Saint Frances of Rome was born in Rome in 1384, writes Diocese of Lansing seminarian, Thomas Crowley, pictured, who is a parishioner at Church of the Resurrection in Lansing and studies at the Pontifical North American College in Rome. Frances was a pious, holy, reserved child, and when she was still very young, she expressed to her parents the desire to become a nun.
Now, all of you may think you can easily predict the rest of her story: she’ll enter the convent young, be very holy, write beautiful prayers, love Jesus, and die like this. Her story does not go that way, though!
Instead of becoming a nun, her parents forced her to enter an arranged marriage with a wealthy military man. It was within this marriage that she became the saint we know her to be: having a deep mystical life, loving the Lord, using her riches to take care of the poor through heroic acts of charity, using part of the family estate as a hospital, founding a group of women who lived a semi-monastic life and served others.
If she had entered the convent, she might have been able to do some of these things but definitely not all of them.
So, what can we learn from Saint Frances? A quote from the angel who appeared to the little shepherds of Fatima can help us here. When speaking to the children about how to offer sacrifice the Angel says, “Above all, accept and bear with submission the suffering which the Lord will send you.” (from “Fatima in Lucia’s Own Words”, p. 171.)
This is how Saint Frances lived! She accepted the Lord’s will, even when it was difficult, when she might have thought her plan (to become a nun) was so much better than His. In reality, though, we can see the great fruit that was born in her life from her acceptance of His will and intimacy with Him which bore fruit in charity.
As we continue on our Lenten journey, let us take her example and the words of the Angel to heart. Let our deepest sacrifice not be something we choose, but an acceptance of what the Lord chooses for us, believing like Saint Frances that His hand is within all things and that He is working all things for good.
