Approaching the 80th Anniversary of Francesca Cabrini’s Canonization - 6

A heroine of modern times

1. - It can well be called an admirable epic of spiritual struggles and victories, beloved Missionary daughters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, the earthly career of your Mother, Frances Xavier Cabrini, the image of the strong woman who with daring and heroic steps conquered the world through the course of her mortal life, and is now exalted to the summit of the glory of the Saints here below, where our eye is given neither to imagine nor to understand the splendor of the blessed in the abode of heaven. We see her, this heroine of modern times, appearing among us, rising like a star from a humble Lombard town, soaring in her light and crossing the oceans, spreading the warmth of her rays far and wide, and eliciting the awe of the peoples around her. When God strikes the world with the lightning of the deeds of the saints, He chooses some of the souls richly endowed by nature, ardently holy, unafraid of the height of the mission to which He destines them; or rather — because this would be speaking in human terms — He Himself, in the inscrutable counsel of His Providence, lavishing upon them the gifts of nature and grace, prepares them, forms them, sets them on their way,  enlightens them, comforts them and sustains them to make them ministers and collaborators of His vast designs. Behold the wonderful ardor of nature and grace placed by God in him who was to be the Apostle and Doctor of the Gentiles, and who worked and toiled so hard in spreading the Gospel. Look at the other Apostle, Xavier, whom your Mother chose as her patron saint, taking his name and making it her own, because she seemed to see and find in him the ideal model for her life. 

But then focus your gaze on her, herself. What greatness and strength of mind! What loftiness and understanding of ideas! What an insatiable thirst for achievement! What wealth and boundless generosity of love towards every need of humanity! What are we ourselves doing, affirming this convergence and cooperation of human values and human aspirations with the action and almighty work of the Creator? Do we perhaps contradict the great design of the divine mind, which tends to elect the weak ones of the world to confuse the strong?(cf.1 Cor. 1:27) No. For the weak and frail ones of the world are transformed and strengthened under the hand of God, who at times hides them, ultimately working upon them, improving and reinvigorating them. Thus it happens that the Lord sometimes seems to render the gifts that He has hidden in His elect infertile, almost ruined and lost. He seems to want to extinguish that fire, first kindled in their hearts, depriving it of all nourishment. But do you not see that He who gave the grain of wheat its fertility first buries it in the earth and lets it almost die there so that it may then rise and live again in fruitful golden ears? Likewise a beautiful block of marble, though rough, is chosen by the artist for its fine quality and the beauty of its veining, who after cutting, sculpting and seemingly  mutilating it, places it atop the temple as its noble ornament.

Not unlike this is the story of Frances Xavier Cabrini.

Spiritual transformations

2. - Strong and gentle is the work of the Lord in forming his saints and making their souls more similar than ever to the image of His Son (cf. Rom. 8:29) who became incarnate for our salvation and spurned neither  human suffering nor hardship from His childhood onward, moving from the grotto in Bethlehem to Egypt, from Egypt to seclusion in the workshop of Nazareth, yet always thinking of the things of His heavenly Father, in which it was fitting for him to be (cf. Luk. 2:49). This hidden life of Christ was no renunciation or delay in His work as Master of truth and holiness for all mankind: in the humility and example of labor of His early years he was a silent Master, no less great and divine. The young Frances Cabrini kept her gaze fixed on Him and in the early days of her devout aspirations, had she been less generous and less humble, she would have cried out her disappointment, but she did not hesitate to submit wholeheartedly, with all the impetus of her lively nature, so much so that while everything that was of herself seemed to be crumbling, everything that was of God in her was purified, unfolded, grew and, gaining strength, came to predominate.

Considering her spontaneous and affectionate nature, it is an understatement to say that the premature death of her parents opened her spirit to greater tenderness among her loved ones, it was necessary, however, that her spirit and nature be shaped and molded by her undoubtedly loving heart, but also by the strong and rough hands of her sister Rosa. She looked beyond her own home to the world. She dreamt of a religious life with its mystical fervors and an apostolate with wide horizons; but the Congregation that would most appropriately have met her aspirations because it was totally dedicated to the passionately beloved Heart of Jesus remained closed to this girl who was so frail. Instead, it was deemed best for her to enter an Institute with a narrow spirit, with a cold heart, with no structure, no union, no charity. As she adapted to it, she appeared admirably gifted to govern, heroically willing to obey, so much so that it was that obedience that led her to be the head of that strange community, a superior who was tyrannized over and treated as an intruder. Her entire religious formation was to proceed under these living conditions. But from this unlikely novitiate, under the hand of that God who transforms, perfects, assimilates to Himself and with His grace elevates souls according to His benevolent counsel, you will see the emergence of the "little woman" with a strongly tempered character. What a spiritual transformation! She, who knew nothing but to obey, pray and remain silent, listening to what her companions said from her corner where she worked, who dared not lift her eyes from the ground for fear of lacking in modesty, one day realized that she was duty-bound to keep her eyes wide open for the good of the Institute, and from then on nothing had the power to intimidate her or to shake her resolve.

Indeed, what or who could ever make her take a single step back from the path she had taken? Boldness and courage, foresight and vigilance, prudence and constancy made her unyielding in every endeavor. Neither the efforts of the most venerable authorities whose refusals she imperturbably countered with her mission nor the approval received from the Holy See, nor the civil powers that yielded to her, nor men of law to whom she stood up and whose legal quibbles she foiled through the precision of her contracts and the firmness of her claims, nor the masters of arts and crafts such as architects, engineers, contractors and workers, whom she commanded and sometimes even replaced could arrest her advance. Economic difficulties neither stopped her nor dampened her courage. Self-doubt in her heart turned into immense confidence in God, and trusting in whom, without other means, she bought, furnished and set up hospitals, boarding schools, charitable institutions, hotels, palaces and castles. As her zeal for the good of others grew, did she not perhaps, with a miserable cash fund, dare to courageously undertake the establishment of a public school for hundreds and hundreds of children?

Nor did Frances fear even the unstable elements of nature, she who trembled at the memory of an accident that happened to her in her childhood by a trickle of water; she, who, bound by family traditions to her Lombard homeland, would not have been able without pain to bear losing sight of the top of the bell tower of her native Sant'Angelo. But grace and the divine vocation overcame her every fear and every separation. There she was, undaunted, crossing the ocean nineteen times, sailing the coastlines of the Pacific twice, the Atlantic three times in terrible, raging storms, not fearing the convulsive upheavals of a sea on whose waves floated the debris of shipwrecked sailing ships and singing the greatness of God in His works. You see her traveling and sailing in all directions through the two hemispheres of the globe, crossing the Cordillera of the Andes, and there, on an ascent so dangerous that even her own guides quaked, you see her putting her own nature to the test, her first fainting spell happening only a few moments after making the leap.

Powerful was the work of grace in her, which made her more than a woman, and the providential events of her most industrious life seemed to evoke and renew the memory of the Apostle Paul with his shipwrecks, his countless journeys, with the perils of the waves, his dangers of murderers, dangers of the Gentiles, dangers in the cities, dangers in the deserts, dangers at sea, with strains and hardships, hunger and thirst, cold and heat, not to mention her daily care for her numerous families and communities (cf. 2 Cor. 2:23-28).

A Prodigious Apostolate

3. – Amidst the succession of many varied events and undertakings in her life, Frances felt the power of the transformations of her character and her temperament that the chisel of God was sculpting in the hard marble of her person, bringing to light all her qualities of virtue and spiritual riches, transformations that penetrated the depths of her being and her aspirations, also changing her ideal, shaped and refined by the chisel of contradictions according to the divine plan. Yet her ideal was beautiful and generous — to be the missionary of the Heart of Jesus among the peoples of China! But in the face of obstacles her ideal did not fade; it was fulfilled and became more beautiful and more resplendent, vaster and more powerful, beyond comparison with what she had originally conceived. Providence, which does not always set us at the beginning of the path it indicates, seemed to take pleasure in dispelling even the devout dreams and the burning desires that heaven inspires, just as the sun, when it reaches its zenith, dissolves and disperses the rosy clouds of its dawn. Frances’ dreams were all of the Far East. But God overturned her plans, and the whole West, the far West especially, from one pole to the other, became the vast continent of her apostolate. In her ardent dreams she had seen the pagans of the most ancient civilization, idol worshippers, her field of action was, however, to be within heart of modern European civilization and ultramodern civilization of the Americas, among Christians and particularly among indifferent Christians, worshippers of material goods and pleasures. There the great missionary woman was to first presage the Heart of Jesus and make it known, adored, loved and served. In such devotion she became an even greater and better promoter than she had ever imagined, striving to be the dispenser of His blessings everywhere, almost a living reflection of His goodness. The divine counsel, which guided her transformed orders, counterorders, seemingly fortuitous occasions, favorable or unfavorable, helpful situations, and opposing hostilities and hardships encountered along the way into providential interventions, which, while at every moment they baffled and upset her views and her plans, replaced them with incomparably more beautiful and better works in their countless variety.

Does it not seem to confound all our expectations when we contemplate her impatient zeal at the outset confined within the four walls of a small village school? But fear not: the greatest achievements begin with the smallest things. In that humble school, the religious teacher was struck by a flash of insight into the education of youth, which, for her, opened and illuminated an immense vision of the future and a horizon that captivated her, where she saw the arising of the school, the orphanage, the workshop in Codogno, and in Codogno the cradle of the great Institute already outlined in the divine counsels. Then the teacher-training college to form and instruct young teachers who would thus expand her own work and that of her daughters. Codogno was therefore to Frances Cabrini and her religious Congregation the dreamt of East, which through the charity of Christ, heedless of boundaries and all-embracing, was transformed into a vision for the West. Behold the bold and industrious flight of this vision, which from Codogno crossed Europe, crossed the Atlantic and reached people who awaited it like they awaited the sun. It was an East that spread light, a thought that spread, a river that overflowed and poured its waters into every avenue and every region of social life. It was a marvelous overflow for every form of school and for all levels of education, in Milan, in Rome, with foundations that sprang up more or less all over in Italy. But from Italy to America, after her arrival, Frances aspired to much larger and more numerous enterprises among the colonies of Italian emigrants in whom she seemed to see so many "little Italies", where the work of education was no longer sufficient to deal with the needs and hardships. Everyone turned to her, admiring her Christian spirit of goodness and charity: calls of all kinds had be answered with works of every kind. Thus to the schools for the poor and the colleges of higher education were added the festive oratories, the orphanages, then the hospitals and clinics, followed by the prison ministry, the mission in Alaska and, during the other world war, the care of the soldiers and the wounded, from whom she gathered young girls. What a great many journeys became missions for her, where her zeal sowed and built, expanded and touched the great ladies of Paris and Madrid with tenderness, the poor orphan girls of the Spanish aristocracy, the little Italian emigrants of London, and, like a smile from her earliest dreams, the "mosquitos" of the Indian reservations of Central America!

In doing good her thoughts grew in immensity but no less than within her was her growing thirst for souls, expanding her heart, which once caused our Saint to write: " I feel that the whole world is too small to satisfy my desires”. Reading these words reminds us by way of contrast of the words that Shakespeare puts in Portia's mouth (The Merchant of Venice, Act 1, scene 2) "My little body is a-weary of this great world!". In Frances the ardor of zeal and holiness was manifested as she sought to embrace the whole world, too narrow for her dreams. In Portia is depicted the sterile sadness of many female hearts, who despite living in the midst of a superabundance of earthly riches, feel the tedium of the world and do not know how to rise above it.

Mystical zeal

4. – O you uninitiated ones who have no understanding of the things of God, do not be surprised to see this woman of many talents combine her dynamic and industrious outer life with an inner and contemplative life of a rare intensity and fervor. Herein truly lies the secret of her prodigious apostolate. Inflamed by constant contact with the Heart of Jesus, the source of grace, and the Heart of Mary, mother of grace, she carries in her heart that burning fire that never says "Enough" (cf. Prov. 30:16), and which from her earliest youth won her over to piety, devotion, and the service of Christ, to whom she dedicated herself with admirable generosity. When she became a religious, her intellect broadened and expanded to encompass new ideas, and transcending all her surroundings, she conceived in prayer that great idea, which was to make her the mother of a new community of daughters who loved the Heart of Jesus. Combining prayer with the study of religious constitutions and distinguished ascetic works, she wrote her own rule, naming it the Missionaries of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, a title that she knew how to defend and maintain with firmness and wisdom. Because that zeal for the salvation of souls resonated in this title, which by kindling her heart, spurred her to prayer and to offer every suffering, affliction and action in every part of the world in order to gather faithful worshippers of the divine Heart.

Among her heroic virtues was the most heroic of all, the charity of Christ. Her heart, free from all attachment to self and to the things of this world, found all its wealth, peace and happiness in Christ who was present and dwelt in her soul while her soul remained in the Heart of Jesus. What an intimate and superhuman union bound her to her Beloved, whom she adored at the altars, exalting as in ecstatic contemplation before Him! To those who saw her, she seemed a seraph from heaven, who sublimated in God, no longer cared anything for the affairs of this earth. She sought to kindle this Eucharistic love in her daughters, instilling in them unlimited trust in the power of the Heart of Jesus, to transform them into souls similar to her own, and to make them obedient, serene, ready and willing for every duty and toil required by the perfection of the work and of religious life. In her vigilance as a wise superior and well-versed in the many branches of teaching and the different characters of young girls, she guided the directors of schools, colleges and every house she established with a generous hand,  with enlightened counsel and with that gentleness and serenity of manner that made every seemingly severe observation welcome.

Meekness and humility of heart Frances had learned in depth from the divine Master in that great lesson: " Learn from me for I am meek and humble of heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matt. 11:29). Therefore, she caused "Imitation of Christ; renunciation of self-love; guardianship of the heart; the three sacred bonds of obedience, poverty, and chastity” to be written on her banner . Thus, she gave the Heart of Jesus to her Congregation as a divine model of perfection, which must be attained through victories over self-love and by guardianship of one's own heart. And in such vigilance over the affections and also over her dealings with her daughters, and not only with outside persons, the virtuous mother provided admirable examples of virtue, moderation and vigilant affability throughout her life in all circumstances and in all places on both sides of the Atlantic. Many of her letters and various writings speak of what maternal wisdom she exercized in admonishing and nurturing not only her daughters from the novitiate, but also the young girls and students of her many and various schools and boarding schools. This is evident in her numerous letters and various writings where the great woman vividly revealed her spirit, her prudence, her aspirations for works and virtue, her lofty aims in the most ardent pursuit of religious holiness and educational and charitable action, upheld as she felt by the full confidence of Our great Predecessor, Leo XIII, whose daughter she was – a fact that  gave her all strength and courage and the assurance of possessing the spirit of God, as she had heard from Him.

Among the female saints of our age, Frances Xavier Cabrini excelled not only for her tireless hard work and charity towards all the poor and unfortunate, but also for all those virtues that make a religious Superior the exemplar for her Congregation and the rules she established for her daughters. A teacher submissive in teaching and in practicing obedience, even when she was Superior and commanded others she reserved for herself the humblest tasks and services. Above all, she had an immense love of poverty, that poverty of spirit to which, in addition, God usually provides the goods of this earth needed for living to meet her needs for works and doing good.

Faith, working through love (Gal.5:6), in the hope of the eternal reward in afterworld life, always encouraged, guided and sustained her spirit in her great work as a Missionary of the Heart of Jesus, until this same Heart allowed her to rest eternally in the flames of his divine love.

Heavenly Call

5. – She died in America on the Illinois plains near Chicago on December 22, 1917, almost on the eve of Christmas. It was a quiet and peaceful death, without spasms of agony with which a sudden heavenly call sometimes in the saints transforms the land of exile into the blessedness of reward. Frances did not end her earthly life by dying: she continued that union of uncontaminated spiritual love, which from her youth had held her close as a bride to the Heart of Jesus, beyond the grave to the feet of the King of the ages, in the glory of the Immaculate Virgin, among the Saints, where she sits as the heavenly patroness of her and your Congregation, O beloved daughters, as an intercessor of graces for you and for those who invoke her from east to west. Daughters of such a Mother, raise your eyes heavenwards and contemplate her in the splendors that surrounding her, splendors of all those perfections and those divine charisms that you admired in her while she lived here on earth

What more precious counsel could Our lips and Our affection give you? Look upon her: study the path she has traveled to guide you here on earth and lead you to follow her heavenwards; it is the path of the Spirit of God. We beseech her to summon for you this same spirit, to teach you to draw upon it in ever greater abundance from the same source, the Heart of Jesus. In that divine source you will find your Mother again and with your Mother the strength and courage to tread the same pathway whereon she left for you her holy and glorious footsteps.

Meanwhile, trusting that this spirit will enable you to continue and expand the work she has entrusted to you as a legacy, with special affection we impart Our paternal Apostolic Blessing to you, beloved daughters, and to the many people and things under your direction, to your benefactors and to all those who offer you help and support in all the good that you do in the world.

*Speeches and Radio Messages of His Holiness Pius XII, 
Eighth year of the Pontificate, March 2, 1946 - March 1st - 1947, pp. 159-168
Tipografia Poliglotta Vaticana (Vatican Polyglot Typography)