Sunday, December 22, 2024 - Fourth Sunday of Advent

[00:00:08] Welcome back. It's Sunday, December 22nd, and today we'll begin with a quote from St. Francis Cabrini. [00:00:27] I completely surrender myself totally to you. [00:00:31] Maria Francesca Cabrini was born in a small town in northwest Italy, the youngest of 13 children when she was 18. After her parents died, she decided to become a nun. [00:00:45] However, two religious communities turned her down because of her poor health. [00:00:51] Impressed with the work she did in an orphanage, the local bishop encouraged her to establish a community for young girls. [00:00:59] Maria took the name Sister Frances Xavier and with seven other young women founded the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart. [00:01:10] The community flourished and vocations were abundant. [00:01:14] In 1889, Pope Leo XIII sent her to New York to work with impoverished Italian immigrants. She accepted the invitation and arrived at Ellis island later that year. [00:01:29] Within two years, in overcoming incredible odds, she had founded an orphanage and opened a hospital in New York. [00:01:38] In 1909, she became a United States citizen. [00:01:42] Despite the discrimination she faced. She established schools, hospitals and orphanages across the United States and the world. [00:01:53] Mother Cabrini died on this day in 1917 at age 67. Pope Pius XII canonized her in 1946, naming her patroness of immigrants. [00:02:06] She was the first U.S. citizen to be canonized. [00:02:10] Cabrini. A film about her life was released in theaters earlier this year. [00:02:25] Now our weekly reflection on the Blessed Virgin Mary. [00:02:34] What Mary is, we are called to be. [00:02:39] We should look to see what her life teaches us about ourselves. [00:02:43] With that in mind, let's look at Mary as the mother of Jesus. [00:02:48] The angel said to Mary, the Holy Spirit will come upon you. Therefore, the child to be born will be called Holy, the Son of God. [00:02:58] This means that the Spirit would come upon Mary for a purpose. [00:03:16] What does this teaching tell us about ourselves? [00:03:19] Simple. The same Spirit has come upon us as with Mary. The Spirit has come upon us for a purpose to enable us to carry out our particular God given role in helping to fulfill the Divine plan. [00:03:41] God has put us on earth and sanctified us for a purpose. [00:03:46] By looking at Mary's special God given role, we begin to realize that we also have a special God given role. [00:03:57] We look to Mary for inspiration and help in carrying out our role in God's great plan. [00:04:05] What she is, we are called to be. [00:04:17] Spend some quiet time with the Lord.