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May 2010

The Franciscan Tradition Includes Blessed Marianne Cope

Excerpt: The following article, "A Spiritual View of Mother Marianne Cope," written by Sr. Grace Anne Dillenschneider appeared in translation by Gilda Sisera in the Vatican newspaper L'Osservatore Romano on May 14, 2005, at the time of her beatification. It articulates some of Mother Marianne's virtuous qualities: The church has recently recognized Mother Marianne Cope, OSF, as a woman of exceptional holiness and faith as witnessed by her dedication to the most afflicted of God's people. Mother Marianne would never have dreamed in her life that such an honor would be hers. "Should I live a thousand years I could not in ever so small a degree thank God for His gifts and blessings. . . .I do not expect a high place in heaven - I shall be thankful for a little corner where I may truly love God for all eternity." This quote from Mother Marianne Cope's letter to her nephew epitomizes Mother Marianne's spirit and life. She was a woman who placed God and God's holy will at the center of her life, and who always spoke of Him in terms of gratitude. Her words

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are also an expression of her humility and her self-effacing love that was expressed in courageous, compassionate service.

Mother Marianne did not see herself as a special person. All of the work she undertook in her life was done with great reverence for people, with faith in God and a desire to fulfill God's will in her life. Whether she was teaching, serving as an administrator of a school or hospital, serving in leadership positions in her Religious Community or cleansing the wounds of those suffering the effects of leprosy (Hansen's disease) her attitude was that she was simply doing the will of God and caring for His people.

She did not look upon her service to the most afflicted of God's people as heroic. She considered herself a sister to all in her Franciscan tradition. In a 1905 letter written to Jean Sabate, a traveling writer, Mother Marianne wrote, "God giveth life; He will take it away in His own good time. In the meantime, it is our duty to make life as pleasant and as comfortable as possible for those of our fellow creatures. . . afflicted with this terrible disease." Her remarks to this writer were in reference to her work among the people of Hawaii who were stricken with Hansen's disease (or leprosy as it was called in Mother Marianne's time) but applied to her work in New York State as well.

Her faith in God was extraordinary and sustained her as she encountered many difficulties in her life. In a letter written to Mother Bernardina Dorn, the foundress of the Sisters of St. Francis of Syracuse and Mother Marianne's spiritual guide she wrote, "We all came with a will to do good and to work for God's honor and glory, which is sometimes hard." She accepted with love and gratitude the call of Jesus to "take up thy cross and come follow me." Recognizing the dark side of life, she chose how to carry her cross, with love, gratitude and a cheerful heart. In this same letter to Mother Bernardina she wrote, ". . . I think life is all too short to spend any part of it in worry or anxiety."

Her cheerful heart and peaceful spirit were evident to all who encountered her. This cheerful spirit inspired, encouraged and calmed the spirits of all whom she met. In an article which appeared in the Honolulu Advertiser shortly after Mother Marianne's death Mrs. john Bowler wrote:

"Seldom has the opportunity come to a woman to devote every hour of 30 years to the mothering of people isolated by law from the rest of the world.

She risked her own life in that time, faced everything with unflinching courage and smiled sweetly through it all."

Her great faith and dependence on God in her life, gave her great courage. She was not afraid to confront health officials or others in positions of authority when she was advocating for improved conditions for the suffering or justice for the people in her care. Her understanding of God's love and His will for her gave her the strength and patience to calm others, to take great risks in the service of God's people, to strengthen those around her, to confront evil and injustice, to inspire others in their faith development and to be a "Mother" to society's outcasts.

Her life is a call to others to reflect on their own relationship with God and how each one follows God's will and reverences other people. This was dramatically clear in the poem written by Robert Louis Stevenson on the occasion of his visit in 1899 to the people of Kalaupapa, Molokai. While there he saw the work of Mother Marianne and the sisters and wrote of his experience:

To see the infinite pity of this place,
the mangled limb, the devastated face,
The innocent sufferers smiling at the rod,
A fool were tempted to deny his God.

He sees, and shrinks; but if he look again,
Lo, beauty springing from the breast of pain!
He marks the sisters on the painful shores,
And even a fool is silent and adores.

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Mother Marianne Sculpture Dedicated in St. Joseph's Hospital St. Joseph's Hospital of Syracuse, New York celebrated their 141st anniversary on May 6, 2010. To commemorate this anniversary, they held a prayer service in the hospital lobby in which they dedicated and blessed the sculpture pictured to the right. The sculpture was unveiled by Ted Pasinski, chief executive officer of St. Joseph’s and Sr. Mary Laurence Hanley, director of Blessed Marianne Cope Cause. The sculpture was made by Ron DeRutte, a local artist and a faculty member of Syracuse University. At the end of the blessing of the sculpture, the Sisters of St. Francis joined the hospital choir and sang “O Makalapua,”Mother Marianne's favorite hymm. Blessed Marianne was a principal founder of St. Joseph's Hospital as well as St. Elizabeth's in Utica.

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