London to New York: August 23rd, 1902
Journeying With The Saints
Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. It is time to travel with Mother Cabrini from London to New York. Today, in the letter, Mother Cabrini is going to make mention of persecutions happening in France to Catholics. I’m really only familiar with the French Revolution and the persecutions that happened then, but it’s 1902 in our reading for today. So, it can't be the French Revolution. I went to look it up. Yes, between the years of 1900-1906, there was intense persecutions in France targeting the Catholic Church and specifically religious orders. It stems from a law passed in 1900 called...
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Buenos Aires to Genoa: August 22, 1901
Journeying With The Saints
Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Welcome! So, we just finished up the voyage that brought Mother Cabrini to Buenos Aires and now we are starting one that takes her from Buenos Aires to Genoa. It’s August of 1901, so about nine months from when she landed. This is just one letter. It’s unfinished, but there is only one date entry. That means we will read the whole thing today and then I’ll give my reflection. That’ll be the end of this voyage. Mother Cabrini is going to talk about visiting a church called Our Lady of the Candelaria or more appropriately, La iglesia de Nuestra...
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Genoa to Buenos Aires: December 10th
Journeying With The Saints
Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. We have a long reading today and it’s also the end of a voyage…sort of. This letter and voyage are incomplete, so we never really hear about Mother Cabrini getting to Buenos Aires. Because it’s the end, we also have my reflection. We’ve got a lot to cover today, so let’s get started by opening to page 258.
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Genoa to Buenos Aires: December 8th
Journeying With The Saints
Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. Today in our reading, it is the Feast of the Immaculate Conception in 1900. Mother Cabrini has a lot to say about Our Blessed Mother Mary. It’s always a good day to honor her and stand in awe that she is the Mother of God, Our Lord Jesus Christ. Let’s open to page 255 and begin.
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Genoa to Buenos Aires: December 7th
Journeying With The Saints
Hello, Catholic Pilgrims. Today is a super short reading and there’s not too much to say. So, let’s jump right in by turning to page 255.
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Genoa to Buenos Aires: December 6th
Journeying With The Saints
Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. We have a short reading today. Mother is sitting on the steamer near Cadiz, Spain, which is on the western side of Gibraltar. Malaga is on the eastern side, so that means that the steamer passed through the Straits of Gibraltar. Mother Cabrini has a cold and she says she is curing it with milk. Tinned milk to be exact. I’ve never heard of that being a cure, but who knows. Let’s go ahead and open to page 254 and begin.
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Genoa to Buenos Aires: December 5th
Journeying With The Saints
Welcome back, Catholic Pilgrims. We are going to hear a lot about raisins today in our short reading. Raisins are not my favorite and by that I mean I really can’t stand them. My favorite comedian is Brian Regan and he has a skit on raisins which pretty much nails my feelings on the matter. I’ll share the link in the show notes. Anyway, this is a short and sweet reading, so let’s get started by turning to page 254. Brain Regan: Raisins
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Genoa to Buenos Aires: December 4th
Journeying With The Saints
Hello, Catholic Pilgrims, and welcome back. As the steamer lifts anchor and begins the journey, Mother Cabrini has a bit of a reunion with two priests. At first, they don’t quite recognize each other, but then the pieces start to fall into place. One of the priests is the Provincial of the Scolopi in Buenos Aires. So, Scolopi is a Religious order, also known as the Piarists. Piarists are the oldest religious order dedicated to education, specifically to children and youth. This religious order was founded by St. Joseph Calasanz in Italy in 1617. So, just a small history...
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Genoa to Buenos Aires: December 3rd
Journeying With The Saints
Welcome, Catholic Pilgrims, to another day in the Mediterranean Sea with Mother Cabrini. Today, in the readings, it is the feast day of St. Francis Xavier. Mother is very excited to celebrate because St. Francis Xavier is who she modeled her name after. Remember, St. Francis Cabrini wanted to go to the East, like he did. St. Francis Xavier was born on April 7th, 1506, so he was born 344 years before Mother Cabrini. He was Spanish and is one of the founders of the Jesuits. He was encouraged to become a priest by St. Ignatius of Loyola. He was sent to India because Portugal was...
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Genoa to Buenos Aires: 2nd December, 1900
Journeying With The Saints
Hello and welcome, Catholic Pilgrims. Are you ready for another trip? This time, we are going from Genoa to Buenos Aires. Here we are in the year 1900. Think back to all Mother Cabrini has done in our time with her and we are just getting a taste of all her works through her letters. She did so much more than is written down here. As we sail from the Northern Hemisphere to the South Hemisphere, we are going back to the mission field Mother Cabrini set up nearly four years ago in 1896. So, let’s join her now as she boards the Alphonsus XIII by turning to page 247.
info_outlineWelcome, Catholic Pilgrims, to another day in the Mediterranean Sea with Mother Cabrini. Today, in the readings, it is the feast day of St. Francis Xavier. Mother is very excited to celebrate because St. Francis Xavier is who she modeled her name after. Remember, St. Francis Cabrini wanted to go to the East, like he did.
St. Francis Xavier was born on April 7th, 1506, so he was born 344 years before Mother Cabrini. He was Spanish and is one of the founders of the Jesuits. He was encouraged to become a priest by St. Ignatius of Loyola.
He was sent to India because Portugal was colonizing India and the Portuguese there were losing their faith or not living up to it. So, St. Francis Xavier went as the Papal Nuncio to India in 1541.
It was not an easy time for him there. He had to deal with government officials that didn’t like him being there. He was upset by the poor moral lives of many Catholics living in the area. And he had to build a lot of churches which wasn’t easy. He died in China on December 3rd, 1552 from being ill with fever. He is buried in India.
He has a fascinating story as a missionary and he most definitely met with many struggles and hardships in his time. It’s not surprising Mother Cabrini looks to him as a model to imitate as a missionary herself.
Let’s hear about her time today as we turn to page 250.