Madeleine Sophie Barat: Relationship Builder

Madeleine Sophie Barat - A Life by Phil Kiroy, RSCJ
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"As a 19th century woman, Sophie Barat found her way out of a private life into a public role with a public profile; and she did this with her colleagues because she had a public service to offer which met a need in society and in the church. However, another inner narrative was taking place at the same time, one that informed the outer and gave the impulse and energy to sustain so much activity. While she was engaged in the founding and consolidation of the Society of the Sacred Heart, Sophie made an inner, spiritual journey in the course of which she continually strove to transform her image of a severe, harsh God into one of warmth and love and vulnerability. Though her exterior success was the focus of her fame in the 19th century and beyond, her inner achievement had greater, long term consequences for the image of the divine, of the holy in our time. Sophie was endowed with a remarkable capacity for human relationships, a gift she used to good effect in her leadership of the Society of the Sacred Heart."   

The quote above is from the book Madeleine Sophie Barat A Life by Phil Kilroy

I have posted the following homily by Fr. Frank Buckley, SJ before (see Blog post - July 20, 2013)  however, today on the eve of Sophie's Feast Day which will be celebrated tomorrow and marks the 150th anniversary of her death, I feel the need to share Fr. Frank's homily again.  Believe me it is well worth the time to watch this all the way to the end.  If you should wish to jump to the part about Saint Madeleine Sophie Barat and her life you should advance the video to the 11 minute mark but trust me you will have missed most of the message: "Who is my neighbor?" 

In full disclosure I should tell you that I first met Fr. Frank at Oakwood (the RSCJ retirement community in Atherton, CA) when he said mass for the 2013 Feast Day of St. MSB.  After his homily which was fabulous we were introduced.  So naturally when I learned he would be the presider at the last mass hosted during the 2013 Society of the Sacred Heart Spirituality Forum I made certain to have my camera ready to video tape his homily.