The Venerable Edel Mary Quinn was an Irish lay missionary. Her work in Africa has been recognised by the church and on December 15, 1994, Pope John Paul II pronounced her venerable.
She contracted from tuberculosis and spent a year and a half in a sanatorium, but her condition didn’t improve. So at 20 years old, she joined the Legion of Mary in Dublin. She worked to help the poor in the slums of Dublin.
In 1936, when she was 29 and dying of tuberculosis, she travelled to East and Central Africa to become a missionary for the Legion of Mary.
She worked tirelessly until she died of tuberculosis in Nairobi in 1944. During this time, she established hundreds of Legion branches in Tanzania, Kenya, Uganda, Malawi, and Mauritius.
Tribute from Fr. McCarthy, Bishop of Zanzibar
Fr. McCarthy, later Bishop of Zanzibar, wrote of her:
“Miss Quinn is an extraordinary individual; courageous, zealous and optimistic. She wanders around in a dilapidated Ford, having for sole companion an African driver. When she returns home she will be qualified to speak about the Missions and Missionaries, having really more experience than any single Missionary I know.”
Here are some of her quotes;
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The spiritual life is a constant fight. It seems to me to be an unending struggle to rise; one gets no rest.
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Do all you can when things are easier, but do not feel tied down when work presses or when you do not feel well. From what one reads, it would seem that meditation is the important thing. So meditate if possible, even if you cannot manage anything else. Do it even for a quarter of an hour.
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Do not think I always practise what I preach – there are days when I let everything go by the board. I am not what you think, you know! One must only start again. I think the great thing is not to get discouraged, no matter how much we will fail, but always be ready to begin again. In that way only, will we be sure to persevere.
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Sometimes it is really hard to struggle on; everything seems against us. Even if we have the time for it, meditation is very difficult.
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One must be prepared for the difficulties which arise on the way. Even for the average person, to keep a good disposition under the daily preoccupations requires a constant battle.
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It is, of course, natural that a soul which is specially gifted will encounter trials and difficulties which are unknown to mediocre souls. The greatest saints were always subject to the greatest trials.
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It is so difficult to know the Will of God and life is too short for mistakes.
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I try not to let myself be overcome by fatigue, be careful not to show want of interest or fatigue before others. Patience in all things.
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We have only this life and perhaps only a short one, in which to prove our love. If we make the effort, Jesus and Mary will help us to carry it through. If one saw things truly, how one should be grateful and rejoice at every physical weakness and tiredness. These are our slight share of Christ’s sufferings and graces.
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