MEMORIAL ST FRANCES XAVIER CABRINI, THIRTY-SECOND WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME, NOVEMBER 13, 2025
- Olivia M. Bannan
- Nov 13, 2025
- 2 min read
First naturalized US citizen to be canonized. Patron Saint of Immigrants.
(1850-1917)
Gospel
Asked by the Pharisees when the Kingdom of God would come, Jesus said in reply, "The coming of the Kingdom of God cannot be observed, and no one will announce, 'Look, here it is,' or, 'There it is.' For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you." Then he said to his disciples, "The days will come when you will long to see one of the days of the Son of Man, but you will not see it. There will be those who will say to you, 'Look, there he is,' or 'Look, here he is.' Do not go off, do not run in pursuit. For just as lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. But first he must suffer greatly and be rejected by this generation."
REFLECTION
“For behold, the Kingdom of God is among you.”
Traveling in Golden Colorado we came across the St Mother Frances Xavier Cabrini Shrine. What are the chances of visiting this beautiful shrine hidden in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains?
Discovering this beautiful area Mother Cabrini purchased the land from the city. It was to be the summer camp for the orphans of the Children of Queen of Heaven Orphanage. Faced with no running water, the Sisters of the Sacred Heart made many trips up and down the side of the mountain getting water from a stream in Mount Vernon Canyon.
A miracle happened when St Francis Cabrini told the sisters to move a rock, dig and water was found. This source of water is still supplying the shrine.
The Shrine is now a place of prayer and meditation and visitors freely stroll, linger on benches and if adventurous, climb the 373 step stairway to the top of the Shrine where a 22 foot statue of the Sacred Heart of Jesus is at the summit.
She died of chronic endocarditis on December 22, 1917. There are many miracles. attributed to St Frances Cabrini. Frail from poor health, having battled tuberculosis, smallpox and malaria, she founded 67 institutions like hospitals, schools and orphanages. She embodied Christian principles and God's will on earth.
In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees try to limit the Kingdom of God. At Mother Cabrini's Shrine in Colorado, the buildings are beautiful but they are not the Kingdom of God. Those who surrender to God's will in their hearts and fulfill His will are part of the Kingdom of God. “The Kingdom of God is not a concept, a doctrine, a building but a person with the face and name of Jesus of Nazareth, the image of the invisible God”. (St John Paul II, Redemptoris Missio). Jesus, the King, is in their midst.
"We must pray without tiring, for the salvation of mankind does not depend upon material success . . . but on Jesus alone".
St Frances Xavier Cabrini
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