Wednesday’s Woman: Blessed Marie of Ste. Cecile of Rome

Note: For the next several weeks, I’m featuring women with a connection to the Americas.

The Basics: Born April 30, 1897, in Canada; died September 4, 1929, in Canada; beatified March 20, 1993, by John Paul II; feast day, September 4; woman religious and mystic.

The Story: She regarded Cecilia of Rome and Therese of Lisieux as her patrons, which was no surprise given her love of music and a desire to live for Jesus in small ways. The woman who would go on to be Marie of Ste. Cecile of Rome in religious life was born Dina Belanger. Her first vision of Jesus came when she was five. After finishing boarding school at sixteen, Dina wanted to enter religious life, but was advised to wait until she was older. She stayed at home for three years, then her talent as a piantist was such that she went to New York to study at a conservatory for two years. While there, she stayed at an establishment run by the Religious of Jesus and Mary, and eventually joined that community in Canada when she was twenty-four. She worked as a music teacher, sometimes wrote poetry, experienced invisible stigmata, and died of tuberculosis. In the time before her death, Marie heard angels singing and said, “How captivating are the heavenly harmonies.”

Marie’s Wisdom: “(Jesus’s) voice is soft, so soft that in the soul all must be hushed.”

What We Can Learn from Marie: Working on quieting our soul can make it easier to hear the Lord. If that is difficult for you, consider spending some prayer time in a chapel or other place different from your usual prayer space.

To Learn More About Marie: Check out the site for the Dina-Belanger Center at her congregation in Canada.

To Learn More About Other Women Saints and Blesseds: Come back next week, or consider buying my books, Blessed Are You: Finding Inspiration from Our Sisters in Faith or Sisterhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration.