Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus

Bringing Christ's love to the world

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Happy Birthday, Mother Cabrini!

Cabrini of Westchester celebrated the 170th birthday of St. Frances Xavier Cabrini with several festive activities for both residents and staff. A special Mass, with live music, took place in the St. Cabrini Nursing Home Chapel and was televised throughout the nursing home for the residents to participate from their rooms.

A rolling ice cream cart delivered a tasty treat for residents and staff to satisfy sweet cravings! As an added touch, gift cards were raffled off to staff on each shift from a donation previously given in honor of employees.

A display in the lobby provided everyone the opportunity to give Mother Cabrini a gift on her birthday, either a monetary one or a donation of non-perishable food, which will be delivered to the Dobbs Ferry Food Pantry of which many of Cabrini Immigrant Services’ clients benefit. A box of food was collected and $200.00 in donations were received that will benefit many families in our community. Thank you to all that participated and contributed to this happy day!

Mother Cabrini’s 170th Birthday – July 15th

Mother Frances X. Cabrini was, without a doubt one of the great navigators of her time, always sailing between one wave and another, in search of refugees in order to show them the way to a better land: the Kingdom of God.

As a child, Mother Cabrini was already dreaming of traveling to distant places, missionary lands beyond the seas to minister to the immigrants, the marginalized, the poor and the desperate.

Despite much hostility, Francesca strove to follow her difficult and noble ideal: to extend the Kingdom of God to be God’s co-worker in the wonderful work of the salvation of souls. This great dream led her, over the course of years, to undertake numerous journeys around the world, driven by the love of the Sacred Heart of Jesus for all those abandoned people and immigrants – who through circumstances known and unknown had wandered far from Him.

Mother Cabrini herself was amazed at how the Heart of Jesus worked through her since she considered herself “a poor instrument in His hands” and said, “the Heart of Jesus goes so fast and does so many things that I can barely keep up with Him.” This gives a glimpse of her intimate relationship with Jesus which led her, guided her, motivated her and gave success to her undertakings.

From the moment of the approval of the Institute of the Missionary Sisters on March 12, 1888, the missionary and apostolic activity of Mother Cabrini assumed a dizzying rhythm that never ceased. Jesus strengthened her to cross the ocean many times in order to announce to everyone, in words and deeds, how great is His love for every human being.

Her charity knew no limits. Whenever she saw a person in need, she stopped and approached the person with love and tenderness.

The work of Mother Cabrini is nearing 150 years of history. Her life and work are not static, but dynamic and constantly expanding through the spiritual, apostolic and missionary actions of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and their lay collaborators.

~ excerpts from Frances Cabrini, Remembering the Journey

New Work on Mother Cabrini’s Educational Practice

Maria Williams’ doctoral thesis The Contribution of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini (1850-1917) to Catholic Educational Practice in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries is now available to download for free from the website of University College London (UCL).
To download the thesis click here

It includes maps and tables showing the expansion of MSC educational provision in the period as well as case studies of Rome, New Orleans, and London.

Maria would like to thank the many sisters and Cabrinian laity for their advice, assistance, encouragement, and prayers as she worked on this project. The idea was initially discussed with Missionary Sisters Mary Gough, Rafael Sharkey and Maria Regina Canale in the 1990s. In retirement, with the support of Sister Benedict O’Donnell, Maria approached then General Superior Sister Patricia Spillane in 2009. Sr. Patricia gave her full support, as has Sister Barbara Staley, MSC, current General Superior. The assistance of archivists Sister Giuditta Pala, MSC and Anne Schwelm, the Director of the Holy Spirit Library at Cabrini University, was invaluable.

Any comments, questions and queries on the thesis may be sent to Maria at maria.williams.14@alumni.ucl.ac.uk

Mother Cabrini and Mary’s Dowry

 

On March 29th the rededication of England as our Our Lady’s Dowry took place. Although timely in our present crisis, this was first discussed by the Bishops of England and Wales in 2017. On 12th of February 2020, Pope Francis blessed the painting of Our Lady of Walsingham, commissioned to mark the rededication.
To read the full story: https://www.walsingham.org.uk/2020/02/14/pope-blesses-painting-of-our-lady-of-walsingham/

The medieval Wilton Diptych (c. 1395-99) portrays the original dedication by King Richard II in 1381 and shows Our Lady surrounded by angels.
To learn more: https://www.nationalgallery.co.uk/products/the-wilton-diptych-print-front/p_NG4451

For those familiar with Mother Cabrini’s Travel Letters, the Dyptich and re-dedication bring to mind the sight which greeted her, as her train approached Victoria Station in London on 4th of August 1902. She described it as follows in her Travel Letter of August 1902:

It was a splendid day but ore splendid was the picture wihc presented itself to my sight, on our arrival
as the sun was setting. A spectacle never represented before appeared playfully in the sky. Some richly
gilded clouds formed a glorious throne, from the centre of which surged an extraordinary light surrounded
by twelve shining stars which all sent forth sparkling rays: it seemed to be the throne of the Queen of
Angels. The I saw the Most Holy Madonna, with a beautiful diadem and with the Child, seated on
her knees, who stretched out his arms in the act of protecting us.

Mother Cabrini went on to refer to the sight as, ‘but the playful movement of the clouds at the setting of the sun’.

Mother Cabrini first called England ‘the land of the Angels’ in her Travel Letter of 1895.

I left [England] secretly imploring blessings on this country which I should love,
if possible, to call again soon ‘the land of the Angels.’

The forthcoming re-dedication of England as Our Lady’s Dowry will be in two parts: a personal dedication with the Angelus Promise and a communal entrustment. This is an opportunity to dedicate ourselves and work to Our Lady as Mother Cabrini did over 100 year ago. In a letter to Mother Maddalena, her trusted confidante, Mother Cabrini wrote: ‘I hope that the Queen of Angels will enable us to see miracles in this country’. During the COVID-19 pandemic our hope is also that she will intercede for miracles for her children in England and throughout the world.

To access The Angelus Promise and the Act of Entrustment:

The Angelus Promise

The Angelus Promise is a spiritual exercise created to assist you to embrace the message of Our Lady, as expressed in the Angelus. It invites you to “share in the joy of the Annunciation” by following Mary’s openness to God’s call, through her faith-filled “yes”. Through your own faith-filled “yes”, the Lord will work wonders in your life.

R: The Angel of the Lord declared unto Mary
V: And she conceived by the Holy Spirit

As God once chose Mary to become the Mother of His Son through the message of an angel, so He chooses me this day, and invites me through the ministry of the Church or the example of another, to seek and do His Will at this moment in my life.

Hail Mary full of Grace…

R: Behold the handmaid of the Lord
V: Be it be done unto me according to thy Word

Mary’s response to her invitation, “let it be done to me according to your Word”, opened her heart to God’s grace and all things became possible. Let my “yes” today take away fear, as I embrace God’s Will, and like Mary “ponder these things in my heart”.

Hail Mary full of Grace…

R: And the Word became flesh (Bow or genuflect)
V: And dwelt among us

At a moment in history, Mary’s faith-filled “yes” conceived Him, first in her heart, which then led to the birth of our Saviour. Through accepting Him in my heart, enable me to recognise my role in bringing Christ to my sisters and brothers today. Hail Mary full of Grace…

R: Pray for us most holy Mother of God
V: That we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ

Let us pray: O Holy Mother of God, pray for us, and assist us as we dedicate ourselves this day. Your Yes at the Annunciation brought our Saviour Jesus into the world, and you invite us to contemplate the great mystery of the Incarnation, sharing your joy in announcing that “the Word was made flesh and lived among us.” May our yes, this day, open our hearts to serve our sisters and brothers in this your Dowry, that they too may share our joy in the Good News that God walks among us. We make this prayer through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Act of Entrustment of England to Our Lady

Based on Prayer of Erasmus 1532, Dedication of England to the Mother of God 1893, Prayer for England, Cardinal Griffin’s Act of Consecration 1948, Act of Consecration St John Paul 1982

Prayer
O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God and our most gentle Queen and Mother, look down in mercy upon England thy “Dowry” and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in thee.

Response
We your faithful people assembled here offer you this country in which we live. Once it was yours, all its children were your children and you were honoured throughout England as its Protectress and its Queen. Again, do we consecrate it as your Dowry, and entrust it to your maternal care.

Prayer
By thee it was that Jesus our Saviour and our hope was given unto the world; and He has given thee to us that we might hope still more.

Response
To you we entrust the Church, which invokes you as Mother. On earth you preceded her in the pilgrimage of faith. Comfort her in her difficulties and trials. Make her always the sign and instrument of intimate union with God and of the unity of the whole human race. To you, Mother of the human family, and of the nations, we confidently entrust the whole of humanity with its hopes and fears. Let it not lack the light of true wisdom. Guide it to seek freedom and justice for all. Direct its steps in the ways of peace. Enable all to meet Christ, the Way, the Truth and the Life.

Prayer
Plead for us thy children, whom thou didst receive and accept at the foot of the Cross, O sorrowful Mother.

Response
Pray, O Holy Mother of God, for the conversion of heart of the people of England, restoration of the sick, consolation for the troubled, repentance of sinners, peace to the departed. Queen of Peace pray for us and give to the world the peace for which all peoples are longing, peace in the truth, justice and charity of Christ. Give peace to the nations and to the souls of all, that in peace, the Kingdom of God may prevail.

Prayer
Intercede for our separated brethren, that with us in the one true fold they may be united to the supreme Shepherd, the Vicar of thy Son.

Response
May your prayers bring back this country to the fullness of its ancient faith. May your intercession lead us to a closer union with your divine Son. We offer you all the people of this land, especially those who know you so little or not at all. May all in our country know Christ, the light of the world and its only Saviour.

Prayer
Pray for us all, dear Mother, that by faith fruitful in good works we may all deserve to see and praise God, together with thee, in our heavenly home.
Response May we who follow your Son, be fruitful in the good work of building a culture of life in our world, where all human life is treasured and the gift of God’s creation is respected and cared for, so that all may share the fruits of Gods generous love.

V: Pray for us O Holy Mother of God
R: That we may be made worthy of the Promises of Christ.

O Blessed Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and our most gentle Queen and Mother, look down in mercy upon England, thy Dowry, and upon us all who greatly hope and trust in thee. By thee it was that Jesus, our Saviour and our hope, was given unto the world; and he has given thee to us that we might hope still more. Plead for us thy children, whom thou didst receive and accept at the foot of the cross, O sorrowful Mother, intercede for our separated brethren, that with us in the one true fold they may be united to the Chief Shepherd, the Vicar of thy Son. Pray for us all, dear Mother, that by faith, fruitful in good works, we may all deserve to see and praise God, together with thee in our heavenly home. Amen.

The wonderful filial love which burnt within the hearts of your forefathers towards the great Mother of God, Christ’s happy minister in our salvation, to whose service they consecrated themselves with such abundant proofs of devotion, that the Kingdom itself acquired the singular title of Mary’s Dowry
(Pope Leo XIII, 1893)

Colorado will replace Columbus Day with Cabrini Day

the first paid state holiday recognizing a woman in the US
by Alisha Ebrahimji, CNN

[The state of] Colorado passed legislation [on] Tuesday, March 10th to replace Columbus Day with Cabrini Day because bill sponsors say [Columbus Day] doesn’t represent their community members.
The first Monday of October will now honor [Saint] Frances Xavier Cabrini, who according to the bill, is the woman responsible for creating 67 schools, hospitals, and orphanages in the United States and South and Central America throughout her lifetime.

Sen. Chris Hansen, one of the bill’s sponsors, told CNN that Cabrini is a local Colorado hero because of the work that she did. Chicago and New York join Colorado in honoring Cabrini with a shrine dedicated to her, Rep. Adrienne Benavidez, another one of the bill’s sponsors, told CNN.
“We need holidays to recognize the contributions of women across history,” Hansen said.

Benavidez said Cabrini Day would be the first paid state holiday recognizing a woman in the US. There are some holidays dedicated to other prominent women throughout history like Rosa Parks and Susan B. Anthony, but those are days of recognition, not paid state holidays, according to Benavidez.

In recent years, several states and even cities have stopped observing the holiday altogether after a growing movement to change Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples’ Day to recognize the native populations who were displaced after Columbus and other European explorers reached the continent.

Historians largely agree that he did not “discover” the Americas because people were already there, nor was he the first European to reach the “New World.”

The bill will take effect no later than the beginning of August after it is signed by the governor, Benavidez said. Legislation for this particular bill started in 2007.

“This truly is this decade’s long effort by so many people,” Benavidez said. “There have been so many negotiations, groups of people over the years that never gave up, this is so important to the communities that are impacted by this.” The transition from commemorating Columbus to Cabrini is a step forward, Benavidez said.

“The pain that they (indigenous people) endure and the historical trauma endured by indigenous people in this country as a result of what Columbus has put in place is real,” she said. “And this is a step forward in erasing that pain.”
CNN’s AJ Willingham, Marilia Brocchetto and journalist Emanuella Grinberg contributed to this report, ~ with thanks to Lilly Hatheway, Cabrini University

To read the full article: https://www.cnn.com/2020/03/11/us/colorado-columbus-day-cabrini-day-trnd/index.html

A Love for Mother Cabrini

~ by Roxanne King of the Denver Catholic

workday, facilities manager Tom Francis starts his morning in the same way. He enters the chapel at Mother Cabrini Shrine on Lookout Mountain, turns on the lights and addresses a statue of the Shrine’s namesake.

“I tell her, ‘OK boss, this is your place. I’m just a pair of hands. You need to help me or we won’t be able to be here for those who come.’”

On December 1, Tommy, as he is affectionately called, marked 50 years as an employee of the Shrine, which is named after St. Frances X. Cabrini. The Shrine staff honored the energetic 71-year- old with a Mass and luncheon.

“Tommy has a deep devotion to Mother Cabrini,” said JoAnn Seaman, Development Director. “He has had a huge impact on the Shrine and what it has become…He is very humble and gives all the credit to Cabrini.”

Tommy was recognized for service that started when he was a 21-year-old college student who labored summers, nights and weekends at the Shrine and lived with his parents, grandmother and siblings in the caretaker’s house. But, in reality his service began when he was still a child and his father, Carl, worked as the maintenance manager for Mother Cabrini’s Queen of Heaven Orphanage in north Denver which operated from 1905-1967 and was torn down in 1969.

“I was blessed to work with my dad and to be around the [Missionary] Sisters all the time,” Tommy said.

Even after Tommy finished college and was working full-time as a math teacher, he continued working part-time at the Shrine. Upon retiring from a successful 30-year teaching career in 2003, he began laboring full-time at the Shrine.

“Mother Cabrini bought this property in 1910 primarily as the summer home for the girls of the Queen of Heaven Orphanage,” Tommy explained.

In his years with the Shrine, Tommy, with the help of many volunteers, has beautified and enhanced the tranquility of the grounds with his landscaping skills.

JoAnn Seaman said, “He knows every inch of this place like the back of his hand.”

Our sisters would not have been able to maintain this ministry without Tommy and his family, who have worked for the sisters since the time of the orphanage,” said Sr. Roselle Santivasi, MSC. “Every Missionary Sister knows Tom Francis and his family. They are a large part of why the Shrine mission has succeeded and has brought the presence of God to so many people.”
A widower for 27 years, he raised two daughters, Tommy met his current wife, Sarah, when she moved to Golden as a Cabrini Mission Corps missioner. The couple will mark their 10th anniversary in March. Sarah is just one of the blessings Mother Cabrini has brought Tommy as he labors at her Shrine.

“You can feel a connection with Mother Cabrini here – you can feel her presence,” Tommy asserted. “Even though
we no longer have orphans, about 50 percent of our visitors are immigrants who have a great devotion to Mother Cabrini. The Sisters still work with the poor and it’s still the Cabrini vision to spread God’s love through the world.”

“Since my dad started working for the Sisters in 1930, it’s my goal to continue working to 2030 so that we can have 100 [consecutive] years of service to St. Frances Cabrini in Denver,” he said, not satisfied with the 104 combined years they have already given. “The Shrine is a wonderful place to be. It’s blessing after blessing.” ~ submitted by JoAnn Seaman, Mother Cabrini Shrine

To download the complete article: http://read.uberflip.com/i/1212006-dc-february-22-2020

Restoration of First Class Relic

The Mother Cabrini First Class Relic has been restored and preserved by Sara Moy, a certified conservator. On November 5th, the relic, the right humerus bone of Mother Cabrini, was returned to the newly refurbished reliquary in the Shrine altar. On Mother Cabrini’s Feast Day, Wednesday, November 13, the restored relic which had long been in the altar of the chapel of the former Columbus Hospital, received a special blessing from the Most Reverend Raymond E. Goedert, DD. at the 4 p.m. Mass at the Shrine

The Feast of the Patroness of Immigrants

November 13, 2019

The Sister with the Suitcase
~excerpts from an article by Lucetta Scaraffia

This fragile, determined woman from the Lombardy region traveled extensively, having dedicated her life to helping the Italian immigrants who, filled with hope, made the trip to America. Francesca Cabrini had received this mission from Pope Leo III and to serve them, became an immigrant among immigrants.

She left Genoa with seven [of her Missionary] Sisters in 1889, unfamiliar with the sea, exactly like most of the women and men packed into Third Class, and during the crossing she began to comprehend the appalling conditions in which immigrants lived. Like them, she thought she would find a warm welcome and assistance when she arrived in New York, but bitter disappointment was what she found.

The Scalabrini Fathers, who awaited her arrival, told her they had not expected her so soon and that they had not yet prepared their accommodation. The next day, having rested in appallingly filthy conditions in a [rooming house], she went to see Archbishop Corrigan, where she discovered that the situation was even worse. The prelate ordered them to go back on the same ship that brought them. [Mother Cabrini refused.

This experience only confirmed to Francesca Cabrini that the presence of her mission here was necessity. Like other immigrants, without anyone to protect her and without knowing a word of English, she went to work immediately to find a dignified headquarters and wealthy supporters who would finance her schools and orphanages, even if she had to come up against enormous difficulties. Nothing seemed to work out the way it should have and everything seemed to conspire against her projects. But, because of this, she was able to see the difficulties and disappointments she encountered not so much as obstacles, but as spiritual tests to purify her intent and provide sound and solid foundations for her work.

She moved in two directions: visiting the poor and understanding their needs on the one hand, and seeking to understand American society with focused meetings on the other. Whether in mines or prisons, Mother Cabrini was not afraid to send her Missionary Sisters, armed only with their charity for protection, to terrible places where few women would have dared to go. With gentleness, and patient and sincere interest in their souls, their purpose was to provide dignity and hope to those fringes of desperate people for whom emigration had been a failure.

~ from 100 Years of Cabrinian Mission

Reflections from Codogno

On September 15, our training meeting in Codogno began, with the joy of fulfilling one of the great dreams of my life: Deepen the life, charism and spirituality of Saint Francisca Javier Cabrini in this sacred place of the Institute of the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart. Since our arrival, the warm welcome of the sisters, the details of the room and the different spaces of the house communicated to us the affection and delicacy with which Sr. Gilda Mendoza, Sr. Maria Regina Canale, Mother Maria Barbagallo and Sr. Lucy Panettieri had prepared This experience for us. So, in the joy of being in this place, from the encounter with the sisters I set out to enter into this history and spirituality that is my story and my spirituality a great gift that I have received as an inheritance.

The theme of these days has been: “Living the Spirituality of Saint Francisca Cabrini today”. From the first day, Mother María Barbagallo emphasized the anthropological importance of having a defined identity in each person since that depends on the continuity and permanence in her personal choice. Who I am? It is a question that must be answered in each person. We were invited to see the MSC as a great orchestra in which each member has an important role and mission, no matter how simple and imperceptible it may be. The sisters wanted to take us to deepen the charism of the Institute to confirm and value it in the vocation in each one.

During these three weeks we have contemplated wonderful historical events of the life of Saint Francisca Cabrini, his process of biological, psychic, intellectual and spiritual growths that integrated the Woman, saint, founder of our institute. His value system, his missionary ideal, his relationship with Jesus.

I have enjoyed watching Mother Cabrini with her gifts, virtues and weaknesses, changes of route, but it is even more beautiful to perceive how Mother Cabrini joined her dreams with other MSCs, formed them, prepared her, entrusted her and made the story of our institute, this story that makes humanity notice in its successes and failures, in its defects and sins. It is a story sustained by the spirituality of the heart of Jesus and made a mission in that same love of Christ to humanity.

Given the difficulty of describing the richness and joy of these days I can say that I have found what I was looking for: to deepen this story, this spirituality to discover some tools that can serve as a point of support for living with greater depth and coherence my consecration and identity Cabrinian Missionary. With certainty this time has been like a mirror in which I have found details in which I can feel proud but also details that I must retake, remove or begin to live.

Upon reaching the end of our process in Codogno I have in my mind and in my heart the pleasure of having walked through these corridors of the house, of having spoken with Mother Cabrini in the vicinity of her heart, in her room, of walking the streets who saw her grow up and the neighbors who greeted us with the love of their saint’s daughters. The happiness of having found the smile of the sisters’ joy, the sanctity in the gestures, words and advice of Mother Lina Colombini and Mother Maria Barbagallo, the loving revelations of Sr. Gilda to have us all soon and the brightness of Sister’s eyes Lucy Panettiery of watching us enjoy and learn. I thank the general council and our provinces for allowing us to enjoy this experience and trust that we can infect and affect the rest of the institute in the different countries to which we are going. Greetings to each sister who has been on the mission holding and managing situations so that we are here.

May the heart of Jesus and Mother Cabrini give us the wisdom and grace to discover the best way to continue giving glory to God in this historical moment of provincial chapters that prepare us for the General Chapter.

Sr. Sonnia Osorio MSC

1260 Upper Gulph Road, Wayne, PA 19087
Phone: 484-581-7163   Fax: 484-581-7164
info@mothercabrini.org