St. Marguerite d’Youville

Fr. Lawrence Jagdfeld, O.F.M., Administrator

At Morning Prayer today, I was struck by some of the antiphons for the psalms which were taken from the writings of St. Marguerite. These little snippets from her writings led me to do some more research about this saint about whom, I must admit, I knew very little. What I learned leads me to believe that she is another in the long line of saints whose life resonates very clearly with the underlying philosophy of CUSA.

Marie Marguerite Dufrost de Lajemmerais was born on October 15, 1701, and was educated by the Ursuline Sisters of Quebec. Her life was marked by the cross: the loss of her father when she was seven, the deception and humiliation of her husband, and the death of four of her six children. She was widowed in 1730. She managed to pay off her husband's considerable debts and to educate her two sons who later became priests by keeping a small shop. Once these responsibilities had been lifted from her shoulders, she devoted her life to the care of the most destitute. In 1737, she founded the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly called the "Grey Nuns." Today there are six autonomous Grey Nun congregations.

In her writings we note the following: "Ask God to give us the strength to bear our crosses and to make a holy use of them. We need crosses in order to reach heaven." This line bears the unmistakable charism of CUSA, the purpose of which is to sanctify our lives through our chronic illnesses and/or disabilities. May St. Marguerite intercede for us with our Crucified Savior.