From Season to Season

Whoever obeys and teaches the commandments of the Lord will be called great in the Kingdom of Heaven. —Matthew 5:19 Caroline Gerhardinger was born in Stadtamhof (a suburb of Regensburg), Germany, in 1797. As a girl, Caroline was educated by the Canonesses of Notre Dame , a religious community founded by Saint Peter Fourier and Blessed Alix Le Clerc . In 1809, the school was suppressed and the sisters dispersed as part of Napoleon’s anti-clerical campaign. And so, at only 15 years of age, Caroline began teaching other girls. She demonstrated great gifts and came to the attention of Father Georg Whitman, who took Caroline under his wing. Under Father Whitman’s direction, she completed her education and, again, served in the school from 1816 to 1833. This priest, who would eventually become bishop of Regensburg, shared with Caroline his dream of sending out teaching sisters, two by two, into the rural schools of Bavaria. While his untimely death in 1833 left Caroline with no money o...

You who fear the Lord trust him, And your reward will not be lost. You who fear the Lord, hope for good things, For lasting joy and mercy. You who fear the Lord, love him, And your hearts will be enlightened. — Sirach 2:8-10 In these final days of the Christmas Season, there are a handful of “American” Saints that we are celebrating: St. Elizabeth Ann Seton (on January 4), St. John Neumann (on January 5), and St. André Bessette (on January 6 in the United States and January 7 in Canada). “It is with the smallest brushes that the Artist paints the best paintings.”—Saint André Bessette Born in Saint-Grégoire d’Iberville, Canada, in 1845, “Brother André” was orphaned at the age of twelve. Unable to attend school, he was forced to support himself and worked as an unskilled laborer in various textile mills in New England.   In 1867, André returned to Canada and entered the Congregation of Holy Cross as a lay brother. Known for his generosity and credited with man...