This union of my soul with God is my wealth in poverty and joy in deepest affliction.

If you are to do His work, the strength will be given you.

...if I seek out God in the simplicity of my heart, I will surely find Him.

He gives us every grace...this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty.

The only way to heave is by humility and patience.

How liable we are to err in our judgments respecting others, unless we thoroughly know the motives of their actions.

Truth does not depend on the people around us, or the place we are in.

Trust all, indeed, to Him my dear one; put all in His hands...

You must be in the right earnest or you will do little or nothing for God.

Look up to the blue heavens and love Him!

Let His Will of the present moment be the first rule of our daily life and work, with no other

desire but for its most full and complete accomplishment. 

Help us to follow it faithfully, so that doing what

You wish we will be pleasing to You.

 

Amen.

http://www.stagnescathedral.org/Prayers/St%20Elizabeth.html

 

Following her husband’s death, she converted to Catholicism under the guidance of Baltimore Archbishop John Carroll in 1805.

 

She led her sisters-in-law and her children to the Catholic Church.

 

She took religious vows in 1809 and thereafter founded a religious order in Emmetsburg, Maryland.

 

Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph, which received official approval in 1812.

 

The Sisters of Charity was the first Catholic order founded in the United States.

 

Seton and her sisters founded several Catholic women’s academies, which inspired the establishment of similar schools many of which attracted non-Catholic students.

 

Due to her educational work, she has been described as the “foundress of the parochial school system in the United States.”

 

Mother Seton died of tuberculosis in 1821.

 

Her canonization by Pope Paul VI in 1975 made her the first Catholic saint born in the United States.

 

"Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it? And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbour’s together and says, 'Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin.' In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents" (Luke 15:8-10). 

 

In the illustration, the sinner is likened to a valuable coin which has been lost. The woman does not take a lax attitude towards her lost possession. No. First, she lights a lamp, necessarily expending oil, so that she can see clearly. Next, instead of simply glancing here and there, she uses a broom or some utensil to sweep her house so that she can reach places that might otherwise be inaccessible to her. Above all, she searches carefully. There is no hint of indifference, only diligence. This coin was valuable; she must find it at all costs. 

            

Jesus wanted the religious leaders to understand how he felt about those who were lost. When we are lost sinners, we are not just “out there” somewhere away from God. God longed for us so much that He took the ultimate action; He offered up His Son as a sacrificial lamb. This He did to cleanse the sinner from sin and restore him to Himself. He would go through any means, any expense to bring them to Himself. 

 

The parable of the lost coin indicates the mission of the Son. Jesus came to be the Light of the World; “The true light that gives light to every man. . .” (John 1:9). Jesus provides the light for sinners to be found of God, just as the woman needed light to search carefully for her lost coin. Each sinner is special to God; there is rejoicing in heaven over “each one” that repents. We are all individuals of great importance to the Father. The woman could have been content to possess the remaining nine coins; obviously, they represented great wealth and status to her. Instead, she searched carefully, unwilling to leave to chance that her coin might never be reclaimed. And it was not sufficient for her to harbor this knowledge alone. Friends and neighbours must be told, as well to share in the celebration. 

 

The parable of the lost coin also gives us a glimpse of that in which the Lord delights. In this parable, once the woman has found her coin, she calls her friends and neighbours in order to share the good news. When a sinner is restored to fellowship with God, it is a cause for rejoicing. This is the whole plan of salvation; this is why Christ came. This is the splendid, marvellous, most glorious act in the history of the universe. God seeks sinners and rejoices when they are found. He is not content for any sinner to be away from Him: “. . .He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

The storyline is a woman loses her coin and lights a lamp and sweeps her whole house carefully until she finds it. It takes place in a village after the time of Jesus. The author wrote this story to link how losing a lost coin and giving up is like those who are lost. Lost sinners who are not just out there away from God. Words such as likened lax and expending need to be defined. The characters include a woman and her friends. The woman is looking for her lost coin. Her friends rejoice with the woman when she finds her coins. We need to find out where this story is located and from when it happened. That Jesus provided light for the lost sinners similar to how the woman provided a lamp for the lost coin.

 

This parable was set in a village. In particular, a woman’s home. There is no other information on where this was set. At this time, coins were valuable no matter what their worth. Losing one would be out of the question as they were needed due to many people living in poverty. The characters include a woman and her friends. We found out the woman had lost her coin and had to find it as it was valuable. We found out her friends celebrated in joy with her when the coin was found. There is no other information about the time this scripture was written. Since there is little background information we cannot conclude a deeper meaning aside from the symbolism of the woman looking for the lost coin with a lamp to Jesus being the light to sinners.

The author wrote this story to link how the woman who looked for her lost coin with her lamp with Jesus as he brought the light to the lost sinners. This story provides the message that even those who have sinned should be treated equal to those who have not sinned. The characters in today’s society are charities and political leaders. Charities donate to those who need it giving them dignity and the right to learn, eat and have basic necessities they need to live. Political leaders fight for human equality and even equity to those who need it. Target audiences today would be teenagers and up. This story goes out to people in general because everyone needs to learn to accept those who have done wrong in their life and lead them to the light instead of leaving them lost in the dark. This parable inspired Elizabeth to treat everyone equally and show even those who have sinned the light. It inspired her because it is easy to put yourself in the woman’s shoes looking for the lost coin.