Among the interesting items on display at the Shrine’s What is a Relic? exhibit is a small silver reliquary. It contains first-class relics of the saints Agatha, Lucy, Agnes, Cecilia, Barbara and Rosalie. You can stop by to venerate these whenever the Shrine is open.
The authentification paper for this particular collection of relics is dated 1928. That tells us Mother Cabrini didn’t own these herself. They were a later gift to the Sisters.
However, Mother Cabrini traveled constantly with sacred relics. On her first journey to Rome in 1887 she was given a reliquary that contained 42 relics of missionaries. This accompanied her wherever she went until the end of her life.
The saints, she wrote, “always go ahead of me and I follow them; they always make the first move.”
It is a good practice to pursue: following the saints. We can begin by listening to what St. Frances Cabrini said about them.
Diligence in small things made the saints what they are. Those who conquer themselves in small matters will often gain more than those who were concerned with overcoming themselves in greater matters.
St. Agnes, pray for us that we may grow strong in faith.
St. Frances Cabrini, pray that we may see the small matters most important for us to conquer.
