Dedication of the New St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Museum and Visitor Center
Basilica of the Nation Shrine of Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton
Emmitsburg, Maryland
September 22, 2023
Introduction
I am very happy to take part in today’s celebration in which we bless and dedicate the wonderful new St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Museum and Visitor Center. As all of us are keenly aware, this new museum and this new visitor center did materialize out of thin air. No, it is the result of prayer, discernment, planning, hard work, and much generosity. For all who had a hand in seeing these projects through to completion, let us express our thanks to God and our common debt of gratitude. I would like to recognize the National Leaders Council chaired by Luci Baines Johnson, and the leadership of the former First Lady of Pennsylvania, Michele Ridge, as also the work of Maureen Scalia, widow of the Justice Antonin Scalia. Special thanks to Barbara Bozzuto for her generosity and leadership together with many from the Archdiocese of Baltimore and beyond.
In this new interactive museum, you will see artifacts of Mother Seton, some of which few people in the past have been privileged to see, for example, her iconic bonnet, the christening gown worn by her daughter Catherine, and a copy of the Introduction to the Devout Life annotated in Mother Seton’s own hand . . . and much, much more.
Of course, in this case, a museum is more than a museum, and a visitor’s center is more than a visitor’s center. The Visitor’s Center is like a gateway inviting us to discover who St. Elizabeth Ann Seton was and to grow in appreciation of the times in which she lived. The Museum with its precious artifacts and interactive displays, invites us to grow in our appreciation of the spiritual journey which she underwent, to strive for the sanctity she attained, and to embrace the legacy of loving service which she bequeathed to the Church, especially the Church in the still-young United States of America. Her legacy lives on in many ways – in Catholic education and healthcare, for sure, but also in the Daughters of Charity and Sisters of Charity Federation who share her charism.
Colossians 3:12-17
And how beautifully today’s Scripture readings guide us along the voyage of discovery to which the Visitor’s Center and Museum invite us. St. Paul’s Letter to the Colossians almost seems to be a page right out of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s playbook, if I could put it that way.
As we listened to Paul’s words, exhorting us to live as God’s chosen ones, couldn’t we almost hear Elizabeth Ann Seton exhorting her children to be kind and compassionate, full of humility, gentleness and patience? – Virtues which she demonstrated in abundance throughout her eventful life. And couldn’t we almost hear her speaking those same words to her spiritual daughters here in Emmitsburg as they lived together in close quarters and difficult circumstances. Mother Seton never pandered to her sisters, nor to anyone else. Her love had a measure of “steel” in it – and for that reason it was a durable love, more durable than the misfortunes she endured, the surprises God has in store for her, and the challenges of founding a new religious community with few earthly resources. Even in those circumstances, she urged her sisters (as she urges you and me) not to grumble or get ourselves into tizzy but to trust in the Lord and forge ahead. Indeed, she was the very embodiment of St. Paul’s exhortation ‘to teach and admonish in all wisdom’ and ‘to do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.’
Matthew 11:25-30
So too, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton lived today’s Gospel reading to the hilt. Although she came of age in a prominent, well-to-do family, she remained humble. Indeed, in her spirit remained open to the Lord as she prayed and served the needs of others, not fully suspecting all that the Lord had in mind for her. In that spirit she married, cared for her family and her husband in his illness, discovered the fullness of faith and embraced it, opened a little school in Baltimore and came her to found a new community. She did not cling to her own wisdom and preference, charting her path through life. Rather, like the “little ones” extolled by Jesus in the Gospel, she kept her mind and heart open to where the Spirit led her, and for that all of us today give thanks to the Lord with all our hearts!
But there is more! When the Lord invites those who labor and are burdened to come to him, promising a yoke that is easy and a burden that is light, we can, once again, find Mother Seton instructing her sisters about the spirit in which they were to accept their duties and hardships – not as mere inconveniences or annoyances, but rather as an expression of the Lord’s will – that will in which we find our peace, that will which is a yoke much lighter than our sins.
Conclusion
So as we take to heart today’s Scripture readings and rejoice and give thanks to bless and dedicate the Visitor’s Center and Museum, let us resolve that St. Elizabeth Ann Seton become better known, that the way she lived the vocation of marriage and family and religious life be a model for married couples and to all those in consecrated life, as also those of us who are bishops and priests.
And through her intercession, may the Church in the United States be blessed with many new disciples of the Lord, many new vocations, and an extra dose of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton’s indomitable spirit. And may God bless us and keep us always in his love!