The saint we read about today in the book In Caelo et in Terra is named St Jane Frances de Chantal. She was an unusual story, and would make an interesting movie! She was married to a Duke as a young woman and had four children. Then her husband was killed in a hunting accident and she was devastated. She struggled for years to forgive the man who accidentally made her a widow.
She and her children were taken in by her father-in-law, and this would make you think that her life would get much better. But there was a conniving servant in the household who made her life miserable. That's the part of the story where I thought, "This would make an interesting movie!"
She prayed that God would provide a good spiritual mentor, and God gave her a saint: St Francis de Sales! They worked together to form religious orders and monasteries. She, with his help, founded over 80 monasteries during her lifetime! You can read more about her here.
One thing she did that made me scratch my head and frown a little is she JOINED a religious order while her kids were still young. She "arranged for her children to be taken care of" and then joined the religious order. I'm not trying to play the role of the Holy Spirit in her life, and maybe that's exactly what God called her to do. It just seems odd that she wouldn't take care of her own children first before joining a religious order. On the other hand, Jesus did tell us that we were to put the kingdom of God first, even before our family.
How is God calling you to put Him first today?
God, thanks for the example of this movie-worthy saint. St Jane Frances de Chantal, pray for us.
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