Reflections on the wisdom of the Saints, including Saint Francis and Xavier Cabrini, who endured immense struggles and focused on eternal life.
Today we will hear about Saint Frances Xavier Cabrini. She was a tiny frail nun who did incredible work of working with immigrants at the end of the 19th century and beginning of the 20th century in America, setting up orphanages, places for the immigrants, schools, and bringing Christ to those who were arriving in America.
Saint Francis Cabrini was a woman of great virtue who was walking firmly on the ground on this Earth, engrossed with all the problems and difficulties, aware of the sufferings of the people. However, everything she had to go through, she didn’t consider a huge problem. Why? Because for Saint Francis, this world is just a static object, something we may say is insignificant compared to the spiritual Kingdom to the realm of God’s presence. On one hand, she had her spiritual sight fixed on Heavenly things, and on the other hand, she was walking very firmly on the ground on this Earth.
She got accustomed to living in eternity, to be rooted in eternity, through prayer, throughout the longing of her heart, through her overall disposition, knowing that she doesn’t have a stable homeland right here on Earth. Our problem is that we want to create our nest right here on Earth. But if we are living a life of the Saints as God allows us to live, then our hearts’ deeply perceived reality is already with the Saints in heaven. We are longing to be with our Lord Jesus Christ and the Blessed Mother through the whole eternity.
The time that they afford us here and grant us those few years literally a very short period of time here on Earth is meant for us to grow in this communion with the Lord, asking him what his plan for our lives is, serving, and finding the mission he prepared for us here on this Earth, growing in the union with the Lord every day.
We have to ask what he wants from us. Saint Frances Cabrini had a dream of going to India, going east from Italy, but the Holy Father told her to go west, and she obeyed and came to America and did incredible work of evangelization. We may have our dreams, but if we put them in the hands of God, he will dispose of them for his purpose.
