The saint we celebrate today is Blessed Rosalie Rendu. She was born in 1786 in Confort, France, near Geneva, Switzerland. She was only 3 years old when the French Revolution broke out. Practicing the Catholic faith openly in that era was very dangerous. Her family gave refuge to priests who had to go into hiding. She took her first communion in the basement of her house. She entered the Daughters of Charity as a nun at the age of 15 just after the community was re-established in France. Her zeal for helping the poor inspired her to different ministries, including the education of poor children, the care for infants, support for the elderly, and ministering to young working girls. She was involved in the formation of the Society of St Vincent dePaul. After 50 years of dedicated service to the poor in the Mouffetard district in Paris, she died in 1856 at the age of 69. Pope John Paul II beatified Sister Rosalie in 2003.
As we continue to hear from the letter to the Hebrews today, the author advices us to reach out to reach out to others in hospitality, to be mindful of the prisoner and those who are ill-treated, that we may be unaware that we are entertaining angels. Blessed Rosalie Rendu felt a special love for the poor and the neglected, reaching out to them in her different ministries. May we hear God calling us to do the same.
No comments:
Post a Comment