This is the third installment (excerpted from https://setonshrine.org/elizabeth-ann-seton/) explaining some history of the five saints portrayed down the left-hand side of the church
Elizabeth Ann Bayley was born in New York City on August 28, 1774 to a prominent Episcopal family, and lost her mother at the age of three. In 1794, at the age of 19, Elizabeth married William Magee Seton, a wealthy businessman with whom she had five children. William died of tuberculosis in 1803, leaving Elizabeth a young widow. After discovering Catholicism in Italy, where her husband had died, Elizabeth returned to the United States and entered the Catholic Church in 1805 in New York.
After a number of difficult years, Elizabeth moved in 1809 to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s, the first community for religious women established in the United States. She also began St. Joseph’s Academy and Free School, planting the seeds of Catholic education in the United States. Her legacy now includes religious congregations in the United States and Canada, whose members work on the unmet needs of people living in poverty in North America and beyond.
Mother Seton, as she is often called, was canonized on Sunday, September 14, 1975 in St. Peter’s Square by Pope Paul VI. She was the first citizen born in the United States to be given the title of “Saint.” Her remains are entombed in Emmitsburg in the Basilica at the National Shrine that bears her name.
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We have a number of sick men in the club as well as parishioners in our parish. Please keep them in your prayers. In particular, Loren Gross has returned from the hospital and is recovering well from his surgery. George Perry has had a recurrence of his cancer and is starting chemotherapy, twice a month for three months. It was very successful two years ago and he expects the same result now. If there is anyone else who needs prayers and is happy to have their name published, let me knw.
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You may recall our Bishop ordained a transitional deacon to the priesthood at our Mission a couple months ago. I obtained a recent list of the seminarians studying for our diocese. Following my practice of asking you to pray, each month, for our clergy and seminarians, I recommend to you for October the names of Ramon Urbina, Hoa Binh Ha, and Juan Carlos Ponce
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Men’s Club Retreat – there has been strong interest in whether we are having an in-person retreat for the Club this year. The answer is yes. There will be more information rolled out in the coming weeks.
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I hope you all got to log on to the St Joseph Summit virtual conference that has been advertised and recommended in our parish bulletin for the last few weeks. I logged on and did my own private morning of reflection last Friday. Scott Hahn gave a wonderful talk and left us with a mnemonic for Joseph’s name –
J ust
O bedient
S silent in Gospel and in prayer
E enduring in his daily commitments
P urity
Holiness
Another speaker, Robert Tunmire, reminded us that we all have a “God task” or purpose in life to do something important to the economy of salvation that we, and only we, can do. He gave some examples in life as Catholic, husband, father or son and some of the many means to discern our task – e.g. daily prayer, Rosary, spiritual reading, one daily Mass during the week
Peace and prayers
Dennis