In 1875, Pope Pius IX sent two sisters to Nebraska by way of Prairie, Minn., to start a convent of Poor Clares in Omaha. The women’s religious names were Sister Maria Costanza di Gesu and Sister Maria Maddelena di Sacro di Gusu.
Before departing for the United States, Sister Costanza, in a private audience with Pope Pius IX, asked, “Holy Father, give us a particular blessing as we wish to become saints.”
It is reported in the marvelous second volume of the “History of the Catholic Church in Nebraska – The Church on the Fading Frontier,” by Father Henry Casper, S.J., that the Vicar of Christ smiled and replied, “My children, what good can you do if you do not become saints?”
Exactly.
Our Holy Father, Pope Francis, is encouraging doing something special during this Year of Mercy, such as organizations holding retreats in order to, in my own words, act as a catalyst to help enkindle the fire of faith in the souls of the faithful.
Reading these words was a confirmation of sorts to the custom we have at Catholic Social Services to hold mini-days of recollection at the beginning of Advent and Easter. Each day includes Exposition of the Blessed Sacrament, a conference by a priest, confessions, and Mass. We hold these retreats because we want to become the saints that God is calling us to be. Only then can we effectively minister to the poor and needy.
On Friday, Feb.12, Father Andrew Heaslip, the director of religious education of the Diocese of Lincoln, directed our latest retreat. He did a wonderful job!
In this Year of Mercy, he compared and contrasted the denial/betrayal of St. Peter the Apostle and Judas Iscariot. As we know, they both betrayed Jesus Christ in different ways, but once their sins were fully recognized, their responses were very different. While Peter returned to the Lord in repentance and love which led to hope and life, Judas turned away from the Lord which led to despair and death.
These biannual retreats are a big help in helping us recognize more clearly the presence of Jesus in the poor and needy and that we help the poor not because it is a nice thing to do, but because everything that we do for the least, we do to and for Jesus (Mt 25:31-46) who is Divine Mercy.
I hope you are able to do something special this year too, like perhaps signing up for a weekend retreat in Waverly.
Please remember the words of Pope Pius IX, “My children, what good can you do if you do not become saints?”
