The Basics: Born November 27, 1823, in Argentina; died April 5, 1896, in Argentina; beatified November 25, 2017; feast day, November 27. Wife; woman religious.
The Story: This newly beatified woman was born Saturnina Rodriguez, into a politically prominent family. When she was still in her teens, she took a course in Jesuit spirituality and discerned the need for women religious in Argentina to serve
By Yamile Nieto y Jazmin Vallejo (Own work) [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
Life went on. When Saturnina was twenty-nine, she married a widower with two children. She gave birth to a daughter as well, who died at or near birth. The marriage had other challenges, primarily Saturnina’s hot temper.
Her husband, whose resume included time as a presidential aide, died when Saturnina was forty-two. It was then that she returned to her original desire life. Seven years later, after many setbacks, she founded the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus, becoming Catalina de Maria, with an aim of providing education for girls and women. Her dream, she said, was “to form hearts in the mold of the Heart of Jesus, having instruction as a means and not as an end.”
The work she envisioned continues today through sisters in Argentina, Benin, Chile, and Spain.
What We Can Learn from Catalina: None of us is perfect. Catalina with God’s help learned to subdue her tendency for outbursts into outpourings of love to those she served. How does God desire to use what we see as our flaws?
Catalina’s Wisdom: “I found comfort in God from whom I expected everything…”
To Learn More About Catalina: Read her biography at the Handmaids of the Heart of Jesus’ school.
To Learn More About Other Women Saints and Blesseds: Come back next week, or consider buying my book, Sisterhood of Saints: Daily Guidance and Inspiration.
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