Memorial of Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini, Virgin

Lectionary: 493

For those who keep the holy precepts hallowed shall be found holy,
and those learned in them will have ready a response.
Desire therefore my words;
long for them and you shall be instructed.

The verses above follow hard upon the Wisdom author’s warnings to the wealthy and powerful.

Terribly and swiftly shall he come against you, because judgment is stern for the exalted– For the lowly may be pardoned out of mercy
but the mighty shall be mightily put to the test.

His best advice for the mighty is to heed the Law, “Desire therefore my words; long for them and you shall be instructed.”

The New Testament goes much further; compliance to the law will never be enough. We must be absorbed in the Spirit of Jesus, guided by the example of one who never sought security, comfort, wealth or power. Although he administered his authority with striking fidelity to his Father, he did not deem divinity something to be grasped at. He certainly never used it for his own convenience, comfort or security.  

In the seventh grade, when seminary recruiters appeared in my Catholic grade school and I showed some interest, my mother decreed, “If you go into the priesthood you will enter a religious community where they’ll take care of you.” She knew one diocesan priest who suffered poor health and uncertain finances. She probably didn’t know how generous professionals were to priests in the 1950’s.

In any case I became a Franciscan. It seemed like a more secure way of life and I have never regretted the decision.

When the young Sorela Francesca Saveria Cabrini (Frances Xavier Cabrini) set out from Italy for America she had no such assurances. She knew only she must live in poverty among the poor and that God would have to fend for her. Arriving in Chicago and finding the children of impoverished Italian immigrants living on the streets, she began to build orphanages and schools.

“With what?” you might ask. With the power of love.

She would find an empty lot where an orphanage could be built and repair to the chapel. There she repeated, “You can, you must, you will!” hour after hour. She talked to the man who owned the property and he gave it to her. She prayed again and approached contractors, material suppliers and financiers who provided for the rest of the project. She prayed again and young women joined her project, caring for and teaching the children.

I said recently, “The Lord didn’t create the universe out of nothing. He created it out of love.” That’s how the truly wealthy build. Those who own only this world’s stuff are to be pitied – and warned.