never knew her attorney had used her as the anonymous plaintiff in the case. The case eventually returned to the Supreme Court where her claim was rejected. Sandra Cano passed away in  2014.

Five years after Roe vs.Wade and Doe vs. Bolton were approved by SCOTUS, my wife gave birth to a daughter. She was born prematurely at 24 weeks (six months). She was born alive and fully formed but just needed more time to develop. She was baptized and given the name Theresa Mary. There was never a positive reason given as to why she was premature. The closest explanation we received was, “Sometimes things happen that we do not understand.” The bottom line to that is she was a real person who lived and died.  She is buried with my parents, and her name is on a tombstone. It simply reads;  Theresa Mary Peterson. September 6, 1978—September 6,1978.

Having had the experience and burying our pre-mature child heightened the sadness and dismay, both of us felt toward abortion. The blindness, the disregard, and the callousness that is shown by so many to the most vulnerable of all the living are beyond understanding. How many future doctors, scientists, carpenters, artists, priests, firemen, police officers, letter-carriers, and so forth had never lived to see the light of day, eradicated before their very first breath was inhaled?

God help us today and tomorrow.

Copyright©Larry Peterson 2020

Does God send us “signs,” to let us know He has heard our prayers? You Decide.

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–Looking into her eyes, he said, “There is Victory over Death.”

Jesus Hug                                                                            pinetrerest.com

By Larry Peterson

I recently attended a funeral Mass and during the few minutes before the Mass started, something extraordinary happened. I believe God sent a messenger to share with all those in attendance an affirmation of what we proclaim to believe; that there is Life after Death.  It all happened within a few moments, and it was entirely unexpected. How many people actually paid attention, I do not know.

The messenger’s name was Ann Marie. (interesting that Our Lady’s name is Mary and her mother’s name was Anne).  The usual protocol at a Catholic funeral Mass is that after the Mass ends, family and friends can get up and say a few words about the departed. At this Mass, Ann Marie went up to the ambo immediately before the Mass began. The funeral was for her dad, and she wanted to say a few words about him before the Mass started.

For those of us who have lost loved ones, incidents happen after their passing that some take as a “sign,” For example; a photo of the loved one suddenly falls from a shelf landing in front of us; a sudden smell of her perfume or his after-shave fills the room; a knock on the door and you find no one there. These incidents can sometimes give a person a message which they believe tells them, “all is well and not to worry.” The flip side is it can cause others to feel their loss even more while others may not pay any attention to them. Most times, “signs” are just coincidences.

But the most prominent ‘signs” seem to come from dreams.  The Bible has many stories of people having dreams. St. Joseph was visited three different times by the angel in his dreams. We know that it was a dream that saved the baby Messiah’s life. So, I believe, as do others, that we do receive “signs,” especially if we are experiencing significant personal loss. Often, these signs come to us in dreams. Maybe it is God’s way of helping us through our grief.

Ann Marie looked out over the now seated congregation and began to speak. Her demeanor was steady yet sad, and her voice was soft yet clear. She wanted to tell us about her dad.  She just spoke from her heart about a guy named Jerome Schreiber, who was called “Jerry” by everyone except  Ann Marie, who called him dad.

  • Jerry was born in 1926 in South Ozone Park, Queens in NYC. He worked for the Brooklyn Union Gas company and was a mechanic for them until he retired. Jerry was a devout Catholic, a member of the Knights of Columbus, and was the type of man that helped make America the greatest country in the world. He was all about God, Family, and Country.
  • First, Ann Marie spoke of his kindness, gentleness, humility, compassion, and love for all people. Then she paused and told everyone about “The Dream.”
  • Two days after Jerry passed, Ann Marie had a dream. It was clear and vivid with perfect sound. She was in bed and her dad was standing at the front door of their house looking in from the outside. The light outside was brilliant and he was standing in it, smiling at Ann Marie. Looking into her eyes, through his smile, he said, “There is Victory over Death.”

On this day, in Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Pinellas Park, FL., Jerry Schreiber, a Catholic man who lived a life filled with the love of God, family, and neighbor, and had journeyed to his heavenly reward two days before, sent us all a message. It was a message we can love and embrace, a message that can reinforce and fortify our sometimes doubtful faith.

His daughter, Ann Marie, was gifted by a visit from her deceased dad who gave her the message. God’s grace told her to share it with us all. She did that and we, in turn, should share it with others. So let us  never forget Jerry’s message;  “There is Victory over Death.”

“For those who believe no explanation is necessary—For those who do not, none is possible.” St. Thomas Aquinas

Copyright©Larry Peterson 2020

Marie Elisabeth Turgeon— Charity was her unifying principle and, though sick most of her short life, she founded the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary.

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Blessed Elisabeth Turgeon             public domain

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Everything turns out for the best for those who seek the will of God.”  Blessed Marie Elisabeth Turgeon

By Larry Peterson

Elisabeth Turgeon was born February 7, 1840, in Beaumont (Quebec) Canada. She was the fifth child of nine that would be born to Louis-Marc Turgeon and Angele Labrecque. Elisabeth was always sickly but was blessed with a brilliant mind. When she was 15, her dad died. Consequently, her schooling was put on hold because she had to stay at home to help her mom with the younger children.

Five years later, Elisabeth was able to return to school and she began studying to be a teacher. She entered the Ecole Normale in Quebec and graduated in 1862 with her teaching credentials. She went on to teach is Saint-Romuald and in Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupre. But someone else had his eye on her. His name was Monsignor Jean Langevin, who was the Bishop of the Rimouski Diocese, a city in Quebec. He recognized her qualities and wanted her to begin training qualified teachers for his diocese.

Elisabeth’s plans were once again put on hold. This time it was because of her bad health. There was never a definitive diagnosis but she lost all her strength and had to fight hard to regain it. During her recovery time, she tutored children on a one-to-one basis. She also turned to St. Anne and asked for her help, promising to teach for free if she helped cure her.

Slowly but surely, her health improved and Bishop Langerin contacted her again asking for her help. He wanted her to direct the small community of teachers he had put together in his diocese. She was afraid of her health deteriorating but accepted the position believing it is God’s will to do so. The deciding factor for Elisabeth was that the bishop wanted this group to become a religious order. Ironically, Elizabeth always believed that her ultimate calling was to be a teaching nun.

On April 3, 1875, she accepted Bishop Langevin’s invitation and joined the small group of women who the bishop had chosen to start this new ministry in his diocese. The group was called Soeurs de Petites Ecoles which means Sisters of the Little Schools.  Elisabeth was appointed to be their director. Their initial mission was to dedicate themselves to the education of the poor children that were spread all about the surrounding countryside.

Elisabeth set to work establishing schools in the vast Diocese of Rimouski. It was a daunting task as much of the area was newly settled Canadian wilderness. But within a few years, five schools had been established in five different towns.

On September 12, 1878, with Bishop  Langevin’s approval, she renamed and established her order calling it the Congrégation des Sœurs de Notre-Dame du Saint-Rosaire meaning Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy  Rosary.

On September 12, 1879,  Elizabeth and twelve other ladies made their formal vows. Elisabeth was appointed Mother Superior and from that point on, was known as Mother Marie Elisabeth Turgeon or simply, Mother Superior.

Mother Elisabeth’s health was deteriorating rapidly and by March of 1881, she was mostly bedridden. By August, she was dying and on August 15, the Feast of the Assumption, she was anointed and met with the members of her order to bid farewell. She died on August 17,1881. She was 41 years old.

Mother Marie Elisabeth was declared Venerable by Pope Francis on October 11, 2013. In September 2014, a miracle was attributed to her intercession. Then on April 26, 2015, she was beatified at the Cathedral in Rimouski by the official representative of Pope Francis, Cardinal Angelo Amato.

Today the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary are at work in ten countries, six provinces in Canada, and nine dioceses in Quebec.  Mother Mary Elisabeth always said, “the surest way to go to Jesus is through Mary.”. This explains the motto of the Congregation of the Sisters of Our Lady of the Holy Rosary: “All for Jesus through Mary.”

Blessed Marie Elisabeth Turgeon, please pray for us.

copyright©Larry Peterson 2020

Sister Mary Rosina was teaching impoverished children about Jesus when she was attacked from behind and martyred

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“Right from the time she could think for herself, she wanted to be a nun,”  Evelyn McNally; Sister Mary Rosina’s sister.

martyrodm                                                                        en,wikipedia.org

By Larry Peterson

Constance Gladman was born in Koroit, Victoria, a small rural town in southwestern Australia. The date was December 23, 1922, and Constance would be the first of seven children born to her parents, Victor and Grace Gladman.  Connie (as she was called) always had felt a calling to religious life.

Connie attended school in Warrnambool in Victoria Province and from there went on to Teacher’s College in Melbourne. She wanted to go into the convent but her dad would not let her. He felt that his oldest daughter needed to be exposed to the world as it was before making such a decision. Heeding her dad’s wishes, upon graduating, Connie taught in regular schools, but her desire to teach the poor and impoverished never left her.

When she was in her mid-twenties, her father, seeing how his daughter had never lost her desire to become a teaching nun, relented and gave her his blessing. Connie then joined the Congregation of the Daughters of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart. Founded in 1874 by Servant of God, Jules Chevalier, the order’s primary focus is on missionary work.

Connie took the religious name of Sister Mary Rosina, and, from that point on,  missionary work is precisely what the focus of Sister Mary’s ministry would be. She was sent to Papua, New Guinea to teach.

Sister Mary Rosina was initially stationed at the order’s convent in Rabaul. The sisters there remembered how she could not wait to get to the outposts and begin working with the children. Soon she was sent to the Vunapope Mission near Rabaul, and then she was sent to Turuk.

Sister Mary became highly respected and was elevated to the post of  Teacher’s Supervisor. The government held her in high regard and, needing qualified people to help train the locals, she agreed to assist them. Training others to teach was something she came to truly love.

On November 30, 1964, after working for 15 years as a missionary teacher in New Britain, (part of New Guinea), Sister Mary Rosina was working with a novice teacher showing her how to grade papers. The children in the class were working on an assignment. A mentally ill man quietly snuck up behind sister and wielding a machete, slammed it into the back of her neck. Two quick blows severed her spinal cord and she slumped over, dead. The murderer ran away.

The children ran screaming from the room. Sister Mary’s still body lay there, her severed head on the desk and her pencil remaining in her hand. She was 41 years old. It is hard to imagine anyone, especially a child, being exposed to such a sight.

Sister Mary’s family began the process for their sister to be considered for sainthood by sending the bishop of New Britain (part of New Guinea)  and official request to do so. The letter was delivered by Sister Rosina’s great-nephew, Father John Corrigan. Sister Mary was murdered “in odium fidei” (in hatred of the faith) and her rode to beatification should make for a smooth journey. She has been declared a Servant of God, and her cause is now before the Congregation for the Causes for Saints.

We ask the Servant of God, Sister Mary Rosina, to pray for us.

copyright©Larry Peterson 2020

A convert, wife, mother, and humanitarian: Caroline Chisholm helped thousands of young female immigrants

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Women settlers in Australia faced a life of prostitution, but Venerable Caroline was able to save many of them.

Caroline Chisholm                                                    public domian

By Larry Peterson

She was called “the Savior of Living Cargoes”

Caroline Chisholm was born in Northampton, England, in 1808. She was the daughter of William Jones, a wealthy farmer, who had been married four times. Three of his wives had died in childbirth, and Caroline’s mom was his fourth. She had seven children and Caroline would be the last. Her dad died when she was only six and he left the family some money and several properties to divide among the twelve surviving children. A prime lesson Caroline and her siblings learned from their father was to be generous and caring to those in need.

By the time Caroline was seven, she was displaying a pronounced interest in immigration. She had listened to the stories shared among the older people that frequented her home. These folks  included farmers, writers, religious and political leaders.  She invented her own immigration game using a washbasin as the ocean and boats made from pea-shells. She saved her money and purchased small dolls and would place them in the “boats” and send them “across the sea” to their new homes. This early interest in immigration would never leave her. It would only translate into a lifelong endeavor of caring and helping poor immigrants.

When Caroline was 22 years-old Captain Archibald Chisholm proposed marriage to her. Captain Chisholm was thirteen years older than Caroline and a devout Roman Catholic. Raised Protestant during an era when Catholicism was viewed with enormous suspicion and distrust, Caroline faced a hard choice.  She did want to marry him, but she had a significant concern, and it was not his Catholicism. Caroline insisted that she must always have the freedom to persevere in any philanthropic cause she chose. Archibald Chisholm readily agreed.

Caroline and Archibald were married on December 27, 1830. Deeply in love, Caroline soon converted to Roman Catholicism. Some suggested this was done for convenience. On the contrary, she embraced Catholicism and came to love her faith deeply. As one of her biographers wrote, “she was a MOST devout Catholic.”

Britain had established a penal colony in Australia in the latter part of the 18th century. Here they would send convicted criminals. Later on, they would begin sending people from England known as “free settlers.”  Many of these were single women who would arrive with little or no  money. They also has no  friends, family, or jobs and, desperate to survive, would turn to prostitution. The “welcoming” they were receiving at their “new homeland” was deplorable.

In 1838, Captain Chisholm was granted a transfer to Australia because of health problems. At the time, it was thought that the climate was better there. When they arrived and Caroline saw the wretched circumstances and conditions that greeted the poor migrant women who were there and still coming, she was appalled. She knew she had to help them. Her life’s work could not have been more clear.

Caroline was 30 years old and immediately began planning a course of action, developing job schemes, and lobbying the authorities for better working conditions. She started a group that set out to establish a woman’s shelter for migrants. In 1841, she had established the Female Emigrant’s Home in Sydney. Besides providing shelter, it also assisted unemployed young women in finding work not only in the city but even out in rural areas where work was more plentiful.

Deeply sympathetic to young women who were alone, Caroline wrote letter after letter seeking jobs for the girls and found many, especially as domestic servants. She would often accompany them to the far off places to make sure they were a safe haven for them. As time passed by, Caroline began housing men and then families. In her first seven years in Australia, she helped more than 11,000 immigrants.

Caroline Chisholm’s compassion, faith, and untiring devotion to the poor and lonely in a new country left an indelible mark on not only Australia and Great Britain but on the entire world. She is held in such high esteem that her picture is on Australia’s original $5 banknote. She was also awarded posthumously, the Order of Australia.

Caroline passed away on March 25, 1877. She was 68 years old. Her cause for sainthood has been put forward by the Archdiocese of Melbourne. The first Australian saint, Mary MacKillop, was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2010. It is expected that Caroline Chisholm will be the second saint canonized from “down under.”

copyright©Larry Peterson 2020

Francis Delalieu; this Good Samaritan saved a future Servant of God and her family from death– then he was gone.

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There were no strings attached—He simply loved his neighbor

 

A Good Samaritan                                                       en-wikipeida.org

By Larry Peterson

One of the most famous Gospel readings is the one we all know as the Parable of the Good Samaritan. What follows is about someone who may be among the greatest Good Samaritans of all time, a man we know almost nothing about.

Servant of God and Stigmatic, Anna Louise Lateau, passed away at the age of thirty-three. What is extremely interesting is the fact that Louise would never have lived into her fourth month of life if it wasn’t for a stranger whose name was Francis Delalieu.

The Lateau family was literally near death. The father, Gregory, had died from smallpox just three months after Louise had been born. Adele, with three little children, was still bedridden after having a very rough time giving birth to Louise. Louise, still an infant, had also contracted smallpox. The oldest child, three-year-old Rosina, was trying to be the in-house caregiver which included taking care of two-year-old Adelina.

The local doctor, overwhelmed with this smallpox epidemic, had stopped by about a week after Gregory’s death to check on the family. He did his best to show Rosina what to do. He knew it was hopeless and was sure he would soon come by and find them all dead. He told his friend, Francis Delalieu, about the family.

Try to imagine how this newly widowed mother of three babies, with no money, was feeling. The despair and hopelessness must have been unbearable as she watched her three children quietly dying before her eyes. Weakened to a point where she was unable to get out of her bed, she was probably just praying that she would not be the first to die, leaving them alone. And suddenly the front door opened and there was Francis Delalieu. God was listening after all.

Francis immediately took charge. First, he cleaned up the children. Then he reassured them and left to acquire food and necessities. This man, this stranger, surely had the love of Jesus in his heart. He was risking his own life by being in a smallpox-infected household. He was spitting into the eye of the storm as he cleaned, fed and cared for the little children. This was, after all, 1850 and not 2017. They did not even have running water.

I have been (as have many others) a primary caregiver to someone seriously ill. Some caregivers are helping to nurse their loved one back to health after a serious surgery or accident. The upside to this type of caregiving is that an end is in sight because a reachable goal is possible ie;, recovering from open heart surgery.

Then there is the alternative of caring for someone who is terminally ill. The goal in these cases is to help your loved one live as peacefully and as comfortable as possible until God calls them home. And then you have a person like Francis Delalieu. The only possible motivation he might have had to step into this situation was that of a Good Samaritan. There was no family connection. There were “no strings attached”. He simply LOVED his neighbor.

Who was this man? Who was this stranger who came into a household that was a breeding ground for smallpox and had three babies with a bedridden mom living there and all were near death? Who does this kind of thing simply out of kindness and compassion? Who would stay for almost two and a half years until the mother and children were once again healthy? Francis Delalieu is that person. There are many like him but most are unheralded and unheard of.

All we can seem to find out about Francis Delalieu is that he was a farmhand or a laborer and that he lived in or around the small town of Bois d’ Haine, in Belgium. That is about it. It is known he took  Adele Lateau and her children under his care and nurtured them all until they were well. After that period of time Francis seems to have vanished. There seems to be no record of him after that point in time which would be around 1853.

Anna Louise Lateau was gifted with the Stigmata in the year 1868. For the rest of her life, her nourishment was only the Holy Eucharist and a few glasses of water per day. She became one of the most famous stigmatists of the 19th century. Francis Delalieu, was just an unknown man who stepped up and took care of his neighbor just like the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ parable. I am sure his reward has been great in heaven. When God is involved, all things are possible.

Copyright©Larry Peterson 2020

Widowed with Eleven Children, she began taking in Unwed Pregnant Girls; She would go on to be known as Sister Marie of the Nativity

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During an era when unwed mothers were rejected by society, she took them into her home

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Larry Peterson

Rosalie Cadron was born on January 27, 1794, in Quebec, Canada. She was the oldest of two daughters born to a farmer by the name of Antoine Cadron and his wife, Rosalie Roy, who was a midwife in their town. Shortly after her birth, Rosalie was baptized in the local church. She would receive her First Holy Communion when she twelve.

Rosalie’s early life consisted mostly of work. She attended a boarding convent that was nearby but was so lonely that she returned home after only two weeks. She never learned to read until later in life and never was taught how to write. Instead, she was instructed in housekeeping, sewing, and craftwork, and worked at the farm and in her home.

When Rosalie was 17, she married Jean-Marie Jette. They had 11 children, some of whom died very young. They moved to Montreal and settled there in 1827. Sadly, in 1832, Jean-Marie died from cholera. Rosalie began looking after unwed mothers. This was quite the undertaking because at the time, unwed mothers and those that helped and associated with them, were despised and most of the citizenry viewed them with contempt.

Rosalie did this quietly in her home for the next five years. She possessed a broad-mindedness that was extremely rare for that period in time and also was filled with a spirit that respected all people, no matter their station or plight in life. It was Bishop Ignace Bourget, who first heard about the Catholic widow who reached out to the unwed mothers in his diocese. He met her, talked to her, and became her spiritual director. Now it was time to seek her help.

Bishop Bourget was socially aware of the rapidly growing population of Montreal and the growing need to help the unwed mothers who were held in such contempt by the society of the day. He believed that the church was responsible for reaching out to all peoples and that maybe it was time to create new religious communities that were free of rigid rules and could meet the unique needs of society.

Rosalie Cadron-Jette was foremost in the bishop’s mind as the woman to approach with his plan. He believed she would be perfect to begin the task of leading women who would be devoted to extending the temporal and spiritual works of mercy to the unwed mothers in the diocese and beyond.

Starting in 1840, he began to seek our Rosalie’s help in caring for unmarried mothers who had come to him for help. This was all done in secret because most of the women who had come to the bishop had done so in the confessional. Since their “sin” was socially repugnant and placed the women in danger of physical harm, the bishop wanted a “kind and prayerful woman” to take charge of this work.

Between 1840 and 1845, Rosalie helped 25 women during their pregnancy, childbirth, and recovery. She often placed the newborns with her own children, who were now grown. After each birth, Rosalie would take the mom and the newborn to Montreal’s Notre Dame Church and stand as Godmother as the child was baptized.

On May 1, 1845, with the support of Bishop Bourget, Rosalie Jette, along with a “penitent” (unwed mothers were called penitents),  moved into a small house given to them by one of Bishop Bourget’s supporters. It was the start of a new religious community. The fledgling community grew and on January 16, 1848, the founder, Rosalie Cadron-Jette, and her followers took their vows from Bishop Bourget.  From that time on Rosalie would be known as Sister Marie of the Nativity.

Sister Marie of the Nativity refused to accept any position of authority in the new order. However, working in the background, she shared in all the activities of the order which was called the Congregation of the Sisters of Misericorde aka Misericordia Sisters. The Misericordia Sisters (Sisters of Mercy) took the traditional vows of chastity, poverty, and obedience and also took a fourth vow, that “they would assist in their labour fallen girls and women.”

Sister Marie of the Nativity passed away on April 5, 1864. Bishop Ignace Bourget had administered Last Rites a few hours earlier on April 4. Pope Francis has declared Sister Marie a woman of “heroic virtue” and she has been declared Venerable.

The Misericordia Sisters are still active in several countries and multiple continents around the world including the United States and Canada.

Venerable Marie of the Nativity, pray for us.

copyright©Larry Peterson 2020