In this letter from 1899, Mother Cabrini writes about the role Our Lady of Grace played in the founding of the Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. “Oh, happy is the one who loves Mary! What care and tenderness this good Mother has for us!… “She rejoices when…
The Ave Maris Stella is a Latin hymn that dates back to the 10th century and is usually sung at Vespers. This beautiful song was a favorite of Mother Cabrini’s. In the following letter to the Missionary Sisters we see Mother Cabrini’s deep love for Our Lady, and learn the…
Mother Cabrini prayed frequently, deeply, and with the certainty that prayer is “the channel through which the most precious waters of grace continually and copiously flow from the Heart of God.” Many of Mother Cabrini’s personal prayers are recorded in her retreat journals. In these we get a glimpse of…
In 1892, one of the Missionary Sisters wrote to Mother Cabrini, concerned about how dry her prayer life had become. She received what was probably a surprising reply. “I rejoice with you for the eminent degree of holiness to which God calls you with the gift of great aridity,” wrote…
Sister Gabriella Linati, age 24, was a novice when she was selected as one of the six Sisters to accompany Mother Cabrini to the U.S. in 1889. Her notes are our main source of what the first voyage across the Atlantic was like. March 26, 1889 After lunch a…
Can’t get to the Shrine to see our What is a Relic exhibit? A few pieces of good news! The exhibit is being extended through June 29. It will then transition to a different location at the Shrine to make space for a new exhibit (hint: July 7, 2021 is the…
“You are so good to me, St. Joseph. Imprint your image within me and always give me the grace of enjoying my beloved Infant Jesus! Beloved Joseph, your gifts are great and I do not have enough words to thank you… to you I entrust all, to you I entrust…
Mother Cabrini arrived in the U.S. in 1899, during the second great wave of immigration. A million Italians had arrived on American shores in the previous decade. Three million more would arrive before Mother Cabrini died in 1917. But it wasn’t just Italians who were were pouring in. In 1890,…
The snow began to fall today just as 9am Mass began. It looked lovely. All the same, a corner of my mind kept track of the accumulation. The Shrine’s maintenance man has Sundays off; I’d have to figure out the logistics of shoveling and sanitizing between the 9 and 11am…
Poverty in New York, 1889 Sometimes it’s hard to grasp how incredibly difficult life was for the Italian immigrants Mother Cabrini came to serve. In 1889 orphans slept in the streets. Decrepit tenements teemed with families and vermin. Parents worked 12-hour days in dangerous jobs. There were few workplace safety…