Preparation: Have near acorns or oak leaves, paper and pen, bread and drink.

Call to Gather

Welcome to this WATERritual celebrating St. Mother Théodore Guérin, the eighth American saint and the foundress of the Sisters of Providence at St. Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. We will hear more of her inspiring story throughout our liturgy today. October 3 is the feast day of St. Mother Théodore Guérin, and October 22 is celebrated as the Foundation Day for the community that she founded in 1840, so October is her month.

We gather to give thanks for this holy and wise, courageous and determined woman, to hear her story, and to be inspired to walk in Providence with her as we face the challenges of our day.

Favorite Prayer Place

When Mother Théodore was a child, she liked to pray among the rocks on the seashore where she could look out upon the vast expanse of water near her home in Brittany, France. For her, the sea was the symbol of eternity and her earthly connection with heaven.

Think about your favorite place to pray. Pause. And type it into the chat.

Read places from the chat.

Song and Video: “Ever with You” by Jan Phillips (© 2012), video and photos by Joni Luna, SP, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuqzU4adEUQ&ab_channel=JoniLuna

I feel you in my heart, I feel you in my hands,

I feel you in the stars, I feel you in the sand,

I feel you everywhere, inside every cell

there is no place here that you do not dwell

I Feel You Everywhere.

I feel you in my arms, I feel you in my feet,

I feel you in the eyes of everyone I meet

I feel you everywhere, inside every cell

there is no place here that you do not dwell

I Feel You Everywhere.

Chorus.

I feel you in the clouds, I feel you in the storm,

I feel you in the cold, I feel you in the warm,

There is nowhere I can go and not find you.

I feel you all day long, I feel you late at night,

I feel you in the dark, I feel you in the light,

There is nowhere I can go and not find you.

I feel you when I sing, I feel you when I cry,

I feel you breathing me, I feel you when I sigh,

I feel you everywhere, inside every cell

there is no place here that you do not dwell

I Feel You Everywhere.

I feel you in my words, I feel you in my love,

I feel you all around, I feel you up above,

I feel you everywhere, inside every cell

there is no place here that you do not dwell

I Feel You Everywhere.

Chorus.

I feel you in my womb, I feel you in my breast,

I feel you in the east, I feel you in the west,

I feel you everywhere, inside every cell

there is no place here that you do not dwell

I Feel You Everywhere.

I feel you in the earth, I feel you in the clay,

I feel you when I work, I feel you when I pray,

I feel you everywhere, inside every cell

there is no place here that you do not dwell

I Feel You Everywhere.

The Story of Mother Théodore

Growing Up in Brittany, France

“Put yourself gently in the hands of Providence,” says Mother Théodore Guérin.

Anne-Thérèse Guérin was born in Etables, France, on October 2, 1798. At birth she was consecrated to the Blessed Virgin Mary and was always dressed in white or blue until she was ten years old, the year she made her First Communion.

She grew up in Brittany, the Celtic part of France. She was homeschooled by her mother.

Her father, an officer in the French navy, was killed by bandits on his way home when she was fifteen years old. She lost two baby brothers, one in a house fire that Anne-Thérèse escaped and the other in a bed fire. All of this left her mother bereft. After these tragic incidents, she took charge of the family home and garden and cared for her sick mother and younger sister.

Anne-Thérèse entered the Sisters of Providence of Ruillé-sur-Loir, France, in 1823 when she was twenty-five years old. She educated children and received a medal of honor for excellence in teaching. She studied medicine so she could care for the sick poor who could not afford a doctor.

Reflection

Mother Théodore teaches us, “Put yourself gently into the hands of Providence.” When do you put yourself into the hands of Providence, gently or otherwise? Let us pause to reflect quietly. The chime will bring closure to reflection time for now.

Coming to America

“This is the path traced by Providence and I follow it,” says Mother Théodore Guérin.

Mother Théodore was assigned to America in 1840. She was chosen by Mother Mary and the bishop of Le Mans, Jean-Baptiste Bouvier, in Ruillé-sur-Loir, France, to accept the invitation of Bishop de la Hailandière of the Diocese of Vincennes, Indiana, to bring good news to the oppressed by opening missions there.

She left her beloved homeland of France with five companion sisters—Sister St. Vincent Ferrer Gage, Sister Basilide Seneschal, Sister Olympiade Boyer, Sister Mary Xavier Leree, and Sister Mary Liguori Tiercin—and traveled by ship, train, steamboat, canal boat, and horse-drawn carriage before finally arriving in the wilderness of Indiana in the United States. After hearing the words, “Come down, Sisters, you have arrived,” the six women dedicated their mission to Mary and named it St. Mary-of-the-Woods. A seventh French sister, Sister St. Francis, joined them a year later.

Pioneer life was hard for these French women. Mother Théodore waited for a new home to be built in the forest wilderness. She prepared to establish a community and challenged her sisters to respond to the urgent needs of the times.

They set captives free by educating youth, establishing many schools, and founding two orphanages. They healed the brokenhearted and comforted the sick by setting up two pharmacies to dispense free medicines to those who were economically poor. They worked to transform the existing social order of their day by opening an academy for girls and women, now known as Saint Mary-of-the-Woods College. They learned to cherish the woods and its herbs, trees, birds, lakes, and natural life surrounding them.

Reflection

Mother Théodore tells us, “This is the path traced by Providence and I follow it.” Where is Providence leading you to see new life, meet new challenges, take new paths in your faith journey? Let us pause to reflect quietly. The chime will bring closure to reflection time for now.

Vision of Providence

“Grant, O my God, that all who dwell in this house may love you much, may love one another, and may never forget why they came here,” says Mother Théodore Guérin.

Mother Théodore held on to her visions of Providence and comforted her sisters even in the midst of severe setbacks: storms at sea, fires that destroyed their barns and harvest, prejudice against Catholics, increasingly ill health, excommunication by the bishop, and deaths of loved ones. Yet, the sisters persisted.

Mother Théodore and the other five Providence foundresses welcomed God’s presence in their lives and placed themselves under the protection of the Blessed Virgin Mary the moment they arrived at the Woods and entered the chapel. They were wise women whose gifts of love, mercy, and justice rooted their Providence community for the future.

Today the house of Providence has grown to become a Community of Providence that is home to Sisters of Providence and Providence Associates who embrace the vision of Mother Théodore.

Reflection

Mother Théodore prays, “Grant, O my God, that all who dwell in this house may love you much, may love one another, and may never forget why they came here.” What visions do you hold on to even in the midst of setbacks? The chime will bring closure to reflection time for now.

Reflection | Sharing

Think about what you have heard in Mother Théodore’s words and story. What words of Mother Théodore’s speak to you today? Let us take time to share our reflections in groups of 3 or 4.

Loving the Eucharist

Mother Théodore loved the Eucharist. Her times of receiving this sacrament may have been for her the peak of her prayer and the depth of her love for God. In one of her instructions to her sisters she tells them, “How consoling is this mystery of the Eucharist! If we knew how to appreciate it, it would suffice to fortify and sustain us.”

Blessing Bread

Hold your bread and drink as we pray:

Blessed are you, Provident God, for giving us “this mystery of the Eucharist,” this banquet of love. We take, bless, break, and eat this bread in memory of and in thanksgiving for the love we have known through St. Mother Théodore Guérin, in thanksgiving for the love we have received, and in thanksgiving for the love we have been inspired to give. May love, mercy, and justice increase.

Take Action

Let us put our prayers into action. Here are some possible ways.

• Choose one quote of Saint Mother Théodore Guérin and pray it every day for a week.
• Give service to a neighborhood soup kitchen, food pantry, or prison.
• Pray the Novena to Saint Mother Théodore Guérin for nine days: https://spsmw.org/prayer/novena-saint-mother-theodore-guerin/.
• Order prayer cards, books, gift items from Providence Gift Shop: lindenleafgifts.com/category/saint-mother.
• Give thanks for unknown blessings.

Let Us Go Forth

Let us go forth giving thanks for holy and wise, courageous and determined women like St. Mother Théodore who inspire us to face the challenges of our day.

Let us go forth committed to insisting, persisting, and resisting even in the midst of setbacks.

Let us go forth to walk in Providence with Mother Théodore Guérin, with the cosmos, with people of all lands and cultures, and with one another.

Let us go forth to respect and reverence the unknown blessings of all creation.

Song: “Let Us Give Thanks for Unknown Blessings” by Carol Browning

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Io3vwnkpdEk&ab_channel=GIAPublications

Refrain: Let us give thanks for unknown blessings already on the way.
Let us give thanks for unknown blessings already on the way.
God holds the future the present and the past,
so let us give thanks for unknown blessings already on the way.

See the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap,
Yet God will give them food to eat, and God will care for us. Refrain:

Lilies of the field, they neither toil nor spin;
as they are clothed in glorious light, God gives us what we need. Refrain:

Do not fear or fret. Our lives are in God’s hands,
so praise and thanks should be our song, to God, our hope, our home. Refrain:

Learn More from These Resources

Read the story of Saint Mother Théodore Guérin online at SaintMotherTheodore.org.

Burton, Katherine. The Eighth American Saint: The Life of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin, Foundress of the Sisters of Providence of Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, Indiana. Chicago, IL: ACTA Publications, 2006.

Guérin, Théodore . Journals and Letters of Mother Theodore Guerin. Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, IN: Providence Press, 1937.

Mitchell, Penny Blaker. Mother Theodore Guerin: A Woman for All Time. 2006. https://www.lindenleafgifts.com/mother-theodore-guerin-woman-all-time.

Neu, Diann L. Providence Prayers. Silver Spring, MD: WATERworks Press, 2018.

Sisters of Providence. Praying with the Sisters of Providence of St. Mary-of-the-Woods. St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN: Sisters of Providence, 2017.

Video: Life of Saint Mother Theodore Guerin. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dELPn595CA4&t=1001s.

Website: Sisters of Providence, St. Mary-of-the-Woods, IN. https://spsmw.org/

© 2022 Diann L. Neu, WATER, Women’s Alliance for Theology, Ethics, and Ritual, dneu@hers.com, adapted from Stirring WATERS: Feminist Liturgies for Justice by Diann L. Neu.