May is Mary's month! Cause for celebration, certainly! Elizabeth Seton herself, in the early nineteenth century, joined the universal praise of Mary with these words: "How happy the earth to have possessed Mary so long!

May! Mary's month and Mother's Day, coupled with the beauty of springtime in this Valley of Emmitsburg, awaken thoughts of Elizabeth Seton as mother to her own children, to her students, to her Sisters of Charity.

Today, let us take a few meditative moments - yes, with Elizabeth Seton - as we look toward spring, for growth in everything…in love and gratitude for the awesome grandeur of God and the all-embracing love of Mary, His Mother.

How pleased Saint Elizabeth Ann would be with the work that is being done at the school named for her, Mother Seton Academy, in Baltimore. As well as the Vincentian/Setonian work going on in Georgetown, SC. Both ministries are in articles in this issue.

I am grateful to Sister Joan for sharing the life and spirituality of Mother Seton with the CIVITAN Club of Frederick county. Sometimes those nearest to us are unaware of what we have to offer at the shrine.

In September, Sister Mary Bader took me and the other new faculty members on a tour of the city to show us where our students live and the environment they are growing up in. Most of them travel two city buses to get to Mother Seton Academy. Afterwards, Sister Mary met with me to talk about the children so I would be familiar with their backgrounds as a help to my teaching. I'll never forget the words she said to me about the children, "Each one has a long history in a short life."

As I reflect on the charism of charity in my work at Mother Seton Academy it struck me how true those words are, not only for the students at the school but for Mother Seton herself. She had a long history in a short life. Now the legacy of her history, charity, is the driving force I see at work throughout the day. Mother Seton, I know, is thrilled this little school is here just a few blocks from where she landed upon arriving in Baltimore in 1808. She knows what these children have been through and the courage and strength they need to succeed. The students know Mother Seton and love her because she is so real to them. Mother Seton knows the hopes and challenges the teachers experience each day in school and she is with us.

Mother Seton Academy is a school that is so much more than a school and the educational ministry is so much more than teaching. It is a second home to the children and provides a safe and secure environment within which learning can take place. Mother Seton's maternal love, one of her greatest strengths, is the charism of charity I experience at this school. A gentle, firm, stable, and consistent love, day in and day out that nurtures, guides, teaches, disciplines and celebrates each child. I am reminded of Jesus' mission spoken by the prophet Isaiah. "A bruised reed he shall not break and a smoldering wick he shall not quench…"

Working at Mother Seton Academy with Sister Mary has been a challenging and humbling experience for me. I naively thought I knew what I was getting myself into and that it would not be difficult. I am humbled when I realize the lived reality of my student is so far removed from my own. Poverty, racism, drugs, death are all around them. For eight hours a day we offer them the gift of education, hope and a different way to live. Sometimes the gift is received, sometimes not. It takes a long time for a short life with a long history to learn to trust. I am learning to surrender their history to God's merciful healing and endeavor to help them create the future. In Elizabeth Seton's own words, "Our name devotes us to their service in any manner that we could truly serve them."