St. Madeleine Sophie writes to Philippine Duchesne, "the Cross is the greatest of all treasures..."

Taken at the Shrine in St. Charles, MO

April 7 - 8, 1805 ~ St. Madeleine Sophie Barat writes to Philippine Duchesne, "You realize now that the Cross is the greatest of all treasures.  A large portion of it is in store for you, but be courageous and ready to accept it willingly, without, however, asking for it. You will have crosses that come from yourself, but there will be others far more painful to bear.  Only let your soul be steeped in love for Jesus, then no cross will be too heavy to carry."

Taken from the book, "Through the Year with Philippine Duchesne"

"Mickie" Ryan  (my mom and a treasure!) taken on Easter Sunday 1959

I received an email from a fellow alumna asking me,  "I have not received a blog notice from you… have you stopped posting????"  I responded with a short message stating, "The last blog I wrote was from Palos Hospital the day of my Mom’s surgery (3/15).  She fell and broke her hip and is now in rehab at..." Well, after two weeks in a rehab "Mickie" (my mom) developed a MRSA/VISA infection in her hip wound and was taken back to the hospital for treatment.  She is getting along but her road to recovery is a long one.  


St. Madeleine Sophie's words above are very meaningful at this juncture in my life, as well as my mother's - "Only let your soul be steeped in love for Jesus, then no cross will be too heavy to carry." 


I wish all a joyous and blessed Easter season!