Jan

4

Second Acts

January 4, 2008 |

Seton House

We always talk about second chances in life - we get off track but are given a second chance to make things right in our life.

But, what about second acts in life?  We do something and it is the focus of our life, and then God turns our attention to something else (which often is radically different than what we did before).  It’s this “something else” that constitutes the “second acts” of our life.

Today the church commemorates the first American born saint - St. Elizabeth Ann Seton.  Born on the eve of the American Revolution, she was raised a devout Episcopalian in a well-to-do New York family.  She married in her class and had five children.  Her family then lost their fortune and her husband’s health rapidly declined.  They went to Italy for a long stay to help improve his health.  He died shortly after arriving.  The family they were staying with was Catholic and St. Elizabeth decided to stick around a while - soaking in the truth of Catholicism more and more .  She returned to New York and shortly thereafter converted to Catholicism.

It’s at this point that her Second Act began.  She was persuaded to start a school for the poor.  She then founded a religious order - the Sisters of Charity.  This order, under her leadership, founded other schools and expanded into orphanages.  After her death, the order continued to expand - and laid the foundation for the current parochial school system, the Catholic health care system, and orphanages that were home to thousands upon thousands of orphan children with no where else to turn.

St. Elizabeth’s “Second Act” left a legacy that is still felt today in communities throughout the U.S.

What about us?  God may not call us to our own second acts - our first acts may be just what he wants from us.  But, if we are restless, bored, distracted, feeling like something is missing in our lives - then maybe He is calling us to begin the second act of our lives.  It is incumbent upon us to  listen to Him and get started.

We are in this temporal world to be used by God according to His will.  We are here to be the face of Christ and bring others to him.  If God is calling us to something different than what we are currently doing in order to do His will, be the face of Christ, and bring others to him, then we better follow him.

Let’s ask ourselves these questions today - is God calling me to do something else - do I need to start another act in my life - if so, what is it and how do I get started?

Act II, Scene 1 . . . .

Photo: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s House and Shrine in the Financial District of Manhattan


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