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St. Rose Philippine Duchesne was drawn to religious life at an early age. After hearing a Jesuit speak about missionary work in the New World when she was 8 years old, Philippine already felt a desire to evangelize the Americas.
She was eventually granted that desire, and even though she did not always know the language of the Indigenous people she served, she kept a devout life of prayer.
For example, St. Duchesne was asked to help with a Jesuit mission to the Potawatomi tribe in Sugar Creek, Kansas. She had difficulty learning the language, so instead of teaching there, Mother Duchesne spent her time praying for the success of her fellow sisters. This gave her the reputation among the Native people as the “Woman-Who-Prays-Always.”
St. John Paul II noted in his homily for her canonization that it was prayer before the Eucharist that kept her missionary heart alive.
Furthermore, it was her love of the Eucharist that drew her to minister to poor children in the New World.
Her life highlights for us the importance of having a deep devotional life to Jesus in the Eucharist, knowing that the greater our love of Jesus, the more love we will have for the most vulnerable among us.
