Signposts On The Way

Today is the optional memorial of St. Marianne Cope (Mother Marianne of Moloka'i), who devoted the last half of her life to serving those affected by leprosy in Hawaii. Her life’s work showed a consistent concern for the most vulnerable in society. She was an immigrant who was a leader in providing healthcare to people in New York and was among the first to advocate for patients’ rights. In 1883, she courageously led a group of Sisters of St. Francis from New York to Hawaii to answer a request to care for leprosy patients on Moloka'i. She worked alongside Father Damien, her better-known collaborator, who died 5 years after she arrived. She spent 30 years serving the community, building hospitals and homes for patients, and advocating for their rights and dignity.

 

Her feast day this year coincides with the Day of Prayer for the Legal Protection of Unborn Children typically held on January 22nd, the Roe v. Wade anniversary. St. Marianne Cope's devotion to serving the marginalized and her belief in the sanctity of human life aligns with this day. Her work on Moloka'i and her care for leprosy patients is an example of how to serve and protect the most vulnerable in our society.

 

St. Marianne Cope incarnated God’s tender love among the feared and abandoned Hansen’s disease patients on Moloka’i. Her life proclaims that we cannot claim to be a community, let alone a community of love, if we consider some among us to be expendable for whatever reason. Her life prophetically witnesses to the sanctity of all human life as made in the image of God. While today we still struggle to find common ground as a society on what this means practically, let us never forget that the erosion of this foundational conviction will lead to the fraying of our community bonds and the dissolution of communion. Toward whose life in our world today do I need to nurture a sense of sanctity? For what group or individual? What small step can I take to practically support the sanctity of their lives or life?