Saluting fidelity

On September 9, 1878, an Episcopal nun named Constance died in Memphis, Tennessee.

Years later, she and a small cohort of similarly devoted people of faith would be lifted up as saints of the church.

The group is often described as Constance and Her Companions, or the Martyrs of Memphis.

When yellow fever swept through Memphis, many others fled the city in fear. But Constance, a nun of the Sisters of St. Mary, and her companions (Thecla, Ruth, Frances, Charles Parsons, and Louis Schuyler) remained to serve the sick, bury the dead, and comfort the orphaned.

Sister Constance declared, “It is a privilege to minister to the sick, and we are not afraid to die.

Her words were not bravado, but a quiet testimony of love stronger than fear.

Their lives are reminders that holiness is often found not in grand gestures, but in daily faithfulness, staying when others leave, serving when others retreat, loving when others despair.

The story of Constance and her companions is not only a page of history. It is also a summons:

When crisis comes, when fear tempts me to flee, may I pause long enough to heed Christ’s call to remain in love, and serve.

Footnote: Yellow fever is a viral disease spread through mosquito bites. Nowadays, it can be prevented through vaccination, and proper mosquito abatement strategies.