God loves to surprise us when answering our prayers. This morning I realized a January reflection was needed—today! John and I have written several times about the call to Andrew and Peter which was today’s Gospel message. I said a prayer to the Holy Spirit to help me either discover a new insight to the gospel or lead me to another source of inspiration for this date.
But, before trying to craft a reflection, we headed to morning Mass. This morning our pastor had arranged a number of relics, “friends of Christ,” he warmly called them, at the foot of the altar. I slid into a front pew and found myself directly across from the relic of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. Suddenly, I knew God had led me to the source of my reflection for January 4th. The saint of the day for January 4th is St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, America’s first canonized saint.
Heeding the Call of God
Researching her life, it was clear that despite personal tragedies and losses, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton centered her life around Jesus Christ. Her background made her appear to be an unlikely choice for a Catholic saint. She was raised Episcopalian and, in her youth and adult years, was used to wealth and privilege as a member of New York society. Yet, Elizabeth felt God calling her to serve the poor. The wealthy lifestyle enjoyed by the Setons disappeared due to political circumstances and the stress brought upon these financial losses contributed to her husband’s death. Taken in by partners of her husband in Italy, Elizabeth was introduced to Catholicism and converted along with her five children.
At a time when widows, especially impoverished widows, were expected to rely on the charity of others, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton went on to create Catholic schools for young women, establish a religious community of nuns, and laid the foundation for America’s parochial school system.
To Be an Instrument of Faith
Those individuals God selects to be his instruments should also surprise us. Power, influence, and notoriety are not wielded by the people he chooses. St Elizabeth Ann Seton was a poor widow. The men in today’s gospel were uneducated fishermen. Jesus Christ, our Lord, and Savior came to our world as an innocent baby raised by a carpenter and his young wife.
Let us be open to God’s surprises! Everyday opportunities arise for us to be saints as long as we pray for guidance from the Holy Spirit. We may not be called to create schools, or religious communities or give our life for our faith, but God is calling us to be saints in our homes, our parishes, and our neighborhoods. But, just perhaps, God is calling you to do even more; he is a God who loves to surprise!
