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| Saint Maria Katharina, Pray For Us ! |
From Poverty to Sainthood
Also Known As: Maria Katharina Kasper, Mother Mary
Feast Day: February 2
Born into Hardship, Called to Holiness
On May 26, 1820, in the small village of Dernbach in what is now Rhineland-Palatinate, western Germany, Katharina Kasper was born into a world of grinding poverty and backbreaking labor. She was the third of four children born to Heinrich Kasper and Katharina Fassel, devout peasants who worked their small potato patch with determination but reaped only meager harvests from the poor soil.
The Kasper family knew intimacy with struggle. Heinrich had four daughters from his first marriage, and the blended family faced the harsh realities of rural German life in the early 19th century. Young Katharina grew up intimately acquainted with the miserable living conditions of farming families who tilled poor soil and braved harsh weather for scant rewards.
A Sickly Child Who Found Strength in Books
From childhood, Katharina was physically frail. She attended the local school from ages six to fourteen, but poor health often kept her home. Yet what she lacked in physical strength, she made up for in intellectual hunger and spiritual depth.
Reading became her refuge and her joy. Two books in particular shaped her soul:
- The Bible - God's living Word
- The Imitation of Christ by Thomas Γ Kempis - a spiritual classic on following Jesus radically
These books planted seeds in her heart that would eventually bear extraordinary fruit. While other children played, Katharina read. While her body struggled, her spirit soared.
An Outgoing Spirit Despite Physical Weakness
Despite her frailty, Katharina was not a withdrawn or timid child. She had a happy, outgoing personality and demonstrated remarkable initiative for her age. She loved to take other children on pilgrimages to a nearby Marian shrine, telling them stories about God and Mary along the way.
Even as a child, Katharina showed sensitivity to the needs of those around her. She noticed suffering, and it moved her heart. This compassion would become the defining characteristic of her life—a life dedicated to alleviating both the physical and spiritual misery of others.
At home, she helped with household chores, learning to spin and weave. In the fields, she worked alongside her parents. When extra money was needed, she took on one of the hardest jobs available to a young woman: splitting stones for road construction. Her hands became calloused, her back bent over the work, but her spirit remained directed toward heaven.
The Cross of Family Loss
Just as Katharina began to discern a call to religious life, tragedy struck repeatedly.
Her Father's Death
When Katharina was 21 years old, her father Heinrich died. This devastating loss brought immediate financial crisis to the family. In those days, a father's death often meant destitution for his widow and children.
Disinheritance and Displacement
Making matters worse, Katharina's step-sisters (her father's daughters from his first marriage) received Heinrich's estate. Katharina and her mother received nothing. They were forced to leave their home—the only place Katharina had ever known.
Mother and daughter rented a single room in the home of Matthias MΓΌller. To support themselves and pay the rent, Katharina worked as a weaver, earning only a meager living. The young woman who had dreamed of consecrating herself to God now found herself in a desperate struggle for daily survival.
Her Brother's Death
As if the loss of her father and home were not enough, when Katharina was 22, one of her brothers died. The grief and financial burden intensified.
Her Mother's Care and Death
Despite her own poverty and the opportunity it might have given her to finally pursue religious life, Katharina chose to stay and care for her aging, ill mother. She could not—would not—abandon her mother in her time of need.
Eventually, after years of care, Katharina's mother died. While grief-stricken, Katharina found herself for the first time in her adult life free to pursue the calling that had burned in her heart since childhood.
A Vocation Delayed but Not Denied
The Problem of Secularization
Napoleon's secularization policies had swept through Germany, suppressing monasteries and convents. When Katharina finally had the freedom to enter religious life, there were no female religious congregations in her region to join.
Male religious—Franciscans and Cistercians—still lived in the area (in nearby Montabaur, for example), refugees from formerly existing monasteries. But for women, the options simply did not exist.
Katharina faced a difficult choice: leave her home region to join an established order elsewhere, or find another way to live out her calling.
The "Little House" Vision
Katharina did not want to found a new religious order. She simply wanted to serve God by serving the poor, the sick, and children in need. She desired, as she would later explain, to combine "the contemplative spirit of Mary with the active life of Martha in the service of God."
With the encouragement of her spiritual director, Katharina made a bold decision. If there was no religious community to join, she would start one—not out of ambition, but out of necessity and obedience to God's call.
The First Companions
Katharina was not alone in her desire to serve. Other young women in Dernbach had witnessed her life of prayer, hard work, and charity toward the poor. They were attracted to her simplicity, her faith, and her radical commitment to God's will.
In 1845, Katharina formed a small association with the purpose, as she explained, of working "to spread virtue by example, education and prayer."
Four women joined her in this endeavor:
- Katharina Schoenberger (who took the religious name Theresia)
- Elisabeth Haas (who took the name Agnes)
- Anna Maria MΓΌller (who took the name Elisabeth)
- Elisabeth Meuser (who took the name Klara)
On August 15, 1848—the Solemnity of the Assumption of Mary—Katharina and her four companions moved into their first "little house" in Dernbach. This small dwelling became a center from which the sick of Dernbach were nursed. It also served as a home for a widow and eight orphans who had nowhere else to go.
Birth of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ
The Name and the Model
Katharina chose a beautiful and profound name for the community: The Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ (German: Arme DienstmΓ€gde Jesu Christi, abbreviated A.D.J.C.).
She looked to Mary, the Mother of God, as their model and patroness. Mary's words at the Annunciation—"Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord" (Luke 1:38)—became the foundational spirit of the community.
Like Mary, the Poor Handmaids would:
- Listen attentively to the Spirit
- Respond with courage to God's will
- Serve humbly and without seeking recognition
- Remain poor in spirit and in fact
- Say "yes" to whatever God asked, no matter the cost
Religious Profession
Since Dernbach did not yet have a church of its own, the ceremony of religious profession took place in the nearby village of Wirges. (Historians still debate whether the exact location was the church or the vicarage.)
On August 15, 1851—the Solemnity of the Assumption, three years to the day after moving into the little house—Katharina and her four companions pronounced their first public vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience before Bishop Peter Joseph Blum of Limburg.
Katharina took the religious name "Maria" and would be known from that day forward as Mother Mary or Mother Maria.
This date—August 15, 1851—marks the official foundation of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ.
Rapid Growth and Expansion
What began as five women in a tiny house in an obscure German village grew with astonishing speed:
1854 - The congregation opened its first school
1859 - The Poor Handmaids crossed international borders for the first time, establishing houses in the Netherlands
1860 - Pope Pius IX granted the congregation a decree of praise on March 9
1868 - Eight sisters traveled to America to serve German immigrants in Fort Wayne, Indiana (more on this below)
1876 - The congregation expanded to England
1890 - Pope Leo XIII granted formal papal approval to the order on May 21
Mother Maria served as Superior General for five consecutive terms, guiding the congregation through its explosive growth while maintaining its charism of humble service to the poor, sick, and children.
Mother Maria's Leadership and Spirituality
A Hands-On Superior
Mother Maria was not an administrator who directed from a comfortable office. She personally visited the various "little houses" that were springing up throughout Germany and beyond, seeing firsthand how each community functioned and whether each was faithfully living out its mission.
She knew her sisters by name. She understood their struggles. She encouraged them personally and corrected them gently.
Her Spiritual Writings
Though she came from poverty and had only an elementary education, Mother Maria left behind spiritual writings that reveal the depth of her relationship with God. These writings, approved by theologians on November 27, 1937, show her as a woman of profound prayer and radical trust in Divine Providence.
One of her most revealing prayers states:
"Only you I want to serve and obey according to your liking. Only you I want to love according to your most holy will, only you I want to honor and praise as you like it."
This prayer captures the heart of her spirituality: total availability to God, complete surrender to his will, and a desire to please God in everything rather than seeking her own preferences.
Her Motto: "All Is Great That Is Done in God's Love"
Mother Maria once said, "All is great that is done in God's love; nothing done for God is small."
This simple statement became foundational to the Poor Handmaids' approach to ministry. There were no "important" tasks and "unimportant" tasks—only opportunities to serve God through serving his people. Washing a sick person's bedding was as valuable as running a school. Comforting a crying child was as significant as managing a hospital.
Pope Paul VI, at her beatification, highlighted this aspect of her spirituality, calling her "a model above all of fidelity and responsibility in the small and insignificant duties of each day."
Hidden Saints
Mother Maria had a striking vision for her congregation. She once said:
"All our religious should become saints, but hidden saints."
She did not want her sisters seeking recognition, honor, or fame. She wanted them to become holy through faithful, hidden service—doing the small things well, for love of God, without anyone noticing or applauding.
It's deeply ironic (and beautifully providential) that this woman who wanted to be a "hidden saint" is now recognized by the universal Church as a canonized saint whose life is held up as a model for all believers!
The American Mission: A Mother's Sacrifice
The Call from Fort Wayne
In the aftermath of the American Civil War, thousands of German immigrants had settled in the area around Fort Wayne, Indiana. Bishop John Henry Luers of Fort Wayne faced a serious challenge: these immigrant families needed schools where their children could learn, parishes where they could worship, hospitals where they could receive care—all in their native German language.
Bishop Luers wrote to Mother Maria, petitioning her to send sisters to Fort Wayne to minister to these German immigrants.
Two Hundred Volunteers
When Mother Maria presented the request to her community, she was overwhelmed by the response. Two hundred sisters volunteered for the American mission—an extraordinary number considering the dangers and hardships of such a journey in 1868.
Eight German sisters were selected from among those volunteers.
The Journey with Mother Maria
On July 30, 1868, the eight chosen sisters, accompanied by Mother Maria herself and her assistant, left the small village of Dernbach for the seafront of Le Havre, France.
On August 14, 1868, the group boarded the ship Pereyre and set sail for America. The journey took ten days. We can only imagine what those days were like—the seasickness, the uncertainty, the fear of the unknown, the grief of leaving their homeland forever, mixed with excitement about the mission ahead.
They arrived in New York on August 24, 1868.
Establishing the American Province
After a brief stay in New York, the sisters traveled to Hessen Cassel, Indiana, just outside Fort Wayne, arriving on August 28, 1868.
The sisters wasted no time:
- By September 10, they had taken charge of the parish school
- They were assigned to nurse the sick in the area
- They assumed responsibility for caring for the needs of the parish church
Just one month after their arrival, in October 1868, the Vicar General of Chicago, Father Peter Fischer, asked for three sisters to serve in a German orphanage on the north side of Chicago.
Catherine's Continued Support
Mother Maria did not accompany the sisters permanently to America—her responsibilities in Germany called her back. But she continued to send more Poor Handmaids to America in the years that followed.
The sisters built "little houses" throughout the American Midwest:
- Illinois
- Indiana
- Wisconsin
- Missouri
- Pennsylvania
All of this expansion happened before the start of the 20th century. The American province established its first motherhouse in Fort Wayne and later moved it to Donaldson, Indiana, where it remains today.
In 1937, the Poor Handmaids established Ancilla College as an extension of DePaul University to train candidates and novices. In 1966, Ancilla became a two-year private junior college. In 2021, Ancilla College merged into Marian University.
A Global Mission
Today, the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ minister in nine countries around the world:
- Germany (1851) - where it all began
- Netherlands (1859)
- United States (1868)
- England (1876)
- India (1970)
- Mexico (1988)
- Brazil (1993)
- Kenya (2000)
- Nigeria (2006)
The congregation's international headquarters (generalate) remains in Dernbach, Germany, where Mother Maria first opened her "little house."
The Poor Handmaids serve in rural, urban, and inner-city settings, always focusing on the poor, the sick, and children—the very groups Mother Maria prioritized from the beginning.
A Holy Death on the Feast of the Presentation
On January 27, 1898, Mother Maria suffered a heart attack. For five days, she lingered between life and death at the Dernbach motherhouse, surrounded by her spiritual daughters.
At dawn on February 2, 1898—the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord—Mother Mary Catherine Kasper peacefully entered eternal life. She was 77 years old and had served as foundress and mother of her congregation for 47 years.
The timing of her death was providential. The Feast of the Presentation commemorates when Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the Temple, presenting him to God. Mother Maria, who had spent her entire religious life presenting herself and her works to God, died on the very feast that celebrates such presentation and consecration.
Her body was laid to rest with her beloved Poor Handmaids. In 1950, her remains were transferred and re-interred at the chapel of the motherhouse of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ in Dernbach, where pilgrims continue to visit her tomb.
The Journey to Canonization
The Cause Begins
Mother Maria's reputation for holiness was evident from the moment of her death. Those who knew her recognized they had lived alongside a saint.
The formal introduction to her cause for canonization came on February 3, 1946, under Pope Pius XII. She was given the title Servant of God.
Her spiritual writings were thoroughly examined and approved by theologians on November 27, 1937, ensuring that everything she taught was in harmony with Catholic doctrine.
Declared Venerable
After years of investigation into her life and virtues, the Congregation for the Causes of Saints and their consultants confirmed their approval for the cause on April 9, 1974.
On October 4, 1974, Pope Paul VI declared that Katharina Kasper had lived a life of heroic virtue. She was granted the title Venerable, meaning the Church formally recognized that she had practiced Christian virtues to a heroic degree throughout her life.
The Miracle for Beatification
For beatification, the Church required evidence of a miracle through Mother Maria's intercession.
The miracle examined involved Sister Mary Herluka, a member of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, who suffered from severe tuberculosis. In September 1945, Sister Mary Herluka was instantaneously and completely cured of this deadly disease after prayers were offered to Mother Maria.
The miracle was investigated from December 3, 1968, until its closure on May 29, 1970. The Congregation for the Causes of Saints validated the process on October 24, 1974.
Medical experts met on July 16, 1975, and confirmed that the healing had no possible scientific or medical explanation. On November 30, 1976, the Congregation's theological consultants determined that the healing came as a direct result of Mother Maria's intercession.
On January 20, 1977, Pope Paul VI officially confirmed the healing as a genuine miracle.
Beatification: April 16, 1978
On April 16, 1978, in Saint Peter's Square, Pope Paul VI beatified Katharina Kasper before a crowd of pilgrims from Germany, America, and around the world.
At the beatification, Pope Paul VI spoke powerfully about her life:
"Mother Mary Catherine's great love for God was expressed in her unlimited love of neighbor... This is the lesson she left to the Church and to the world: love for God put into action through charity towards our neighbor."
He praised her as a woman of "faith and fortitude" and called her "a model of longing to fulfill God's will in the situations of life."
He also quoted her own desire that her sisters become "hidden saints"—a wish that had now been beautifully contradicted by God's own action in raising her to the altars!
The Miracle for Canonization
For canonization, another miracle was required.
This miracle involved Brother Leo Prabhakar of the Brothers of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, who served as a missionary in northern India.
Brother Leo had developed a strong devotion to Blessed Maria Katharina after collaborating with the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ sisters during his work in a school in northern India. He prayed constantly to her and prayed for her canonization, knowing she needed a miracle to complete the process.
On November 25, 2011, Brother Leo was attacked while riding a motorcycle. He fell, went into a coma, and suffered devastating injuries:
- Split skull
- Dislocated spinal cord
- Collarbone broken in three pieces
- Blocked intestines
After three days, the doctors declared him clinically dead. His religious brothers gathered around him and began praying to Blessed Maria Katharina for his healing.
Suddenly and inexplicably, Brother Leo began to recover. He emerged from the coma. His injuries healed. Medical science could not explain what had happened.
The miracle was thoroughly investigated, and medical experts confirmed there was no natural explanation for Brother Leo's recovery.
On March 6, 2018, Pope Francis officially recognized this miracle, clearing the way for Mother Maria's canonization.
Canonization: October 14, 2018
On October 14, 2018, in Saint Peter's Square, Pope Francis canonized Blessed Maria Katharina Kasper along with six other blesseds, including Pope Paul VI (the very pope who had beatified her 40 years earlier!) and Archbishop Oscar Romero.
Seventy thousand people filled Saint Peter's Square for the canonization Mass. Among them were:
- Poor Handmaids from around the world (17 sisters and 86 lay members had made the pilgrimage from the American province alone)
- Relatives of Saint Katharina, including descendants of her family
- Brother Leo Prabhakar, whose miraculous healing made the canonization possible
- Bishops, including Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend
The canonization took place during the Synod of Bishops on young people, faith, and vocational discernment—a fitting context for honoring a saint whose entire life was about listening to God's call and responding with generous love.
In his homily, Pope Francis said:
"Jesus is radical. He gives all and he asks all: he gives a love that is total and asks for an undivided heart."
He continued:
"All these saints, in different contexts, put today's word into practice in their lives, without lukewarmness, without calculation, with the passion to risk everything and to leave it all behind. May the Lord help us to imitate their example."
Celebration in America
On November 4, 2018, just three weeks after the canonization in Rome, a Mass of Thanksgiving was celebrated at the Poor Handmaids' motherhouse in Donaldson, Indiana.
Bishop Kevin Rhoades of Fort Wayne-South Bend was the celebrant. In his homily, he reflected on the Gospel reading for that 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time, which perfectly described Saint Katharina's ministry:
"What a beautiful example she is of today's Gospel. Answering the question of the scribe about which is the first of all the commandments, Jesus recites the Shema Israel... 'The Lord is our God, the Lord alone. Therefore, you shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength.'"
Bishop Rhoades explained how Jesus explicitly combined the two great commandments—love of God and love of neighbor—showing that they are inseparable. He added:
"As Pope Paul VI said at her beatification: Mother Mary Catherine's great love for God was expressed in her unlimited love of neighbor."
During the Mass, Bishop Rhoades blessed the congregation with a relic of Saint Katharina—a piece of her finger bone—and blessed special prayer cards and medallions for the faithful.
Sister Judith Diltz, provincial of the Poor Handmaids of Jesus Christ, expressed the congregation's gratitude:
"We are grateful that the world now recognizes the holiness of our foundress, whom we lovingly call Mother Mary. As we share our joy in following her footsteps, as we share with the church and the world what we know of her holiness, we find that this canonization is also an opportunity to look again, to look anew, at her life and to discover previously unseen gifts and virtues."
The Mass concluded with joyful shouts from the choir loft: "Viva Katharina! Viva Katharina!" accompanied by the ringing of hand bells.
Spiritual Legacy and Lessons
Love for God Expressed Through Love of Neighbor
The defining characteristic of Saint Katharina's life was her ability to make the love of God concrete through charity toward those in need. For her, loving God was not an abstract sentiment but a daily, practical reality expressed through:
- Nursing the sick
- Educating children
- Caring for orphans
- Sheltering widows
- Serving the poor in their material and spiritual needs
She demonstrated that authentic love of God must overflow into love of neighbor, and authentic love of neighbor flows from love of God.
Attentiveness to God's Will
Throughout her life, Saint Katharina tried with all her strength to recognize what God's will was in every situation she encountered. This spirit of discernment and obedience has been passed on to her religious congregation.
She did not seek her own comfort, her own preferences, or her own plans. She sought only to know and do what God desired—whether that meant caring for her sick mother, delaying her religious vocation, founding a new congregation, or sending her spiritual daughters across the ocean to America.
Hidden Holiness
Saint Katharina wanted to be a "hidden saint"—someone who served God faithfully in small, ordinary tasks without seeking recognition. Yet God had other plans! Her very desire for hiddenness and humility became the foundation for her universal recognition as a saint.
This paradox teaches us that:
- True holiness doesn't seek attention but shines nonetheless
- Faithfulness in small things leads to great things in God's kingdom
- The humble are exalted by God in his time
All Is Great That Is Done in God's Love
Her famous saying reminds us that in God's eyes, there are no insignificant acts of love. Every task done for God—no matter how small, how humble, how hidden—has infinite value because it is done for the Infinite God.
This spirituality liberates us from:
- The tyranny of always needing to do "important" things
- The trap of measuring our worth by worldly standards of success
- The discouragement that comes from feeling our contributions are too small to matter
Trust in Divine Providence
Despite experiencing poverty, family loss, rejection, and countless obstacles, Saint Katharina never wavered in her trust that God would provide. She founded a religious congregation with no money, no building, and no guarantee of success—only trust in God's providence.
This radical trust challenges us to:
- Rely less on our own resources and more on God's faithfulness
- Take bold steps of faith when God calls, even without seeing the whole path
- Believe that God will provide what is truly needed
The Power of "Little Houses"
Saint Katharina didn't dream of building grand institutions or becoming famous. She simply wanted to open "little houses" where the poor could be served, the sick could be nursed, and children could be loved.
Yet those little houses multiplied across continents and touched countless lives. Her vision teaches us:
- Start where you are with what you have
- Focus on doing good for real people in real situations
- Trust God to multiply small beginnings into something far beyond what we imagine
Relevance for Today
A Model for Modern Catholics
Saint Katharina Kasper offers contemporary Catholics a compelling example of how to live faith authentically in the midst of challenges:
For Those Facing Obstacles to Their Vocation: Her vocation was delayed by family obligations, poverty, and the lack of religious orders in her region. Yet she never gave up. She teaches us that obstacles don't negate our calling—they often refine and strengthen it.
For Those in Poverty: Born poor, she remained poor all her life—even as a religious foundress. Yet her poverty did not prevent her from accomplishing God's will. She shows us that material poverty is no barrier to spiritual richness and fruitful ministry.
For Caregivers: She spent years caring for her sick mother, delaying her own dreams to serve her family. She models how caregiving—though often invisible and thankless—is sacred work that prepares us for deeper service.
For Those Who Feel Insignificant: From an obscure village, with little education and no resources, she founded a congregation that now serves on four continents. She proves that God can work powerfully through those the world considers unimportant.
For Those Seeking to Integrate Faith and Action: She combined Mary's contemplation with Martha's action, showing that prayer and service are not opposites but two sides of the same coin of love.
A Challenge to Contemporary Culture
In an age of:
- Self-promotion → Saint Katharina chose hiddenness
- Individualism → Saint Katharina built community
- Materialism → Saint Katharina embraced poverty
- Self-fulfillment → Saint Katharina practiced self-gift
- Comfort-seeking → Saint Katharina chose hardship for love
- Instant gratification → Saint Katharina persevered through decades of obstacles
Her life stands as a counter-cultural witness to eternal values that challenge our contemporary assumptions about what makes life meaningful and worthwhile.
Prayer to Saint Mary Catherine Kasper
Saint Mary Catherine, humble handmaid of Jesus Christ, you who came from poverty and knew intimately the struggles of the poor, intercede for us before the throne of grace.
You who combined the spirit of Mary's contemplation with the energy of Martha's service, teach us to integrate prayer and action in our daily lives. Help us to seek God's will in every situation and to respond with generous hearts.
You who cared for your sick mother for years, delaying your own dreams to serve your family, pray for all caregivers who sacrifice their own plans to serve their loved ones. Give them strength, patience, and the knowledge that their hidden service is precious in God's eyes.
You who founded a congregation with no money, no building, and no human resources except trust in Divine Providence, inspire us to take bold steps of faith when God calls, even when we cannot see the whole path ahead.
You who said "All is great that is done in God's love; nothing done for God is small," help us to value the small, hidden tasks of daily life and to do them with great love. Free us from the need for recognition and the tyranny of always seeking to do "important" things.
You who wanted to be a "hidden saint" yet are now honored by the universal Church, remind us that true holiness seeks no attention for itself but shines with a light that cannot be hidden.
You who built "little houses" of service that multiplied across continents, show us how to start where we are with what we have, trusting that God can multiply our small offerings beyond anything we imagine.
Saint Mary Catherine, you who loved God with your whole heart and showed that love through unlimited charity toward the poor, the sick, and children, intercede for us in our needs, especially [mention your intention]. May we learn from your example to love God totally and to express that love through concrete service to our neighbor.
Through your prayers and example, may we grow in holiness, persevere through obstacles, and one day share in the glory you now enjoy with Christ our Lord. Amen.
For Further Reflection
- What "little house" might God be calling you to build or serve in?
- How can you practice Saint Katharina's motto: "All is great that is done in God's love; nothing done for God is small"?
- Are there obstacles in your life that you've been viewing as barriers to your vocation, when they might actually be part of God's preparation?
- In what ways are you being called to combine contemplation and action, the spirit of Mary and the energy of Martha?
- What small, hidden tasks in your daily life might you begin to see and do with greater love?
- How does Saint Katharina's radical trust in Divine Providence challenge or inspire you?
- Are there people in your life who need care—like Saint Katharina cared for her mother—that might be your current calling from God?
Saint Mary Catherine Kasper, pray for us!
May we have your spirit of humility, your trust in God's providence, your love for the poor and suffering, and your faithfulness in the small duties of each day. Help us to become "hidden saints" who shine with the light of Christ's love.
