God Opens The Way Before Us

As Marists, one of our goals is to remain open to the plan of God, as Mary and St. Marcellin did. Turning over our wills, "dying to our self-centeredness", allowing our hearts to be flexible and supple as clay in the hands of the potter, is a common theme found in other religions as well.  Meditation and contemplation help us to quiet our urges to control, to "be in charge" of our lives, and thus follow the way that God opens before us.  Usually, the path is not one we would have devised, sometimes being totally beyond our imaginations.  Such was the case with Elizabeth Ann Bayley, a quiet young girl who loved to read and who came from a rather prosperous family in New York.  She met the love of her life, William Seton, whom she married and with whom she had five children. The future looked as bright as heaven itself, every girl's dream come true.  Then, William's merchanting business began to totter when his cargo ship was lost at sea. Eventually he had to declare bankruptcy and came down with tuberculosis.  A trip to Italy for his health was a major turning point Elizabeth's path, as William died, and Elizabeth, influenced by their Italian Catholic friends and guided by the Blessed Virgin,  became a Catholic. This move caused her to be ostracized by her brothers and sisters, forcing her to leave New York for Baltimore.  Her faith ever growing stronger, she answered yes when asked to start a small grammar school.  This was the first Catholic school in the nation.  Soon after, with two of her teachers, she began a community of Sisters now known as the Sisters of Charity.  Six congregations have sprung from this original group and have spread around the world. She buried three of her children, who died of tuberculosis, which also claimed her at the early age of 46.  Her main goal was to do the will of God, which she referred to simply as "The Will."  She strongly believed that God was the guide who opened the way before her, and all of us. She had no idea as a young girl immersed in her reading, that such a path was before her, as none of us know even what will transpire during the course ot this day, yet through tragedy, sorrow, and pain, she became a model of openness to "The Will" and left a legacy which still continues to touch thousands.  Lord, you open the way before me; help me to follow it with joy and confidence.  Amen.
Bro. Rene