The surest way to find yourself is not to take some exotic trip to a distant land. Stay just where you are. You are exactly where you are right now for a reason. Discover that reason before you move on to new pastures. And service is the surest way to discover that reason.

Service provides the most direct route to establishing a clear sense of who you are and what you are here for. By shifting our focus from what we can get to what we can give, we open ourselves up to a life of service. God will freely reveal your mission once he perceives that you have made yourself available to serve.

At the age of 15, Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys made herself radically available to serve, and God revealed the amazing mission he had just for her. Marguerite grew up in France near the Congregation Notre-Dame, a religious center founded by Blessed Alix Le Clerc. There, she spent the early years of her adulthood educating the poor.

Eventually, Marguerite was invited to expand the mission of service Blessed Alix had started by sailing across the ocean and founding her own congregation in Canada.

She quickly established the first school in the region, and made it a special point to serve the native communities of the area.

It would be easy to look at the amazing aspects of Saint Marguerite Bourgeoys’ life and say, “She’s not like me. She is holier than I could ever be.” We tend to do that with the saints.

But the truth is, Marguerite did something that we are all capable of doing. She placed service at the center of her life. When we do that, God shows us the amazing mission he has for our lives.

Patron Saint of: Poverty

Feast Day: January 12

Feast Day Shared by: Saint Antonio Maria Pucci and Saint Arcadius

Canonized: October 31, 1982

Canonized by: Pope John Paul II