Sister Mary Dolores Schneider, SC Spiritual Legacy of Elizabeth Seton Sunday, Dec. 7, 2008 HAZARD YET FORWARD Let us begin this morning with a prayer that focuses on the spirit of Elizabeth Ann Seton and on what gives her and us the strength to continue on our journey of living out her vision. OPENING PRAYER: see hand out Several years ago one of Seton s teachers who at the time was teaching a course in Cincinnati History asked me if Seton High School had a school motto. He said that he had heard that it was Hazard Yet Forward but was just checking it out. I told him that Hazard Yet Forward was the Seton family motto, and that I, not being a Seton HS alum, did not know if it was also the school motto. Being Director of Student Activities at the time, I invited the student body to create a school motto. So, I sent out a memo to staff and students asking them to submit a motto or saying that expressed the spirit and mission of Seton HS. Well to my surprise the Setonians on the Seton staff rose up and assured me that Seton already had a motto and that indeed Hazard Yet Forward was the school motto. One class-of-1964 alum even found her Seton handbook and proved that it was indeed so! Since then I have found that alums from the class of 1946 also claim that this is the school motto. However, I do not know when or who suggested the Seton family motto, nor when it was no longer taught. I do know that today Seton HS staff and students have heartily adopted HAZARD YET FORWARD. 1
As we have used the motto, discussed its pros and cons, weighed whether it expresses a positive or negative spirit, I/we have come to like it more and more. It expresses for us at Seton HS the very open, strong awareness that we think is necessary for our young women in this 21 st century. They must have ardor, a burning desire for good, for success, for service; they must be courageous as they live out their Catholic values in a society that is forever challenging them; they must be daring as they willingly try the new, the untried, with openness and enthusiasm grounded in strong principles and values. This is the legacy, the heritage, that is theirs and ours. It is both exciting and humbling that three words from the 13 th century can be so relevant today. Dating from the 13 th and 14 th centuries the motto read: Hazard Zit Forward added to the family crest to indicate the military ardor and courage and daring of the early Seton family. A motto was usually in Latin. The Seton family motto was: In adversitate patiens, In prosperitate benevolus. Hazard yet forward; translated: In adversity, patience; In prosperity, kindness. Hazard Yet Forward. Its English translation has experienced many changes in pronunciation and spelling. The meaning of the Seton family motto eventually became: At whatever risk; yet go forward. As was the custom, this motto adorned various parts of the castle and was the subject of many works of art. As we reflect on this motto today, and look for synonyms for the word hazard, words like challenges, difficulties, trials, obstacles diminish the strength of the word. For hazard implies danger, roadblock, hindrance, calamity. Since this motto grew out of a battle, an encouragement to warriors to exhibit courage and valor, then the strongest connotation must be understood. Hazard Yet Forward pre-supposes faith and trust faith in God s presence and unconditional love; faith in ourselves; faith in the strength we have received from the Eucharist and prayer; faith in our companions on the journey always ready to encourage and support us. 2
Faith is putting our relationship with Jesus into practice. Therefore, our faith cannot be just an intellectual assent, head knowledge; but must also be heart knowledge that is, a total surrender of ourselves to God: trials and temptations, emotions and energy, joys and ambitions, our entire span of life on earth. Then life can be embraced with humor and eagerness, and forward becomes possible. Life then is no longer a problem to be solved, but a mystery to be lived. Elizabeth Ann Bayley Seton was a hazard-yet-forward woman! Her life and words are examples for us of the spirit with which we must live in this 21 st century. St. Matthew (7:21-27) has Jesus say to His disciples: Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like the wise person who built a house on rock. The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house. But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock. Hazards? Go forward! says Jesus! From her earliest childhood, Elizabeth experienced the rain, and the floods, and the winds of loss, disappointment, and death. Her mother died when she was three years old; her sister Catherine (Kitty) the following year. Elizabeth looked forward to finding them in their eternity. Years later she recalled sitting alone on a step of the door, looking at the clouds, while my little sister Catherine, two years old, lay in her coffin; they asked me: Did I not cry when little Kitty was dead? No, because Kitty is gone up to heaven. I wish I could go, too. This brave intent to always look up to God will fortify Elizabeth through her lifetime struggles. Later she would say: The truth is I am a coward in thought, and try to drive away the past as much as possible. To receive the daily bread and to do the sacred will that is the fixed point. Elizabeth s father provided an extensive and cultural education for his daughter; however, while she learned compassion and generosity from her father by accompanying him on his rounds especially among the poor, she also longed for his companionship. Her father re- 3
married but Elizabeth and her sister Mary did not find a welcoming place in their new home. They spent many summers shuttling between their home in New York and their uncle s home in New Rochelle. Dr. Bayley had a special love for the poor and outcast. Elizabeth absorbed his care for them, his untiring efforts to alleviate their suffering. This example of her father carried into Elizabeth s adult life she was a founding member of the Society for the Relief of Poor Widows with Small Children, the first benevolent association managed by women in the United States. This missionary desire, fueled by prayer and action, led friends to dub her a Protestant Sister of Charity. As God s will begins to unfold for Elizabeth, this zeal becomes the priority of her newly formed community in Emmitsburg in 1809. Elizabeth relies on her strong belief in God s presence to sustain her so that she can continue to go forward. To quote Fr. Dirvin s biography MRS. SETON: It was one of the wonders of Elizabeth Bayley Seton that disillusionment never made her cynical or bitter, either as a child or an adolescent or an adult. There were black moods and moments of near-despair, but she always came through them right side up. Elizabeth never dwelt needlessly on injustice. While it saddened her, it made her wise with the wisdom of God and man. She turned from it instinctively to pursue her own glad and innocent thoughts of God and heaven. It is this instinct that forces the beholder to see the hand of God, even so early, molding a heroine. The experience of God s personal love and concern brings an interior peace, an interior delight. God s presence within makes a mission to others possible. Elizabeth married the love of her life in 1794. The Setons life was affluent, loving, and secure. My own home at 20 the world that and heaven too quite impossible! she writes. 4
She expresses the fear, however, that having everything may cause her to lose her God and suffer the horror of hell. Unfortunately, when Elizabeth first met William, he was already afflicted with what she would later call the Seton complaint. During her years as a young wife and mother, she actively engaged in works of charity and continued to grow in her relationship with her God. In fact, God seemed to purify this growing relationship by suffering. The hazards of William s declining health, and the crises the fortunes of the Seton family business were experiencing served to strengthen what she already knew that nothing on earth could be perfect; thus to look up to God for strength and assurance was her constant prayer. Elizabeth writes to her friend Eliza Sadler: My Sad, every hour I pass shows me the instability of every expectation which is not founded on reason. I have learnt to commune with my own heart, and I try to govern it by reflection. Therefore, my Sad, I have become a looker-up, which is certainly the only remedy for my description of sorrow. One of Elizabeth s great characteristics is her devotion to her friends whom she regarded as sacraments. They are her delight, her support, a necessity to her. Again she writes to Sad: You speak of me as independent of you. Do you not know that there is not an hour of my life, in which I do not want either the advice or soothing of friendship? God too is just this kind of friend for Elizabeth God who said You are my friends. I no longer call you servants, but friends. I call you friends, because I have made known to you everything I have learnt. (John 15:14-15) God and her friends are the source of her being able to go forward. Elizabeth s greatest test of her faith came about 1798. William s health seemed to be declining rapidly; her father-in-law s death and the subsequent caring for William s sisters and brothers; the spread of the yellow fever in New York and the death of her own father; the further threat of bankruptcy of the Seton business; all culminated in the need for her to take William on 5
a sea voyage to Italy in an attempt to find some relief for him. The precarious voyage to Italy and the terrible conditions under which she, her daughter, and William were forced to live at Leghorn ended with the death of Elizabeth s beloved William. Dirvin states that it was characteristic of the growing piety of Elizabeth that, in the midst of all this turbulence, she should sit down in a snatched moment of quiet and pen a long prayer which began: Almighty Giver of all mercies, Father of all, who knows my heart and pities its weakness and errors, Thou knowest the desire of my soul is to do Thy will. At William s death Elizabeth offered a prayer of resignation to God s will: I took my little Anna in my arms and made her kneel again with me by the dear body and thank our heavenly Father for relieving him from his misery, for the joyful assurance that through our blessed Redeemer he had entered into life eternal, and implored his protecting care and pity for us who have yet to finish our course. The months she spent in Italy at the home of her hosts, the Filicchi family, introduced Elizabeth to the churches, and traditions, and rituals of the Catholic Church, especially their devotion to Christ s presence in the Holy Eucharist. One of the central components of Elizabeth s spirituality in the Episcopal Church was her devotion to the Eucharist. However, at that time, the communion service was celebrated only a few times a year and most members accepted communion only as an objective presence of Christ. When she was introduced to the Catholic belief in the real presence of Christ, she was immediately caught. No longer was her joy from head knowledge; now her joy is in the very depth of her heart. She writes to her sisterin-law Rebecca: My sister dear, How happy we would be if we believed what these poor souls believe, that they POSSESS GOD in the Sacrament and that he remains in their churches and is carried to them when they are sick. Oh, my! When they carry the Blessed Sacrament under my window, while I feel the full loneliness and sadness of my case, I cannot stop the tears at the 6
thought: My God! How happy would I be, even so far away from all so dear, if I could find You in the church as they do. At the time of her first communion, March 25, 1805, in great joy, Elizabeth wrote to Amabilia Filicchi: At last, Amabilia, at last, GOD IS MINE AND I AM HIS! Now, let all go its round I have received Him. Another devotion that Elizabeth learned while with the Filicchi s was to Mary, the Mother of God. The MEMORARE was the first prayer in a Catholic prayerbook that she ever read. She picked up the prayerbook at the Filicchi home the night of her husband s burial, and from that moment Mary was her Mother! In her diary she wrote: I fell asleep in her arms. As Elizabeth s catholic life matured her devotion to Mary also grew What joy to be Catholic! Zeal for the honor of Mary. Pleasing Jesus much by pleasing her. Faithful service of praise, love, and homage to her; and especially by continual remembrances and imitation of her virtues. As we continue our Advent journey with Mary this year, we may find it helpful to reflect on the quotations about Mary in Monsignor Joseph Code s DAILY THOUGHTS OF MOTHER SETON. These reflect the depth of Elizabeth s heart-felt belief. Though most of the quotes are undated, several in the December section are particularly relevant for our Christmas preparation. At the time of Elizabeth s departure from the Filicchi s in 1804, she prayed for the gift of faith but I do beg Him to give me their faith and promise Him all in return for such a gift. Though she felt drawn to Catholicism, she knew that she would meet strong opposition from family and friends in New York. Again, Elizabeth s hazard-yet-forward spirit prevailed, and she made the great leap of faith the decision to become a Catholic; but for many long months she suffered out-right hostility and disapproval from all those she dearly loved. All abandoned her. This rejection and lack of support lasted for three years as she struggled to keep her young family together. Elizabeth turned to God: In my God is my refuge. In my God is the strength of 7
my hope. If the Lord had not received me, my soul would have been reduced to silence. But from the hour when I thought that my foot was going to slip, Your mercy has sustained me. This chapter of her life does have a happy ending. Members of the Church, as well as the Filicchi family, came to her with support and the means to move from New York, to Baltimore, to Emmitsburg. Now not only could her sons receive an education, and she open a school, but she also could eventually form the Sisters of Charity, the first apostolic community of women religious in the United States. Through all of this, Elizabeth never loses her confidence in God s protection and care. Tomorrow, do I go among strangers? No. Has an anxious thought or fear passed my mind? No. Can I be disappointed? No. One sweet Sacrifice (the Eucharist) will reunite my soul with all who offer it. Doubt and fear fly from the breast inhabited by HIM. There can be no disappointment where the soul s only desire and expectation is to HIS Adored Will and fulfill it. Such remarkable confidence sustains her throughout the rest of her life. When Elizabeth ultimately makes the decision to join the Catholic Church, she does not make this decision from intellectual conviction only, but rather from the assurance that this is what God wants for her. She has had enough arguing and hostility and decides I shall be as safe with them as any other. It is the way of suffering and the cross; for me, that is another point of security. But living within the structure of the Church is not always simple and comfortable for her, and she often has to rely on her belief that the Holy Spirit is directing her in her responsibilities when Church authority seems to conflict with her role as Sister Servant to her Sisters. For Elizabeth the Community is always her first concern. She instructs her Sisters during these turbulent times with sincere words of wisdom and encouragement: Your little Mother, does not come to teach you how to be good nuns or Sisters of Charity, but rather I would wish to fit you for that world in which you are destined to live; to teach you how to be 8
good. She knows there her Sisters will face hazards, but she also knows that they will be strong enough to go forward. Regardless of these tensions, for she unquestioningly takes on leadership in a work that is without precedent for women of her time, she relies on the strength she knows will be hers from prayerfully discerning the Spirit and the will of God so that she can urge her sisters: Be children of the Church. At the time of her death, Elizabeth says: I thank God for having made me a child of His Church: when you come to this hour you will know what it is to be a child of the Church. To imagine the depth of Elizabeth s suffering as she formed her young community is impossible. The cold, the lack of food, the general hardships of so many living in a log house, disease these can be endured only by a woman of the deepest faith and reliance on God so that she can encourage her Sisters and exemplify for them that hazards are necessary for deepening their relationship with God so that He will give them the strength to go forward. Elizabeth loses many Sisters in the early years of the Community. Her long-time friends and allies, Harriet and Cecilia Seton, die shortly after she moves to Emmitsburg. The greatest test of her faith comes at the time of the death of her oldest daughter, Anna; this crushing blow is followed closely by the death of her youngest daughter, Rebecca. After Elizabeth s grief over these losses finally eases, she finds peace and hope in eternal life with her loved ones. She confides to her dear friend, Julia Scott: I long so to get above this blue horizon. All, all dear ones so many years gone before! ETERNAL REUNION! And once again Elizabeth reflects that dwelling on past or future problems over which she has no control is useless. What is sorrow, what is death? They are but sounds when at peace with Jesus. Sorrow and death their real sense is the loss of His dear love. Indeed, the hazards, the hard lessons she has learned, become the source of better understanding of, and helpfulness to, others. Like Elizabeth, all people must go through 9
experiences of pain and suffering and hardships; but because they have risked all for the sake of Jesus and His people, they will begin life over and over again. And others will take the gifts and fruits of their suffering and acceptance and transform them/change them as they meet new and different obstacles/hazards of misunderstanding, or lack of willingness to understand. They must go forward. Only thus is the future created. The year 2009 is a celebration of the year that Elizabeth Seton officially established the Sisters of Charity. Elizabeth pronounced vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience binding for one year on March 25, 1809, in the presence of Archbishop Carroll in Baltimore. On June 20, 1809, she and the Sisters leave Baltimore for their new home in Emmitsburg. The trek is slow because of the heat and the poor roads. The last group of Sisters leaves Baltimore the last week of July. After taking a few days to get settled in the Stone House, Monday, July 31, 1809, Elizabeth and her Sisters first begin to live their religious life together their lives as Sisters of Charity. Many hazards have been overcome and they continue to move forward. Did Elizabeth display a copy of the Seton family motto in her home? Did she hand it down to her children and her Sisters? Did she even know that Hazard Yet Forward was the Seton family motto? Or was it the tumultuous times in which she lived? She was nine years old when the British army withdrew from New York City; as a teenager she watched the former colonies struggle to form a new nation and adopt the 1789 constitution; intellectually, too, the times were exploding with the ideas of the Enlightenment, with natural law as the definition of life, liberty, and property; and the philosophies of Voltaire and Rousseau had made their way from France to the United States. These exciting new events can be described as Hazard-Yet- Forward moments. And Elizabeth found herself caught up in all of them! Or is this the spirit she received from her relationship with Jesus a relationship of trust, confidence, dependence; a 10
relationship, not of intellectual knowledge but of heart-felt conviction, that gave her the guidance and strength needed to be fully alive? All of these together create a spirit of risk, daring, forward-looking all qualities implied in the Seton family motto. And so, we give thanks, and we celebrate to be daughters and sons of Elizabeth Seton Sisters of Charity Children of the Church Hazard-Yet-Forward people women and men deeply rooted in heart, and mind, and spirit in our covenant of faith in God s presence and unconditional love strengthened by the Eucharist and prayer. Let us close with the short litany on the hand out. 11
OPENING PRAYER (from EAS novena) O Father, the first rule of our dear Savior s life was to do Your will. Let His will of the present moment be the first rule of our daily life and work, with no other desire but for its most full and complete accomplishment. Help us to follow it faithfully, so that doing what You wish, we will be pleasing to You. Amen. CLOSING PRAYER (from EAS novena) Elizabeth Seton, you are a saint for our time. Amen. Elizabeth Seton, you are a woman of faith, for a time of doubt and uncertainty. Amen. Elizabeth Seton, you are a woman of love, for a time of coldness and division. Amen. Elizabeth Seton, you are a woman of hope, for a time of crisis and discouragement. Intercede for our Church and our country. Amen. REFLECTION IDEAS The Sister of Charity motto kept from St. Vincent de Paul s counsel to his sisters is: HUMILITY, SIMPLICITY, AND CHARITY; AND REMEMBER THAT GOD IS EVER PRESENT. How does the Seton family motto strengthen our living out this SC motto? The picture is a photo of the statue outside the chapel. Sister Margaret Beaudette, New York Sister of Charity, created it. How does it say hazard yet forward? How often during the day do you look up to God? Pray without ceasing? Hold onto God s presence? How do you meet hazards? What gives you the impetus to go forward? REFERENCES (Used primarily for EAS quotes) Alderman, Margaret & Burns, Josephine. Praying with Elizabeth Seton. Minnesota: Saint Mary s Press, 1992. Celeste, Sister Marie, SC. Elizabeth Ann Seton: A Woman of Prayer. New York: Alba House, 1993. Code, Joseph B. Daily Thoughts of Mother Seton. Baltimore: The Chandler Printing Co., 1957. Dirvin, Joseph L., CM. Mrs. Seton. New York, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 1962. McKeone, SC. The Spirit of the Sisters of Charity. Pamphlet. 1966. Metz, Sister Judith, SC. A Retreat with Elizabeth Seton. Cincinnati: St. Anthony Messenger Press, 1999. Schmidt, Sister Mary, SC. Saint Elizabeth Seton. Seton Hill College, 1985. 12