A Day to Remember
by The Catholic Review
Toni Moore Duggan, Mother Mary Lange Guild Board President, called the anniversary of the day Mother Lange died “A Day to Pause and Remember.”
February 3, 2008, could not have dawned more beautiful. It was a day made for celebration. Cardinal William Keeler, Archbishop Emeritus of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, was celebrant of a joyous Mass of thanksgiving for Servant of God Mary Lange’s life of heroic sanctity. Deacon Paul Shelton delivered the homily. A record number of Mother Lange devotees from local parishes and even a bus load from nearby Washington, D.C. paused to remember the day God called Mother Mary to Himself and she was able to say her own “It is finished.”
Excerpts from an article published in The Catholic Review authored by Toni in commemoration of the day Lange died, states:
“Before the Emancipation Proclamation, God placed the desire for consecrated life within the heart of Mother Mary Lange. As with the Virgin Mother, he quieted her soul and she said “yes.” That “yes” resounds in the lives of the Oblate Sisters of Providence today. “…Her call was to reveal the world of consecrated life to women of color as Paul revealed the life of Jesus to the Gentiles….Mother Mary laid down her life…and took up the cross with humility, perseverance and grace, trusting her life and the lives of her followers to the One who sent her…The Spirit of God was upon her. She chose to reveal to all people that…the God who dwelt among them dwelt within them. Mother Lange encountered many barriers in her quest for greater truth. God lined others in her path…Father Joubert, S.S. …was her unfailing supporter. The transforming grace of God reinforced by the goodness of others fueled her call and her courage. Mother Lange moved beyond herself into the world as a bearer of God and an extraordinary prophet of change through uncharted waters. The life of this extraordinary woman, with her trust in the divine providence of God, speaks to the hearts of many. Her footprints continue to transform lives.
Now, more than 180 years…the Oblate Sisters of Providence continue to live the charisms trusting in Divine Providence…They continue to educate and evangelize children and adults of all colors and cultures. Her cause [for canonization] has progressed to our postulator in Rome. We ask continued prayers that, please God, her cause for sainthood will soon be realized. Continue to bring…needs to God through her intercession.”