“My dearest Jesus, through the holiness of Your actions,
sanctify mine. I ardently wish them to depend upon You and to be performed for
You alone, O my Jesus.” ~Marie of the Incarnation
Today, we celebrate the Feast of Marie Guyart of the
Incarnation, an Ursuline nun from France who came to the New World to establish
a community and school for Indian girls.
Marie Guyart was born on Oct. 28, 1599 in Tours, she grew up strong in
faith, adventuresome, confident and full of joy. At the age of 14 she desired
to enter the convent but her parents chose instead to engage their daughter to
marry Claude Martin, a young manufacturer. Claude was an honest man and Marie
admitted she was beginning to love him “very much.” The couple soon welcomed a
son, named Claude after his father. Their joy as a family came to an end six
months later when Marie’s husband Claude died in 1919, leaving behind his
20-year-old widow and baby son.
At the age of 30 she again felt the urgency of entering the
religious life. In consultation with her spiritual advisor, she entered the
Ursulines, feeling the desire to teach the young. Her sister took charge of
young Claude and raised him as her own son. This decision was not easy for
Marie, who was torn by the heartbreaking decision to leave her son. In the
convent she was given the name Marie of the Incarnation. She came to Canada to serve the young Indian
girls and learned the Algonquin, Huron and Iroquois languages and wrote
dictionaries and catechisms for her students. Marie endured fires and many
difficult days but remained steadfast in her mission.
Let us pray this day for the ability to keep faithful to
our hopes and dreams and to do everything for the love and glory of God.
Pat Schifini, OSU
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