Saints Are Not Meant to Live on a Shelf
When I was a child, I had a collection of stuffed animals that I arranged on my bed. Each had its place and I sometimes wondered: What if they came alive while I was gone?
When I returned, I would look closely. Had one moved? I never caught them in the act, but I loved imagining they had lives of their own.
Maybe that childhood question was not so far-fetched after all. What if people we love and honor can come alive in us through the lives we choose to live?
Furthering Her Ministry
I have been thinking about that as we prepare to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the canonization of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin.
Saints are not meant to live on a shelf. Their lives invite us to embody the virtues they lived in our own time and in our own way.
It seems to me Mother Theodore would be pleased to see us continue the works she began: Serving God, caring for our neighbors, protecting creation and responding courageously to the needs of our time.
Twenty years after the Church recognized her holy presence, we are invited to ask not only, “Who was Mother Theodore?” but also, “How is her life inviting us to live today?”
Grounded in Virtue
Our 20th Anniversary Pilgrimage, Encountering Mother Theodore: The Virtues of a Saint, invites us into that question. As we walk through the sacred spaces of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, we will encounter virtues that grounded her life: Courage, prayer, peace, joyful gratitude, holiness and care for creation.
These virtues are not meant to be admired from a distance. They are gifts we are invited to practice together.
We live in a time of war, division, loneliness, displacement and ecological crisis. Like Mother Theodore, we may not know what lies ahead. But her life reminds us that we can trust Providence and take the next step.
Perhaps that is why the pilgrimage matters. We walk together. We remember today. We celebrate together. Along the way, we ask: What will I carry home?
Journey into the Present
Celebrating 20 years of Mother Theodore’s canonization means bringing her from the shelf of history and allowing her witness to journey with us into the present.
What if the saints come alive, not like my stuffed animals when I was not in the room, but as courage moving through us, hope refusing to disappear and compassion guiding our actions.
Come celebrate Mother Theodore. Come with open hearts.
Come join us in pilgrimage.
Come celebrate 20 years of Sainthood!
Join us October 11, 2026, at Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana as we celebrate the life and legacy (and 20 years of sainthood!) of our foundress Saint Mother Theodore Guerin.
This time of celebration will include:
- A pilgrimage through the sacred grounds of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, where Mother Theodore lived her mission and where generations of Sisters of Providence have continued her legacy of love and service at 9:30 a.m.
- A special Eucharistic Liturgy celebrated in Saint Mother Theodore’s honor in the historic Church of the Immaculate Conception at 11 a.m.
- A celebratory picnic lunch at noon.
All are welcome to come celebrate this special day with us!
Beautiful words of encouragement for us all, Margarita to get down off the shelf! Thank you for sharing!
Margarita, I love your stuffed animal analogy for the saints. They do seem to come to life, even when we aren’t paying attention! Looking forward to the pilgrimage! Thank you.