In my daily struggles, I’m always looking for women saints to inspire my own journey to God, especially when life gets harder than I can take. My main interest is peaked when I find a woman saint who was also married. Even better, if she had children, she can certainly illuminate my life with her wisdom.
Today, we celebrate the feast day of St. Jeanne-Françoise de Chantal (St. Jane Frances) who, in brief, was married, had four children, and had a profound prayer life. She was born in Burgundy, France in 1572 and died at the age of 69 after fulfilling God’s will for last years of her life, the founding of the Order of the Visitation of Our Lady.
Daily struggles might be that, in the middle of my busy life, something I planned to be the best of what I can do, where I invested my best time and effort, is wrongly perceived by the same people I was trying to serve.
Maybe a document I turned in still had misspelled words after editing it for the 100th time. Maybe the bread I baked for my family visit was under baked. Maybe the Confirmation parents where not as appreciative of my sacrifices. Maybe, I just need to pray borrowing St. Jeanne’s trusting words,
“Ah! well, we have done what we can, and the success of it we must leave to the Providence of God and ask Him to guide and fashion this work according to His holy will.” (Letter to Mother Marie Jacqueline Favre, Superior at Lyons, 1617)
St. Jeanne de Chantal, pray for us in our daily struggles!
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