Walk With Me, Jesus: A Widow's Journey. Ronda Chervin Ph.D.

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СКАЧАТЬ in all these things we conquer overwhelmingly through him who loved us. For I am convinced that...

      neither death, nor life,

      nor angels, nor principalities,

      nor present things, nor future things,

      nor powers,

      nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature

      will be able to separate us from the love of God in

      Christ Jesus our Lord.

      

FOR PONDERING

      Have you been feeling "cut off " from those around you … even from God, at times?

      Tell God about it. He understands. Don't be afraid.

      Feelings are fleeting. Feelings are not facts. Hold on to the truth of God's Word: Nothing can separate us from God's love. No one can pull us from the loving, prayerful gaze of our Blessed Mother.

      Complete this thought: "I do feel close to God and my loved ones when …"

      

PRAYER OF THE DAY

      Walk with me, Jesus, when … [fill in the rest of your prayer here].

      A HEART IN THE CLOUDS

      "On my bed at night I sought him whom my heart loves –

      I sought him but I did not find him...”

      Song of Songs 3:1

      For the Christian couple, the separation death brings is only temporary... and yet the pain runs sharp and undeniably penetrating. When her husband Ludwig (Louis) died, Saint Elizabeth of Hungary wept bitterly for days. Saint Jane de Chantal was prostrate with grief for four months over the accidental death of her husband. She had great difficulty forgiving the hunter, who mistook Jane's husband for an animal he was hunting in the forest, and shot him.

      A few months after her husband's death, Saint Elizabeth Seton wrote the following to a friend: "I have been to my dear husband's grave and wept plentifully over it with the unrestrained affection which the last sufferings of his life, added to remembrance of former years, had made almost more than precious ..."

      She writes about visiting a museum and loving the masterpieces of art, and feeling "alone but half enjoyed" herself, since she missed so much the joy her husband would have had in pointing things out to her. After one excursion she wrote to this same friend: "My poor heart was in the clouds, roving after my William's soul and repeating, 'My God you are my God, and so I am now alone in the world with you and my little ones, but you are my Father and doubly theirs.'"

      

FOR PONDERING

      "My poor heart was in the clouds roving ..." observed St. Elizabeth Seton. Where has your heart been roving lately?

      

PRAYER OF THE DAY

      You are my God ... and I feel so alone as I wander these empty halls late at night. Please walk with me, Jesus. Holy Mary, Exalted Widow, stay beside me through the night.

      ST. ELIZABETH SETON: A JOURNEY OF FAITH

      ‘I have invariably kept in the background and avoided even reflecting voluntarily on anything of the kind knowing that Almighty God alone could effect it if indeed it will be realized.... God will in his own time discover his intentions, nor will I allow one word of entreaty from my pen - His...blessed Will be done.'

      St. Elizabeth Seton

      In correspondence dated 1808.

      In 1774 the first American-born saint was born to a prominent Episcopalian family of New York City. Elizabeth was only three years old when her mother died; she became much attached to her doctor father, Richard, and often accompanied him to Ellis Island, where he helped the sickly poor immigrants who had just arrived in the "Promised Land."

      Elizabeth was unusually devout and loved to pray, living from Sunday to Sunday for her spiritual enrichment. Yet the young woman was subject to despairing, even suicidal, moods over the evils of the world and her own miseries.

      Elizabeth married a charming young businessman, William Seton, and they had five children. Her happy family life was marred when her husband's business began to fail, leaving the family nearly bankrupt. This anxiety was compounded when her spouse contracted tuberculosis. Hoping to save the life of her beloved husband, Elizabeth decided to take a trip with him and their eldest daughter to Leghorn (or Livorno), Italy, which was supposed to be a better locale for a person with his health problems. Unfortunately, William's health worsened on the long journey. He was quarantined in an Italian lazaretto, and died about six weeks later.

      This tragic loss was to become a source of blessing; the family of Antonio Filicchi, her husband's Italian business associate and a devout Catholic, helped Elizabeth and her daughter during this bleak time.

      The faith of her hosts had a profound impact on Elizabeth. When she returned to New York, Elizabeth was torn between the church of her family and the Church she was becoming convinced had the greater claim to truth. Her family made it clear where her allegiance should be; they told her that if Elizabeth became a Roman Catholic, she would lose all the support from her Episcopalian relatives - support she needed as a poor widow. Nevertheless, the widow converted, trusting God for her physical needs.

      As a Catholic, the previously wealthy widow found herself in comparative poverty. She embraced the opportunity to live simply, and to do the housework that a woman of her background would have had servants to perform. She was happy to be free of social obligations she had never really liked in the first place. Yet her life was also touched by sorrow again and again; she lost both her daughters as well as another relative who had converted to the Catholic faith because of her influence. These sufferings made Elizabeth's heart full of empathy. Consider the tone of a letter written to Cecilia, her convert relative who later joined her in the order, who was suffering persecution at the hands of the New York City family members:

      "Yes, my Cecilia favored of Heaven, Associate of Angels, beloved Child of Jesus - You shall have the Victory, and He the Glory. To him be Glory forever who has called you to so glorious a combat, and so tenderly supports you through it. You will triumph, for it is Jesus СКАЧАТЬ