St. Katharine Drexel, born into a prominent and wealth Philadelphia family, learned early in her life that wealth was to be shared with the needy. Having experienced the destitution of the Native Americans, she founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, whose mission was to share the gospel with Native and African Americans. Sr. Consuela Marie Duffy, SBS, includes this excerpt from the retreat notes of St. Katharine in her book Katharine Drexel:
"Resolve: Generously with no half-hearted, timorous dread of the opinions of Church and [men or women] to manifest my mission. To speak only and when it pleases God; but to lose no opportunity of speaking before priests and bearded men. Manifest yourself. You have no time to occupy your thoughts with that complacency or consideration of what others will think. Your business is simply, 'What will [God] in Heaven think.'"
St. Katharine was born on Nov 26, 1858; died March 3, 1955; and was canonized Oct 1, 2000. She is the second recognized American-born saint. For more about this wise and wonderful woman, see
http://www.americancatholic.org/Features/SaintOfDay/default.asp?id=1311
http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=193
http://www.ewtn.com/library/mary/drexel.htm
(OK, there's a better way to post these links, which I will soon learn!)
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