Navigating Transitions With the Saints
“The ways of the Lord are not easy, but we were not created for an easy life, but for great things, for goodness” (Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI).
When starting a new job this summer and navigating other personal changes, I found myself distraught with how overwhelmed I was. No matter how old I get, big transitions always feel like a hurricane. I find comfort knowing that the saints didn’t live outside of unfortunate world events and changes and that, like them, I need to lean on God in times of confusion.
Perhaps you find yourself overwhelmed by the aftermath of your decisions and through even the healthiest of transitions, when prayerful discernment has been involved. Considering the lives of saints can redirect your perspective in times of skepticism and uncertainty, helping you navigate new territory in your work and vocation.
1. Wisdom
Blessed Julian of Norwich helps us regain our focus and remember who is ultimately in control. She is famous for writing, “All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.”
Blessed Julian was an anchoress recluse in the thriving English city of Norwich, spending much of her life in permanent seclusion in a cell attached to St. Julian’s Church in the latter part of the 13th century. She was a mystic and author of the most well-known surviving book written by a mystic in the English language, “Revelations of Divine Love.”
To frame what the world was like during Blessed Julian’s life, we know that she lived during the black death pandemic, the Peasants’ Revolt in England, and the suppression of the Lollards (a religious group that set out to reform the Catholic Church). At age 30, while she was seriously ill, she received a series of visions or “shewings” of the Passion of Christ. She wrote books about her experiences during this time and kept her gaze on the divine throughout her suffering.
2. Discipline
St. Vincentia Lopez wrote in a letter to her mother, “Come and stay with us, and your ills will certainly mend. Imagination plays a large part in them, and here there are so many distractions that you will have no time to think.” In other words, the best way to stop worrying is to keep busy. If you can channel your worry into action, it can be productive.
With her aunt, St. Vincentia organized a group of ladies interested in ministering to girls and women. She developed a written rule for the group, and it grew into the Daughters of Mary Immaculate for Domestic Service. The religious order, having spread throughout Spain, other parts of Europe, and Latin America, received papal approbation in 1888.
St. Vincentia was canonized in 1975 by Pope Paul VI. With her diligent work throughout her life, including her global effort to minister to women, she reminds us that reaching out to others and putting our beliefs in action can align us with God’s will.
3. Resilience
St. Rita of Cascia lived in Italy in the early 14th century. It is thought that she became one of patron saints of impossible cases (with St. Jude) because of the way she faced the difficulties in her life: with persistence through prayer.
St. Rita always wanted to be a nun. Instead, her parents arranged for marriage to a bad-tempered rich man with many enemies. She endured trials in her marriage, but through her example, her husband changed his ways. When he and their two children died, Rita applied to join an Augustinian convent. The nuns were reluctant to take her in because of her husband’s bad reputation and connections. She persisted with prayer, and they eventually allowed her to join their community.
St. Rita’s prayerfulness, charity, and prudence became legendary. She developed forehead wounds, and people quickly associated them with the wounds from Christ’s crown of thorns. She meditated frequently on Christ’s passion and counseled people who came to her monastery.
As women in business, we can learn a lot from the saints’ exemplary characteristics of wisdom, discipline, and resilience. Many of us juggle so many balls in the air while maintaining our job and supporting others. We rely upon prayer, a daily routine, and work goals to cultivate discipline. We may find world events distracting and upsetting, but we can resiliently move forward with a divine sense of hope and wisdom, knowing God is in control.
Molly Franzonello is a 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, researching, or staycationing at her favorite spots in the District.