I am Stephanie Morris, formerly the Director of Archives of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament and an Associate of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (ASBS). Sister Annette Marie O’Donnell had begun this blog as “Companions on the Journey” but has retired from actively writing. St. Katharine said we are all typewriters in the hands of the Lord; it has been a pleasure and privilege for me to serve as St. Katharine’s typist for many years.
In this
Jubilee Year of 2025, we are invited to be Pilgrims of Hope. Pilgrims are
people on a journey to a sacred place. For us, our journey leads us to
eternity, to union with God.
How can we
define “a sacred place”? Many shrines or cathedrals have been designated
“sacred places” for the Jubilee Year. But anywhere God is, is sacred. After
receiving God in Holy Communion, you are united uniquely with God, you are in a
sacred place. Yes, we could travel to Rome or to a closer shrine, but we can
focus on the presence of God within us anywhere.
In 1915,
Saint Katharine noted that “God has helped all who hope in Him. God does not expect us to be absolutely
perfect. It is a great thing to have faults if you only make use of them, God
expects us to try day after day in spite of failure.” No one likes to admit to
have faults but trying to overcome weaknesses or faults can make us a better,
more Christ-like person. Actors with stage fright discipline themselves to
quiet the fears and give the best performance they can. We don’t expect
baseball pitchers to pitch a perfect game EVERY time but we can hope that they
try to do so. We can also try to be the best we can each day.
On October 1,
1918, Saint Katharine wrote: “Be saints for God’s greater glory, every one of
you. You are called to it.” How can we become saints? By doing what God asks of
us, to be the best Christ-like person we can be. Jesus is God which makes Him a
saint and then some, and He “did all things well, little ordinary actions well
done.” We can do ordinary actions well; big things may never be asked of us.
Monsignor
Alexander Palmieri, Vice-Postulator for the Cause of Saint Katharine, asked:
“What makes an ordinary woman of man like us a saint?” Internal focus. “From
Mary, Queen of Saints, to the most recently canonized Servant of God – every
Saint in his or her life always directed the attention of people to one other
than themselves… to Jesus Christ.”
So, there is
hope for us, to strive to be the saint God created us to be. Saint Katharine
reassures us that “God does not require of us a perfect work,” but that we keep
trying. We can honor the anniversary of Saint Katharine’s canonization by doing
ordinary things well as we strive to become saints.
Stephanie
Morris, Ph.D., A.S.B.S.
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