St. Frances Xavier Cabrini & the Face of Christ
theophilus November 13th, 2008
From the 1890’s until her death in 1917, St. Frances Xavier Cabrini cared for the poor, the orphaned, the widowed in the United States. She focused mostly on the large immigrant population, having been an immigrant herself to this great land. She became a U.S. citizen and thus was the first American citizen saint upon her canonization in 1946 by Pope Pius XII.
Today, we commemorate her incredible life and work. In the opening prayer for today’s Mass, there is a rather poignant plea to God offered through her.
“By her example teach us concern for the stranger, the sick and the frustrated. By her prayers help us to see Christ in all the men and women we meet.”
Hopefully, the first part of this passage has been well-drilled into our heads; the part about concern for strangers, the sick, the frustrated. But how about the second part of the passage? The part about seeing Christ in all of the people we meet?
Do we see Christ in the others with whom we come into contact with throughout the course of our day? St. Frances saw Christ in everyone she met. She, like Blessed Mother Theresa, instinctively knew that she was gazing into the eyes of Christ no matter how lowly the person she was helping. What an incredible way to go through life.
Another related but equally important question is – do others see Christ in us? Christ works through us to do his work. Our thoughts, words, actions, works, expressions, tone of voice, appearance; all combine to either show the face of Christ to others or to throw up a barrier that shuts Christ off from using us to fulfill his mission. St. Frances understood her responsibility to serve as the face of Christ to others. She understood that her mission was to help Christ in his mission and she couldn’t accomplish her mission unless others saw Christ in her.
St. Frances’ success could most likely be traced to her ability to make a connection between Christ and the people to whom she ministered; to see Christ in others and have others see Christ in her.
We live in an age when people are demeaned, exploited, destroyed, humiliated, and disparaged on a routine basis. Some for fun, some for entertainment, some for profit and gain, some for power or convenience. Too many people are shamefully brought low by others who neglect to see Christ in that person and have failed to acknowledge their joint status as children of God.
Whether in our personal lives, politics, sports, business, entertainment, or just plain gossip and discourse, we must never forget that Christ is in each of us, whether we want to acknowledge such or not. Everyone we meet, everyone we read about, everyone we watch on T.V. or in the movies or see in magazines or online; everyone is a child of God, and should be treated as such.
St. Frances profoundly understood the universal nature of the Holy Face of Jesus; that Jesus shows his face through each of us. We need to understand as well.
- Culture , Jesus , Liturgy , Relationships , Saints
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