Mother Seton, as her Sisters of Charity called her, is known for her dedication to educating young children and in particular being the seed that led to the tree that is Catholic Education in America. And as the founding of this Co-op can attest to, Mother Seton is still hard at work. Mother Seton's prayers can, without a doubt, be seen and felt in the founding of this ministry.
A story of a new seed:
The whispers of the Holy Spirit could be heard on several occasions while I drove around the SEAS campus, "This building is vacant and you and this community are in need of a homeschooling ministry." It wasn't until one evening when deciding to attend a meeting for a brand new ministry in that very building that His whispers almost approached an audible level. Upon leaving the building that evening it was clear what the Holy Spirit wanted. He was asking for the hands, feet, and the yeses to begin the work to start a homeschool coop. And to make matters most clear, the meeting ended with each person choosing a Saint, at random, to whom we would seek their intercession- I'll give you one guess who I chose... St. Elizabeth Ann Seton. It was settled- The Holy Spirit was asking and already put her on mission. It was just a short time before He made several connections between us homeschooling women, each with unique gifts and skills, beautifully complimenting each other for this very mission.
Then one day, while choosing our coop meeting day (before even knowing if we would get approval much less if we could have the entire building on a given day) we landed on Thursday and had to decide on a start date. Logistics and calendars led to the beginning or middle of September. After going back and forth, September 14 was chosen. The Holy Spirit spoke up- "what is special about this day?", I sensed. A quick google search led to realizing September 14 was the day Mother Seton was canonized!
Next came the choice of when to return after Christmas break. Again, the dance between weeks ensued, would it be January 4th or 11th? Then the idea to look up the options came to mind. And lo and behold- January 4th is Mother Seton's feast day! Mind you, these days both happen to land on a Thursday, with only one day a week for meetings and all of this still before even having approval.
Finally, we received approval and were in need of securing the entire building for 6 hours each week on the same day. Of course we wanted Thursday and even felt like it had to be that day, but we were at the mercy of scheduling. And without mentioning our desired day we were told there was only one day that would work- Thursdays! Our Lord continues to remind us that He is in control. We just have to give our yes, Our Fiat - which just so happens to be the name of that new ministry we were attending that one evening I chose St. Elizabeth Ann Seton... or I can confidently say, that Our Lord chose her for us.
May God continue to lead this ministry. It's His above all. We are just here to do His Will.
Mother Seton, please continue to pray for us. They sure are effective!
Here is a little bio of our dear patron saint, Mother Seton.
In Christ and His Kingdom,
Candace Glasgow
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
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