Teodora Guérin, właśc. Anne-Thérèse Guérin – francuska zakonnica, założycielka Zgromadzenia Sióstr Opatrzności, święta Kościoła katolickiego.
Jej rodzicami byli Laurent Guerin i Isabelle Lefevre. Do wieku dorosłego dożyła tylko jej siostra, pozostała dwójka jej rodzeństwa zmarła we wczesnym dzieciństwie. Gdy miała 15 lat, jej ojciec został zamordowany przez bandytów, odtąd opiekowała się wówczas matką i siostrą. Wstąpiła do zgromadzenia, tam złożyła śluby zakonne a 5 września 1831 roku śluby wieczyste. Była słabego zdrowia, wyleczyła się z choroby, która uszkodziła jej układ pokarmowy.
Założyła zgromadzenie Sióstr Opatrzności we francuskiej kolonii Saint Mary-of-the-Woods w stanie Indiana w USA.
Zmarła w opinii świętości.
Została beatyfikowana przez papieża Jana Pawła II 25 października 1998 roku, a kanonizowana przez papieża Benedykta XVI 15 października 2006 roku.
Wikipedia
“Let us never forget that if we wish to die like the Saints we must live like them.”
Letter to Sisters at Saint Mary's, 1848.
Kontekst: Let us never forget that if we wish to die like the Saints we must live like them. Let us force ourselves to imitate their virtues, in particular humility and charity.
First Journal of Travel (1840)
Kontekst: Nothing troubled the charm and silence of this solitude. Making the most serious reflections on what we behold, and on our present position, I said to myself: Thus does life also pass away, now calm, now agitated, but at last the end is attained. Happy, ah, thrice happy they who can then look out to the never-ending future with calm and confidence, who can cast themselves on the bosom of God, the Center of our felicity.
“I loved to consider the care of God's Providence which extends even to the little fishes.”
Third Journal of Travel (1844-1845)
Kontekst: Every evening at the same hour when the weather was calm, I used to go on deck and bless God for all the wonders of His creation. I loved to consider the care of God's Providence which extends even to the little fishes.
To the Right Reverend J. Bouvier, Bishop of Le Mans, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, 1850-07-10.
Kontekst: We have gone out several times this summer to gather simples and linden blossoms, etc. In each excursion we discover something marvelous, beautiful, and useful in the magnificent forests of Indiana. At each step we can admire the grandeur, the power, the goodness of God. How bountifully He provides for all our wants -- I would even say for our pleasures! I love our woods and solitude very much; …
Third Journal of Travel (1844-1845)
Kontekst: The beauty of the forests of Indiana in the rich and lovely month of May surpasses all description. The rivers, swollen by the rains, flow through long lanes of verdure, caressing the islands they seem to carry with them in their course and which look like floating nosegays. The trees raise their straight trunks to the height of more than a hundred and twenty feet and are crowned with tops of admirable beauty. The magnolia, the dog-wood, the catalpa, covered with white flowers, the permed snow of the springtime, intermingle with the delicate green of the other trees.
“No piano, no pupils! Such is the spirit of this country -- Music and Steam!”
First Journal of Travel (1840)
Kontekst: They [Sisters of Charity in Frederick] excel in music, which is an indispensable thing in this country, even for the poor. No piano, no pupils! Such is the spirit of this country -- Music and Steam!
To Mother Mary, Superior General, Ruille-sur-Loir, 1852-02-18.
Kontekst: ... they wish to make us pay taxes, which is contrary to the laws of the State. We refuse positively. It embarrasses them a little to have women resist them and speak to them about the law. Woman in this country is only yet one fourth of the family. I hope that, through the influence of religion and education, she will eventually become at least one half the "better half."
Letter to the Sisters at Jasper 1842-03-20.
Kontekst: You may have to wait longer than you would like, you may have to bear privations; but, bear and forebear. Have confidence in the Providence that so far has never failed us. The way is not yet clear. Grope along slowly. Do not press matters; be patient, be trustful.
Letter to the Very Reverend A. Martin, Vincennes, 1844-10-03.
Kontekst: I must close now, for I am obliged to go to Terre Haute, where I am called to court to explain my conduct and defend myself against accusations relative to counterfeit money that was said to have been received from me. One has to come to America to be treated thus! Sometimes I am so disheartened with this country that I feel as if I were carrying on my shoulders the weight of its highest mountains, and in my heart all the thorns of its wilderness. Pray for me occasionally that I may not lose courage; nay, more, that I may be brave enough to hold up others who falter sometimes.
“…the Americans must have the Almighty dollar.”
Their cupidity renders them daring and indifferent to everything else. It is nothing to them to expose their lives and those of others in order to gain money. How materialistic these people are!
To the Right Reverend J. Bouvier, Bishop of Le Mans, Saint Mary's, 1849-07-08.
Third Journal of Travel (1844-1845)
“When one has nothing more to lose, the heart is inaccessible to fear.”
First Journal of Travel (1840)
Third Journal of Travel (1844-1845)
“We are not called upon to do all the good possible, but only that which we can do.”
Letter to the Reverend J. Kundek, Jasper 1842-09-27.
“I have already exceeded the amount of work my head can bear.”
Letter to Sister Basilide, Madison, 1855-02-17.
Second Journal of Travel (1844)
Letter to the Very Reverend A. Martin, V.G., Logansport, 1841-10-19.
First Journal of Travel (1840)
Poor negroes! I would have wished to buy them all that I might say to them, "Go! Bless Providence. You are free!"
Third Journal of Travel (1844-1845)
To the Right Reverend J. Bouvier, Bishop of Le Mans, Saint Mary-of-the-Woods, 1850-07-10.
Third Journal of Travel (1844-1845)
First Journal of Travel (1840)
Third Journal of Travel (1844-1845)
To the Right Reverend J. Bouvier, Bishop of Le Mans, Saint Mary's, 1849-07-08.
Letter to the Sisters at Jasper 1842-03-20.
