Today we remember Sr. Alfonsa's feast day - the memorial of St. Alfonsus Liguouri.

The Servant of God Sr. Alfonsa shared with her patron the same debilitating disease, rheumatoid arthritis, which she offered up to the Lord with such grace that many people did not know the depths of her physical pain. She practiced the apostolate of the smile; smiling heroically in the midst of her suffering. This saintly sister lived in Steubenville for 8 years from 1960-1968. Below is her reflection on her vocation of reparation. To learn more about her life visit: www.srmaryalfonsa.com

“Reparation. This word I see written on the earth with blood, because blood was the price paid by the Son of Man, and blood must be the price paid by souls of reparation. Their life must pass through the difficulty of the cross…one might believe that this offering would occur in peace, in serenity; the scene of Gethsemane reminds us instead of the tragic anguish of this offer. But in heaven I see it written in gold letters; therefore, Reparation embraced, becomes gold. It is love that makes it acceptable, desirable. One cannot want the fruit of love without first having planted the tree of the cross in the center of one’s heart. We make reparation because Love is not loved.”
- Sr. Alfonsa of the Child Jesus