Memorial of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, religious
(I John 3:22-4:6; Matthew 4:12-17.23-25)
The gospel passage says that Jesus “withdrew to Galilee.” We should not think, however, that Jesus is beating a retreat. Actually, he is charging to the battlefront. Herod Antipas has just arrested John the Baptist for criticizing his unlawful marriage. Jesus leaves the solitude of the Jordan desert to take up John’s banner in Galilee. His message is even the same as John’s, “Repent for the Kingdom of God is at hand!” Herod Antipas, the Baptist’s nemesis, can hardly ignore it.
Like Jesus we are sometimes called to show courage. A shouting match turns into a fist fight where someone is going to get hurt. We should intervene or, at least, call for help. More often we exhibit courage by facing difficult tasks with calmness and determination. St. Elizabeth Ann Seton exhibited such courage in her short life with many accomplishments. She mothered five children, then became a woman religious founding the Sisters of Charity, setting up the parochial school system in the United States, establishing orphanages, and writing spiritual reflections. Pope Paul VI canonized her as the first native-born American saint in 1975.
