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Today in the USA and Canada the Church celebrates the Memorial of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, religious (1774-1821). Born in New York, Elizabeth Ann Bayley married William Seton and they had five children. After her husband's death from tuberculosis, she converted to Catholicism and founded the American Sisters of Charity, a community of teaching sisters which began Catholic schools throughout the United States, especially helping with the education of underprivileged children. Mother Seton laid the foundation of the American parochial school system and was the first native-born American to be canonized.

Christmas Reflection: At the Crib, Partakers of the Divine Nature
1. "O wondrous exchange! The Creator of the human race, taking unto Himself a living body, deigns to be born of a virgin; and becoming man from no human generation, He hath bestowed upon us His divinity." In the Incarnation there takes place a marvelous exchange; on the one hand, God assumes our human nature; on the other, He permits us to share in His divine nature.

2. "He hath bestowed upon us His divinity." God would owe us nothing at all even if we should place all that we have at His disposal. All God's actions are directed by divine wisdom, and if He chose to assume our nature, He must have done so for a worthy purpose. His purpose was to enable us to share in His divine nature and to enjoy His divine life. What a marvelous exchange! In exchange for the human nature which He borrows from us, He gives us the privilege of participating in His divine nature.

In the child in the crib dwells the fullness of divinity: "For in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead corporeally" (Col. 2:9). "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men" John 1:4). O wondrous exchange! We possess the divine life when we possess sanctifying grace. We share His life when we practice His virtues that is, when we express our love for the Father and for our fellow men, and when we practice obedience, purity, and humility.

Man is but dust and ashes (Gen. 18:27). He is subject to vanity (Rom. 8:20) and is "bent upon evil at all times" (Gen. 6:5); yet to him it is given to participate in the life of the divinity. His sins are destroyed, and he is clothed with the splendor and beauty of the divinity. The life which the Son derives from the Father and imparts to His own assumed humanity, is imparted in turn to His fellow men. Christ is the vine, and His life is imparted to us, who are the branches. "I am the vine, you the branches; he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing" (John 15:5).

3. With this incorporation into the life of Christ, we are lifted above the needs and interests of the life we once led; we are given a new insight and a new knowledge, and our will is constrained to strive toward a higher ideal. "And I live, now not I, but Christ liveth in me" (Gal. 2:20). This new ideal governs my thoughts, my motives, and every phase of my life. It consecrates me and my service to the things that pertain to the sacred vine of which I am a living branch. O wondrous exchangel We give God our miserable human nature and receive in turn a participation in His divine nature and divine life.

Therefore, dear brethren, let us render thanks to God the Father through His Son, in the Holy Spirit; who, because of His great love with which He hath loved us, has had mercy on us and, when we were dead in our sins, has given us life in Christ, that in Him we might be a new creature, a new image. Let us, then, put off the old man with all his works, and now that we participate in the regeneration of Christ, let us renounce the works of the flesh. Recognize, O Christian, thy own dignity; and having been made a partaker of the divine nature, return not to the vile state in which you once lived. Remember of whose body and whose head you are a member. Remember that you have been snatched from the power of the prince of darkness and have been made to share in the light and kingdom of Christ (Sermon of St. Leo, Lesson at Matins on Christmas).

As Christ lives a twofold life, so also does the Church and each soul that is baptized. The divine element dominates the life of Christ; so, too, it must be the ruling element in our lives. Everything that pertains to our natural life should now be directed to the proper supernatural end. Confidence in God should bear us up in time of trial; love should be the motive of all our works; resignation should temper our trials; and purity should mark us as the children of God.
—Excerpted from The Light of the World, Volume One by Benedict Baur, O.S.B.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
This wife, mother and foundress of a religious congregation was born Elizabeth Ann Bayley on August 28, 1774 in New York City, the daughter of an eminent physician and professor at what is now Columbia University. Brought up as an Episcopalian, she received an excellent education, and from her early years she manifested an unusual concern for the poor.

In 1794 Elizabeth married William Seton, with whom she had five children. The loss of their fortune so affected William's health that in 1803 Elizabeth and William went to stay with Catholic friends at Livorno, Italy. William died six weeks after their arrival, and when Elizabeth returned to New York City some six months later, she was already a convinced Catholic. She met with stern opposition from her Episcopalian friends but was received into full communion with the Catholic Church on March 4, 1805.

Abandoned by her friends and relatives, Elizabeth was invited by the superior of the Sulpicians in Baltimore to found a school for girls in that city. The school prospered, and eventually the Sulpician superior, with the approval of Bishop Carroll, gave Elizabeth and her assistants a rule of life. They were also permitted to make religious profession and to wear a religious habit.

In 1809 Elizabeth moved her young community to Emmitsburg, Maryland, where she adopted as a rule of life an adaptation of the rule observed by the Sisters of Charity, founded by St. Vincent de Paul. Although she did not neglect the ministry to the poor, and especially to Negroes, she actually laid the foundation for what became the American parochial school system. She trained teachers and prepared textbooks for use in the schools; she also opened orphanages in Philadelphia and New York City.

She died at Emmitsburg on January 4, 1821, was beatified by Pope St. John XXIII in 1963, and was canonized by Pope St. Paul VI in 1975.
—Excerpted from Saints of the Roman Calendar by Enzo Lodi

Patronage: against the death of children; against in-law problems; against the loss of parents; Apostleship of the Sea; opposition of Church authorities; people ridiculed for their piety; Diocese of Shreveport, Louisiana; widows

Highlights and Things to Do:

• Meditate on these words of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, "What was the first rule of our dear Savior's life? You know it was to do His Father's will. Well, then, the first end I propose in our daily work is to do the will of God; secondly to do it in the manner He wills; and thirdly, to do it because it is His willl. I know what is His will by those who direct me; whatever they bid me do, if it is ever so small in itself, is the will of God for me. Then, do it in the manner He wills it."
• Pray this beautiful prayer of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton daily: Oh Father, the first rule our dear Savior’s life was to do Your Will. Let His Will of the present moment be the first rule of our daily life and work, with no other desire but for its most full and complete accomplishment. Help us to follow it faithfully, so that doing what You wish, we will be pleasing to You. Amen.
• Read more about St. Elizabeth Ann Seton:
  • Catholic Encyclopedia
  • Catholic Ireland
  • CatholicSaints.info
  • Saints Stories for All Ages
  • Domestic Church
  • St. Elizabeth Ann Seton as a Model of John Paul II's Feminine Genius
• See Catholic Cuisine for some food ideas for her feast day.
• Visit in person or online the National Shrine of Elizabeth Seton in Emmitsburg, Maryland, which is where she is buried.
• Nearby is also the National Grotto of Our Lady of Lourdes, where St. Elizabeth prayed.