Expression of the Love for Neighbor
Before the foundation of the Congregation, the Servant of God was a member of the Third-Order of St. Francis and a member of the Sacred-Heart Association. Father Reichard had organized groups to visit the sick. Elizabeth Eppinger participated it actively during the time when her health permitted it.
From her early days, she was concerned about the sanctification of her neighbor, all those in her surroundings: her parents, brothers and sisters, domestics, her schoolmates, and her friends. Her constant concern is to make them avoid sin and love God, to be virtuous and this in spite of all mockery and insults.
The love for our neighbor in the Servant of God first of all wanted the salvation of her neighbor. She untiringly prayed for sinners and worked for their conversion. She said: “I feel an intense tenderness for the sinners. I see in them God’s creatures and the objects of His love.”
Father Reichard said: “She constantly feels irresistibly attracted towards God, her Savior; always and with just as much strength she wishes to be able to lead all sinners to Him.” Continue reading