Death of children, in-law problems, loss of parents, opposition of Church authorities, people ridiculed for their piety, diocese of Shreveport Louisiana, widows
Born into a wealthy and influential Episcopalian family, the daughter of a physician, and raised in the New York high society of the late 18th century. Her mother died when Elizabeth was three years old, her baby sister a year later. She married the wealthy businessman William Magee Seton at age 19, and was the mother of five.
About ten years into the marriage, William's business failed, and soon after he died of tuberculosis, leaving Elizabeth an impoverished widow with five small children. For years Elizabeth had felt drawn to Catholicism, believing in the Real Presence in the Eucharist and in the lineage of the Church going back to Christ and the Apostles. She converted to Catholicism, entering the Church on 14 March 1805, alienating many of her strict Episcopalian family in the process.
To support her family, and insure the proper education of her children, she opened a school in Boston. Though a private and secular institution, from the beginning she ran it along the lines of a religious community. At the invitation of the archbishop, she established a Catholic girl's school in Baltimore, Maryland which initiated the parochial school system in America. To run the system she founded the Sisters of Charity in 1809, the first native American religious community for women.
January 4
My child(ren) is an Angel for my Father in Heaven . . . My child(ren) are Blessed by God himself and he/she(they) are safe, happy and healthy . . . My relationship with my in-laws is full of Love, appreciation and gratitude.
Father, I truly desire to have a healthy and happy family. At the edges of the day is the time is when I feel less secure and more aggravated. I ask You to envelope my heart full of Love, knowing that You have my family's best interest at heart and we are sitting in the Palm of Your Loving Hand. Help me to feel more secure knowing that You are protecting and Loving each and every one of us at all times.
Through Jesus Christ's Precious, Pure and Holy name I pray. - Amen
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