Some saw it and others did not!

  St. Paul wrote to the people in Corinth —-

“There are different gifts but the same Spirit; there are different ministries but the same Lord; there are different works but the same God who accomplishes all of them in everyone.  To each person the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.  To one the Spirit gives wisdom in discourse, to another the power to express knowledge.  Through the Spirit one receives faith; by the same Spirit another is given the gift of healing, and still another miraculous powers.  Prophecy is given to one; to another power to distinguish one spirit from another.  One receives the gift of tongues, another that of interpreting the tongues.  But it is one and the same Spirit who produces all these gifts, distributing them to each as he will.”

On Christmas Eve/Day Deacon Bruce spoke about the “different gifts but the same spirit” of St. Josephine Bakhita, Blessed Pierre Toussaint, and Sr. Katherine Drexel. All are depicted in the Mosaic Mural, You will see their names on the left of each saint.

Recently, these three special people have been declared saints or one step away from sainthood by Pope John Paul II in Rome.  Several members of our Church were present in Rome when Pope John Paul II declared Josephine Bakhita and Katherine Drexel saints. These three holy and anointed people (Josephine, Pierre, and Katherine) brought forth many gifts during their lifetimes and even beyond their lifetimes.  

St. Josephine Bakhita was born in Africa in the Sudan.  She was subjected to slavery in the Sudan and was eventually transported to Italy and gained her freedom from slavery.  She was introduced to God and began sharing her gifts in God’s service by helping the Daughters of Charity. She lovingly became known as "Mother Moretta", our Black Mother to all she came in contact with.

St. Pierre Toussaint also shared his different gifts through the same Spirit of God.  Born into slavery in Haiti, he was brought to New York City as a slave.  He was granted his freedom and commenced to do everything possible to help others obtain their freedom.  He was a hairdresser by trade and became a very wealthy man.  He used his finances to help refuges find employment, and cared for orphans in his own home.  He even assisted the white woman who once “owned” him as a slave when she became destitute.  He started a school for black children and taught them trades by which they could support themselves.  He is buried within St. Patrick Cathedral in New York City.

The next person that Deacon Bruce recognized that shared the different gifts but the same spirit was: 

St. Katherine Drexel.  She was born in Philadelphia to a very wealthy family.  She received a call from God to renounce the fame and fortune she was born into and to minister as a woman religious.  St. Katherine founded the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament as well as provided personal and financial support to numerous missions and missionaries in the United States.  The Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament (S.B.S.) minister primarily among Native Americans and African Americans.  She opened, staffed, and directly supported nearly sixty schools and missions  especially in the West and South-West United States and in 1925 she established Xavier University of Louisiana West.

All these very special people are reflected in the people who call St. Ailbe their Church home.  They are African, Haitian, American men, women and children.  Lay and religious alike all have different gifts but the same spirit.

On the Battlefield for my Lord,

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