St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was a convert to Catholicism.  After the early death of her husband William, she was left alone to raise five small children.

Although she endured many hardships, she desired to go beyond her own sufferings and to offer a Catholic Education to children.  God made a calling to Mother Seton to leave her security and to go to an unknown place.  Emmittsburg, Maryland was where God would once again manifest himself to her and make known His plan.

The plan of God, unknown to her, was to be the foundress and first Superior of the Sisters of Charity in the United States.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton saw Christ in all.  It was her devotion to the Eucharist that brought Elizabeth Seton closer to God.  The passion of her life was to accomplish the will of God in all things.  When asked how to know the will of God, Elizabeth would answer, first from the pages of the Gospels and secondly to know the needs of the people around you.

Great spiritual desolation purified her soul during a great portion of her religious life, but she cheerfully took the royal road of the cross.

On her death bed, the last words spoken to her sisters were "Be Children of the Church".

From the writings of Elizabeth Ann Seton:

~ "We must pray without ceasing, in every occurrence and employment of our lives - that prayer which is rather a habit of lifting up the heart to God as in a constant communication with Him."

~ "The first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly, to do it in the manner He wills it; and thirdly to do it because it is His will."

~ "We know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life.  We know that He gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty."