Today in the book In Caelo et in Terra, we read about Blessed Miriam Teresa Demjanovich. She was born and raised in New Jersey, and is one of the least known American saints. She entered religious life and so impressed her spiritual director with her holiness and spiritual insight that he had her write conferences for him to give the other religious sisters. Only after her death was it revealed that she had written them.
She had a great insight, even before Vatican II, into the fact that all people, throughout the whole world, are called to intimacy with God. It's not a special vocation for a few. It's for everyone. This view became far more widespread in Vatican II, but at the time of her life it was somewhat revolutionary.
She suffered from poor health while in the religious order, and died at a very young age of only 26. You can read more about her here.
God tends to take very holy people home at a young age. You see this quite a bit in the stories of the saints that we read about in this book. Sometimes, as in the case of John Paul II or Mother Teresa, God lets us have access to their wisdom and example far into their old age. But in the case of people like Bl Miriam Teresa, or like my favorite saint Therese of Liseux, God takes them home early. We should keep this in mind when someone we love dies at an early age. Sometimes God just lets them come home early.
God, thanks for the wonderful and brief example of this amazing woman. Help us carry her message of the universal call to holiness and intimacy with God to the world. Bl Miriam Teresa Demjanovich, pray for us.
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