Being Drawn to Christ

This year the Sisters of the Sorrowful Mother are celebrating the 11^th death anniversary of their Foundress, Mother Frances Streitel.  Mother Frances was declared “Venerable” by the Church in March of 2010. That means that she is a candidate for beatification and also for canonization. By being declared “Venerable,” the Church is saying that she practiced virtue to a heroic degree. She is someone all of us can emulate.   Let me begin this year’s Spiritual Journey by reflecting on Mother Frances’ love of the Lord. Already as a child Mother Frances found ways to imitate her Savior and grow close to Him. At age nine she contemplated what Jesus meant when He said “And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all things to myself” (Jn 12:32). She also looked for ways, as a child, to reach out to those in need, imitating her mother who shared meals with the poor of her day. Amalia, as she was known as a child, saved her desserts for them. She was willing, already then, to make sacrifices for the Lord, as He did for her in leaving His Father’s House and taking on human nature.