Catholic Medical Quartery Vol 76 (1) February 2026
Book Review
All Things Are Possible: The Selected Writings of Mother Cabrini
by Dawn Beutner
Pub Ignatius Press
Reviewed by Dr Pravin
Thevasathan
Having
recently watched the film Cabrini, I have become a devotee of St Frances
Xavier Cabrini. Like St Francis Xavier, she was an incredible missionary
and she wrote many letters to keep in touch with her sisters of the
Missionary Sisters of the Sacred Heart.
As this book shows, she had an intense devotion to the Sacred Heart. Like all great missionaries, she realised that the interior life came first: " See that all your works are the kind produced by souls illumined by the light of faith."
She also wrote: "Give yourselves to perfection by enclosing yourselves in the Heart of Jesus."
She suffered greatly but never lost hope: "Let us prepare to suffer again ... whatever happens has been endured by the Heart of Christ."
When a new pope was elected, she wrote: "Go to the chapel and pray for him. Insert his name in our prayers."
The film Cabrini shows us Frances Cabrini the great social worker. This book shows us Cabrini the saint: "pray to obtain the conversion of the world."
She had a great love for the Blessed Sacrament: "We finally have the Blessed Sacrament in the house. Having longed for this, we wish to stay with Him always ... Love Jesus and bring Him your spiritual bouquets."
She had great confidence in the mercy of God: "We are nothing and can do nothing by ourselves. With God, we can do all things ... Let us abandon ourselves lovingly to the adorable Heart of Jesus with profound humility and detachment from all creatures. I wish you detachment from yourselves."
This book shows us the interior life of a saint who founded hospitals, orphanages, and schools.