As most of you know, I love to read. Reading has been a big part of my life for as long as I can remember. I guess it is the type of activity an introvert is drawn to. I remember reading The Scarlet Letter in high school, sot is very much intrigued mean to learn the story of the daughter of the author of that book and her journey of faith in Catholicism. A year after The Scarlet Letter was published, Nathaniel Hawthorne’s daughter Rose was born in 1851. She grew up in Massachusetts and in England, where her father served as the US counsel. She married when she was a young woman, but her marriage was not a happy one, as her husband struggled with alcoholism and with holding down a job. Their only child died when he was five years old. She and her husband converted to Catholicism when they were traveling in Italy. Her faith that brought her courage and strength through the challenges of life. She separated from her husband and devoted her life to caring for cancer patients who were treated as lepers in America in the late 19th century. After her husband’s death in 1898, she became a Dominican sister. She established the Dominican Congregation of St Rose of Lima, known as the Servants from Relief for Incurable Cancer. They established a center for cancer patients in New York. She took the religious name Mother Mary Alphonsa. She served as a Dominican sister until her death on July 9, 1926, 100 years ago today. She and her religious sisters were servants to their cancer patients, humbly showing them care, love, and concern. The book about her life is entitled Sorrow Built a Bridge. On March 14, 2024, Pope Francis recognized Hawthorne's life of heroic virtue and declared her Venerable, the final step before Beatification.
Our passage from Hosea today portrays God not as a faraway impartial judge, but a loving Father who sees the people of Israel as his son. Evoking imagery of God teaching his son to walk and feeding him show the loving care God has for his people. Just as a parent laments a child who goes astray, God is sorrowful when his people turn to him. Yet, he is there for his people. He is always calling them back. We must always remember that, no matter how far we go astray.
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