Coming to Know Jesus through Service to the Poor

Homily for Thursday of the Second Week in the Christmas Season

The Gospel text for today relates a conversation between Jesus and two of the disciples of John the Baptist. Later in the Gospel text we are told that one of the disciples is Andrew, the brother of Simon Peter. From their exchange, we can conclude that following Jesus requires us to encounter Christ in the context of a personal relationship. From a human perspective, communication is the key to every healthy relationship. Consequently, if we wish to enter into such a relationship, prayer is a necessary element. We can also come to know Jesus through his disciples around us, through exposure to the Holy Scriptures, through the sacraments, and through the lives of the saints. Furthermore, Jesus has told us that we can encounter him through our service to the least among us – the poor, the stranger, the imprisoned.

It is this last means of encountering Jesus that we see exemplified in the life of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, the first person born in these United States to be canonized a saint. She was raised as a member of the Episcopalian church where she and her stepmother were often found ministering to the poor. She married William Seton in 1794. Along with her sister-in-law Rebecca Mary Seton, her friend and dearest confidante, Elizabeth continued her former stepmother's social ministry—nursing the sick and dying among family, friends, and needy neighbors. Influenced by her father, she became a charter member of The Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children and served as its treasurer.

When the elder William Seton died, she and her husband took in his six younger children and raised them with their own five children. This necessitated moving to a larger home. Her husband became ill and was diagnosed with tuberculosis. The doctors sent him to Italy for his health. After his death, Elizabeth and her daughter Anna Maria were introduced to the Catholic faith by her husband’s business partners. They were received into the Catholic Church after returning to New York. Elizabeth was confirmed by John Carroll, the only Catholic bishop in the United States at that time.

After living through many difficulties in life, in 1809, Seton accepted an invitation from the Sulpicians and moved to Emmitsburg, Maryland. A year later, she established the Saint Joseph's Academy and Free School, a school dedicated to Catholic girls' education. Shortly thereafter, on July 31, Seton established a religious community in Emmitsburg dedicated to the care of the children of the poor. This was the first congregation of religious sisters founded in the United States, and its school was the first free Catholic school in America. This modest beginning marked the start of the Catholic parochial school system in the United States. The congregation was initially called the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph's. From that point on, she became known as "Mother Seton." In 1811, the sisters adopted the rules of the Daughters of Charity, co-founded in France by Vincent de Paul and Louise de Marillac. The rest of her life was consumed with the direction of her community and the care of the poor.

She stands as an example today of someone who encountered Jesus in the poor which led her to a life of charity and care for the poorest of the poor. She was canonized by Pope Paul IV in 1975.