Inbox Inspiration: November 6, 2019: Saint Louise de Marillac

Saint Louise de Marillac 

Dear Friends, 
Louise de Marillac was born in France in 1591.
She was well educated and happily married to a courtier of the Queen of France.
The couple had one child, a son, whom Louise raised with much love and care.
Then, after just twelve years of marriage, her husband succumbed to illness and died in 1625.
Soon Louise knew that she wanted to dedicate her life to God in some special way.
She looked for a spiritual director and was soon introduced to Vincent de Paul (see the Inbox Inspirations from last week, October 30, 2019).
Vincent had already formed some groups of rather wealthy women (Confraternities of Charity) to assist in bringing medicine, clothes, and food to the poor.
Louise became active in this but before long, she desired a deeper and more formal commitment to Christ.
At first, under Vincent’s guidance, Louise formed a group of women to do the really hands-on work in caring for the poor and the sick.
It was out of this that Louise and Vincent became the co-founders of what we now know as the Daughters of Charity.
Its members take vows, live in community but are not cloistered (a new idea when the Daughters were formed), have a strong spirituality and prayer life, and devote themselves to actively aiding those in need.
Today, there are 14,000 Daughters of Charity and these Sisters work in 90 countries.
Louise de Marillac died in 1660 and was canonized a saint in 1934.
She has been declared the Patroness of Social Workers.
Her feast day is May 9 in the Catholic calendar.

“How obliged you are to serve the poor respectfully as your master, and devotedly because they represent for you the person of Our Lord who said: What you do to the least of mine, I will consider as done to me. So then, Sisters, Our Lord is really with that…person [in need] who is receiving the service you render.”
From the writings of Saint Louise de Marillac.

“All you holy men and women, Saints of God, pray for us.” 
Father Michael Schleupner