Red leaves on a frosty tree

Stories about

Saint Mother Theodore Guerin

An unshakeable trust in God. It set Saint Mother Theodore Guerin apart and makes her a model for us in our daily living. Get to know our brave and inspiring foundress better through these stories.

Fair Trade: products that improve the lives of people on the margins

Linden Leaf Gifts is a store that worries less about keeping the lights on and more about how to bring light into the lives of marginalized people. As a ministry of the Sisters of Providence, Linden Leaf Gifts measures success a little differently than most retail stores. Success is derived also from the difference it can make in the lives of people that provide the unique products sold there.

Building and healing: Saint Mother Theodore Guerin moment

When Sister Mary asked if they had seen the Log Cabin Chapel yet, three of the men responded in unison, proudly and humbly, “We helped build it.” This was a reunion of sorts for the three men who were inmates in 2012 at the Federal Penitentiary in Terre Haute. Before their release, they vowed to return to Saint Mary-of-the-Woods for a visit, and this weekend was that moment.

Called to perform: Sandra Hartlieb’s Mother Theodore

“I was mad at Mother Theodore!” Sandra confesses. For years, Sandra had struggled with corneal degeneration. Prayers for Mother Theodore’s intervention seemed to fall on deaf ears.
"I wandered around the grounds complaining,” Sandra explains. “I ‘heard’ a voice saying, ‘Tell my story.’ Well, I said, ‘I am telling MY story!’ But the voice came again, and I realized it was HER! Telling me to tell HER story! I decided to do it.”

Strength from being ordinary this Foundation Day

What matters is what is in our hearts and souls. It’s the warmth, respect and love that we have for others — that same love and respect Saint Mother Theodore modeled to all with whom she came in contact. It was her ordinary, her natural response that came from deep within her heart. It was a response borne of deep prayer and of complete trust in her Provident God.

10 years a saint! Now what?

But I wonder: what would Mother Theodore think of being a saint? Would she be uncomfortable with all the attention? Would she feel like it was something she didn’t deserve? If given a choice would she refuse the honor? Mother Theodore once said, “What have we to do in order to become saints? Nothing extraordinary; nothing more than we do everyday. Only do it for [God’s] love.”