Following Courageously: Answering God’s Call

“Hold your eyes on God and leave the doing to Him. That is all the doing you have to worry about” (St. Jane Frances de Chantal).

What Is God Asking?

During a recent homily, a priest at the Shrine at the Blessed Sacrament in Washington, D.C. asked, “What is God asking of you today?”

When we reflect on how to follow God’s path for our lives, we often reference the saints. However, saints’ lives can feel so distant from ours. Delving into their stories helps remind us that they are unique but the same thread of a common simplicity: Follow your call.

On the 51st World Day of Prayer for Vocations, Pope Francis said, “Let us dispose our hearts therefore to being ‘good soil’, by listening, receiving and living out the word, and thus bearing fruit. The more we unite ourselves to Jesus through prayer, Sacred Scripture, the Eucharist, the Sacraments celebrated and lived in the Church and in fraternity, the more there will grow in us the joy of cooperating with God in the service of the Kingdom of mercy and truth, of justice and peace. And the harvest will be plentiful, proportionate to the grace we have meekly welcomed into our lives.”

Pope Francis’ message of “listening, receiving, and living the word” is what we look favorably upon in saints’ lives. As we march forward with our own search for God’s ask for us in this new decade, lessons from women saints — pioneers of their time — can remind us how to march forward with our “yes” courageously.

St. Gianna Molla, St. Joan of Arc, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, and St. Marie-Azélie “Zelie” Guérin Martin all had very distinct and separate callings: one a business owner and medical doctor, one a military and political adviser, one a founder of schools and orphanages, and one a business owner and creative. All four women merged their faith into their livelihoods and their personal lives. God wove their circumstances, talents, and interests together in perfect symphony. 

St. Gianna Molla

“Our body is a cenacle, a monstrance: through its crystal the world should see God.”

From a young age, Italian Saint Giana Molla practiced her faith by diligently pursuing her knowledge in academic and religious areas. She earned degrees in medicine and surgery from the University of Pavia in 1949 and opened her own medical practice in 1950. She eventually specialized in pediatrics and dedicated herself to Catholic Action, a group of lay Catholics dedicated to spreading the Catholic Church’s social teaching.

Saint Gianna Molla was called to marriage as well. With her husband Pietro Molla, an engineer, she had three children. St. Gianna has been said to juggle her motherhood, missionhood, and faith beautifully. When she became pregnant with her fourth child, she learned she had an ovarian tumor. The doctors gave her three choices: an abortion, a tumor removal, or a hysterectomy.  St. Gianna chose a tumor removal, but her pregnancy had several complications. After a cesarean delivery, her fourth child lived, but St. Gianna died a week after delivery from an infection. She was canonized on May 16, 2004 by John Paul II with her family present.

St. Joan of Arc

“Act, and God will act, work and He will work.”

At the age of 13, Saint Joan of Arc had visions of Saint Catherine, Saint Michael, and Saint Margaret in her father’s garden. These visions instructed her to drive the English from French territory and to lead the Dauphin (heir apparent) Charles to go through hostile Burgundian territory to be crowned at Reims. She succeeded and won the favor of King Charles VII, providing military counsel for several battles while accompanying troops and holding a banner.

Saint Joan traveled to Compičgne to help defend against an English and Burgundian siege. There, she was captured by Burgundian troops. She made several escape attempts, but she was finally sold to the English for 10,000 gold coins. When she was 19, the English tried her as a witch and heretic in an unfair trial. Saint Joan was executed on May 30, 1431. During a retrial in 1456, she was posthumously declared innocent. She was canonized on May 16, 1920 by Pope Benedict XV.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton

“This union of my soul with God is my wealth in poverty and joy in deepest afflictions.”

Saint Elizabeth Ann Seton was born into upper-class New York society two years before the American Revolution. Not long after her wedding to William Seton, William’s father died, leaving the couple with William’s seven half-brothers and -sisters as well as the family importing business. The business failed, and William died of tuberculous.

After the deaths of those close to her, including her mother in her early childhood, Elizabeth’s concern for the spiritual welfare of friends and family led her to the Catholic Church. She became acquainted with the president of St. Mary's College in Baltimore, Maryland, who encouraged her to start a school. St. Elizabeth and two other women established the first free Catholic school in the U.S. and began plans for a sisterhood. The Rule of their sisterhood was ratified in 1812, and by 1818, they established two orphanages and another school. Sixteen years after her conversion to Catholicism, at the age of 46, Mother Seton died. She was canonized on September 14, 1975 by Pope Paul VI.

St. Marie-Azélie “Zelie” Guérin Martin

“Soon we’ll have the intimate happiness of the family, and it’s this beauty that brings us closer to him.”

Zelie Martin was a well-known lace maker in Alençon, France, but she originally wanted to enter the order of the sisters of the Hotel-Dieu. They did not accept her, and after her marriage to Louis Martin in 1858, Zelie gave birth to nine children.

The Martins found great joy in their children. Sadly, four of their children — two baby boys, one infant girl, and a five-year-old boy — died in childhood. The couple leaned on their faith during these tragedies; as Zelie wrote to a sister-in-law, “My children were not lost forever; life is short and full of miseries, and we shall find our little ones again up above.”

The Martin’s last child was born in 1873, and doctors did not believe the infant would survive. However, Thérèse was strong and, Zelie wrote, was “full of life, giggles a lot, and sheer joy to everyone.” Thérèse went on to become a Doctor of the Church.

Zelie died of breast cancer in 1877 and was canonized by Pope Francis on October 18, 2015.

These four women saints show us that life following God’s path is not free of suffering or heartbreak, but it is richer than we can imagine. Their occupations and their aptitude for led them on their way in pursuit of God’s purpose for their lives. For more biographies of saints’ lives, two of my favorite resources are Catholic Online and Franciscan Media. 

Molly Franzonello is a brand new wife and health care systems innovator in Washington, D.C. When not driving all over the metropolitan area to see “her people,” you can find her reading, writing, podcasting, or staycationing at her favorite spots in the District.