4 January 2020
Memorial of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton, Religious
St. Elizabeth Seaton, was a woman who put into practice two lessons we find in today’s readings.
Just as Peter let his brother Andrew tell him about his encounter with Christ and then went out to meet him himself, so Elizabeth Anne allowed others to convince her of the truths of Catholicism, and then became a Catholic. After his encounter with Christ, Peter in turn brought many others to Christ, and so did Elizabeth Anne Seaton.
In the 1st reading, John emphasizes Christ’s radical opposition with the devil. In so far as one allies himself with the work of Christ or the devil, he or she opts for either one or the other. That is what John has been telling us all week.
Then, there is our divine filiation, which we contemplated yesterday. It obliges us to guard ourselves from sin, to have a close attachment to God, and to love our brothers and sisters. This was the agenda followed out in a heroic manner by St. Elizabeth Ann Seaton.
Every American Catholic should be acquainted with her life. And, because she could easily be the patron of the American Catholic Women’s Liberation Movement, she has the ability of bringing many to Christ through her yet pertinent agenda.