Setting Fire

Today is the feast day of another of my favorite saints, more so now than ever: St. Catherine of Siena.
Siena also happens to be one of my top two favorite towns in Italy, I loved it there!
So much to say about this saint, but this quote from this amazing holy faithful pushy humble strong woman, Doctor of the Church, really sums it up:

"If you are who God made you to be, you will set the whole world on fire!"
-St. Catherine

Dear St. Joseph

Sculpture by Dony McManus

It's the feast of St. Joseph!
I'm so excited.
I love a feast, everything about it..food, fest, fete, remembering, commemorating, celebrating...it's all the good stuff wrapped up into that one word, isn't it? FEAST.  Yay.  We Catholics, we love a feast!
It's also of course, the end of the novena, which is always good.
I'm reposting some of this from last year because I am just not good enough to redo my words and thoughts, no room in my brain to rephrase my ideas just for novelty's sake.
But I will point out one shift, for me, with regard to this particular saint: I'm working hard this  year on getting closer to dear St. Joseph.
I feel the need to cling to him, in particular, in prayer and my heart and I've entrusted our family to his prayers and intercession this year.  This year, in particular, and perhaps all years ahead, we need, I need, to lean on and go to St. Joseph. Not trying to be cryptic, but just so you know I have a particular need to grow closer to St Joseph, and fast, and this year is the year our relationship takes a turn for the closer.  It must. I need him. 

Anyhow, more on all that later.  A year before I also did a post on this great saint, on his feast day.  And since I can't redo my words or thoughts, and still don't really want to, please go here to get a bit on dear St. Joseph.  As my mind continues to decline and muddle, best to return to my older posts that might be a bit more um, clear.....always!  

Anyhow, the year before I wrote all about my adoption links and issues with St. Joseph.  Not HIM actually, but rather others perception of him.  I mean, give the guy some cred! He's the dad!  Ok...I begin to digress. Go read my post if you have a spark of curiosity about him and all this from an adoptive perspective.  

This year, again, I just want and need to think about dear St. Joseph.  As a faithful humble man, who served his God, his family, his child and community.  He didn't get a lot of attention for it, except for some seriously negative opinions and sniping in the beginning of it all regarding his bride.....  So he didn't get the kudos, he didn't get the understanding.  He was and is still misunderstood.  But, and here is the key for me: he didn't stand up and correct everyone and make sure they understood just what he was doing.  He didn't.  

He just went ahead and did the next thing, lived and loved deeply as the dad.  

Every day.  

In his little town, doing his regular job, no status, no notice, no blog.  

Just, day to day, keeping on.  

So, I wonder.  He was  human.  Did he ever want to stand up on one of those tables he made (sturdy, no doubt) and holler at his little townspeople or neighbors, "Hey, I know you have all sorts of ideas about what is going on, but you're wrong.  I love her.  I love him.  He's special.  Yeah, God told me it's ok, it's right even.  So. Stop judging.  It's SO much more than you know."  Ya think???? Ok, probably not.  But, I wonder sometimes.  He's a saint, but he was human.  He's a saint not because God made him extra perfect and different than us.  He's a saint because he was faithful, even when he didn't understand.  

Michael O'Brien, St. Joseph

And that, that is like a whack in the head to me.

He was faithful, even when he didn't - couldn't - understand.  Because it all didn't make sense.  But he still accepted.  And gave in to this plan.  And did what he was called to do.  And he didn't whine and whinge on about it all.  He just did it.  Every day.  Every night.  As long as he was called to do it.  And that, I struggle with that.  Every day lately.  Because I always fall into the narcissistic trap of "it's all about me."  I don't think St. Joseph did that.  Which blows my mind.  

So yeah,  he's one of my heroes.  He's still misunderstood.  But, he has much to teach me. Especially now.  

St. Joseph, pray for us!

Happy Feast Day!

Just like a Sister

Icon source here

It's the feast of St. Scholastica!
And I had planned on doing a little post on  her, because we are quite fond of her 'round here.  But Anchoress  beat me to it and I can't top her.  So, I'm gonna send you over.  Go, read, it's worth it.  Scholastica's got that brother-sister dynamic DOWN.  Which makes me grin; another saint that is all too human, but even so, holy!

Here's a snip…..Go

"Perhaps I just love thinking that she had “irritated” Benedict, as only a sister can irritate a brother.

"When the man of God saw that he could not get back to the monastery because of the lightning and thunder and the great flood of rain, he was irritated and began to complain: “May God have mercy on you, my sister. Why have you done this?” And she replied to him: “See, I asked you, and you would not listen to me. So I asked my Lord, and he has listened to me. Now then, go, if you can. Leave me, and go back to the monastery.” But unable to go outside, he stayed against his will in a place where he had been unwilling to stay on his own"

Go, read the post for yourself.  You'll get a smile, especially if you've ever been a sister with a brother!

Dumb Ox

It's the Feast day of St. Thomas Aquinas!

Now there are many reasons to be fond of St. Thomas Aquinas, especially here in our little/big family.  First off, of course, there is my dearest Coffeedoc, who, as we all know, is really named Thomas.  Such a great name.

Other reasons run from loving the Dominicans, in general, and these ones, in particular, and also these.....to the fact that he is a patron of scholars and academics, he was underestimated and considered to be slow; dim even.  Why yes, perhaps that's why I personally have always been extra fond of him, now that you mention it!

 Our wonderful Nashville Dominicans....love them!

Little did his contemporaries know, he was a genius.  A future Doctor of the Church; by which I mean, he is an "authorized teacher" of the Church.   You want to learn good solid doctrine? Go read up on some St. Thomas Aquinas! Anyhow, this silent genius was also made fun of, just like so many of us, he was, um, larger than the standard....and between his silence and his bulk he was often called the "Dumb Ox."  Awwww.  That's just mean.  And at University!  Sheesh!

Anyhow, the point being: he is a saint for us all.  If you a hyper intellectual, a struggling student, someone struggling with their excess girth, ahem, someone who is underestimated, bullied, teachers, Italians, aficionados of Italy....you name it.  In our house we will have a particular devotion to St. Thomas, asking him for prayers for our Buddybug as he ventures forth, and might well need St. Thomas as a patron after graduation.  Ok, we all do, so that settles that.

But really, almost any way you look at it, or him, St. Thomas Aquinas is a good egg, all around.  

St. Thomas Aquinas is a saint to learn a bit more about, and one much needed in our confused post modern times.  

 

Happy Feast Day!
St. Thomas Aquinas, pray for us!

Feast of St. Nick.

Yeah, it is: the real one.

Saint Nicholas!

I love learning about him, and thinking about him.  And when my littles ask me, "Mom, do you believe in Santa?" I can say, with truth, "Yes, I do, Saint Nick!"  Now, if you want to get all snippy and say it's misleading, go ahead.  But I'm not gonna listen too closely, because I think it's a fun tradition and teaches our kids to be selfless - at least a tad bit more maybe - and frankly, because Saint Nicholas IS real.  And yes, I do then launch into a conversation, a quick one, about the real St. Nicholas.

There are fun traditions with this feast, most common is leaving a shoe by your bedroom door and filling it with candy.  Not that I've done, ever, that tradition...because I am not organized enough to remember it in time to do it.  But I love the idea of it, and  maybe someday, I might just get it together enough to make it happen.  Hey, it could happen....really!

Collect for the Feast of Saint Nicholas

O God, Who didst adorn blessed Nicholas,

the bishop, with miracles unnumbered,

grant, we beseech Thee, that by his merits

and prayer we may be delivered from the

fire of hell. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Happy Feast of St. Nicholas! 

Have a piece of candy...ok I will on your behalf!

Musical Feast Day: St. Cecilia!

St. Cecilia, by Raphael

It's the feast of St. Cecilia!
We love her, and my eldest daughter has a particular affinity for her as well (maybe a number of my kids have her as a patron - music is so integral to their lives, not just the ipod hookup of standard teenhood, but the passionate playing of music...it's part of who they are).   I also like to think of her as my Hannah's patron due to her 'shine' (meaning both Cecilia and my girl).  St. Cecilia is the patron of our near and dear Dominican Sisters here too. They are filled with music and radiance and are just joyfully compelling, just like their patron must have been.

 Poussin, St. Cecilia

 From St. Augustine, apropos of this musical feast day:

Sing to him a new song, sing to him with joyful melody. Every one of us tries to discover how to sing to God. You must sing to him, but you must sing well. He does not want your voice to come harshly to his ears, so sing well, brothers!

Now, who is more worthy of such a cry of jubilation than God himself, whom all words fail to describe? If words will not serve, and yet you must not remain silent, what else can you do but cry out for joy? Your heart must rejoice beyond words, soaring into an immensity of gladness, unrestrained by syllabic bonds. Sing to him with jubilation.

Carlo Saraceni, St. Cecilia and the Angel

 And I think that means that even us musically challenged folks can sing out on this day celebrating the life of St. Cecilia, flat notes and all! That's my story and I'm sticking to it at any rate!
So, sing out!

St. Cecilia, pray for us!

Double Feast: St Luke

El Greco, of course!

Today is the Feast of St. Luke!
You all know him, gospel writer and all.

But what sometimes gets overlooked is that St Luke is a man of many talents.  Not only was he a  a writer of the gospel and all...so his faith of course is inspiring....but he was a physician and tradition has it also an artist.  Now, the arts part has been disputed, but who can know really?  And tradition has brought St. Luke down as an  honored patron saint of the arts and painters, in fact as an iconographer of Mary...so I'm running with it.
I mean, St. Luke is like the double whammy patron of the house, or our marriage, no? Yes!  How cool! You've got the whole doc factor for Tom, and the arts factor for me, and the faith factor for us both! Whoa.
Frankly, I'm just really dig that.

After those two connections, you then add the whole Mary connection and well, this is a lock on the patron of the house deal for us.  We love Mary.  I love Mary!  And I love painting Mary!  So...St. Luke, he's the man...surely to goodness he's an intercessor to turn to.  His gospel has some of the most profound parables as well:

"Luke is the one who uses "Blessed are the poor" instead of "Blessed are the poor in spirit" in the beatitudes. Only in Luke's gospel do we hear Mary 's Magnificat where she proclaims that God "has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty" (Luke 1:52-53).

Luke also has a special connection with the women in Jesus' life, especially Mary. It is only in Luke's gospel that we hear the story of the Annunciation, Mary's visit to Elizabeth including the Magnificat, the Presentation, and the story of Jesus' disappearance in Jerusalem. It is Luke that we have to thank for the Scriptural parts of the Hail Mary: "Hail Mary full of grace" spoken at the Annunciation and "Blessed are you and blessed is the fruit of your womb Jesus" spoken by her cousin Elizabeth.

Forgiveness and God's mercy to sinners is also of first importance to Luke. Only in Luke do we hear the story of the Prodigal Son welcomed back by the overjoyed father." 

Anyhow...just so you know.  Today is the Feast of St. Luke.  He was  born in a pagan family and was a convert to the faith.  He worked with Paul and preached the "mystery of Christ's love for the poor." He is inspiring. St. Luke lived the gospel through his spoken and written words, his art,  his hands.   Just like I should do, in some small measure, every day. 


From the divine office, morning prayer:

" Saint Luke gave us the gospel message and proclaimed Christ as the dawn from on high."

Painting by Maarten de Vos, 1602

So, my Tom/Coffeedoc, 

Happy Feast Day!

St. Luke, pray for us! 

Another amazing Theresa

Painting by Janet McKenzie

It's the feast of St. Teresa of Avila!I love her. I feel she is one of my patrons due to our shared tendency toward massive headaches and migraines. Only one who has them all the time can really understand how they scramble you...and she did. So, she's my gal!

Painting by Francois Gerard, c. 17C

But more importantly, St. Teresa of Avila is just one heck of a great saint. She is one of the three women Doctors of the Church (noting that her spiritual writings are both sound and very important, influential). For a woman of medieval times, that is no small accomplishment, not to mention: staying power! Her books such as Interior Castle and The Way of Perfection are just amazing reads. Not fast page turners, but mind blowers. You have to stop every few pages and just sort of...digest it all. And then soak it in, let it sink in....it's great great stuff and will change your prayer life. She founded the Discalced Carmelites (Meaning "shoeless," again, what's not to like?) and had an ongoing friendship and correspondence with the mystic and poetically powerful St. John of the Cross {And if you want a really phenomenal book, tough, dense, but OH so worth it: read the compilation/commentary on these two together: Fire Within, by Dubay}.
But on another level, not the "resume" angle...St. Teresa of Avila appeals to me because she was first of all a real living, breathing woman. I know, they all are, doh. But what I mean is that she was a woman of opinions and ideas and kind of stubborn and pushy, even when that wasn't always overtly sanctioned in the culture of her time. She was extremely social and loved to sit and chat and flirt even...she was quiet beautiful and knew how to use it too. She had to struggle against the urge to chat and flirt and spend too much time doing it, because she could lose afternoons to it. Sound familiar to any of you, especially you gals? Um, yeah. That stuff IS fun. Sounds pretty modern to me.

St. Teresa's monastic cell at the Convento de la Encarnación, Ávila

And yet, even so, St. Teresa could hear in her inmost self the whisper of God who loved her as she was, more than anyone else could. And she responded, bravely, to that irresistible call. And it brought her the ecstasy of union with God in prayer. And that amazes me and intrigues me as I know firsthand how hard it is to push all those opinions and flippy chitchatty conversations out of my head to pay attention to God himself. Distraction? I'm the poster girl for it. But St. Teresa gives me hope and I have hope that she prays for me...for my attention to what is important, for responding to that call, that whisper, for my headaches, for being brave enough to listen through the din of my modern mundane life.
**cut me some slack......reposted due to insanely crazed intensive issue filled days...by which I mean: eight kids, special needs, and mostly: October**

Sculpture by Bernini, "St. Teresa in Ecstasy"

So, happy feast day!

St. Teresa of Avila, pray for us!

Little Big Love...

It's the feast of the Little Flower: St. Therese of Liseaux!

Which means it's also my Marti's feast day: Marta Therese (get the connection?).

St Therese is one of the fav's at our house, you all know that.  I've written about her many times, and posted multiple novenas to her here on blog.  But whether you want to talk about her being a Doctor of the Church; known for her solid writing/teaching and doctrinal insight, or whether you want to talk about her humble "Little Way"......St Therese is about Love. 

And wadda ya know...so is our Faith. So is God.  So, should be, myself. 

And I kinda always thought we added "Therese" to our Marta's name because we prayed novena's to this saint on Marta's behalf.  We hit St. Therese up for many prayers to bring our girl home and get her healthy.  St. Therese had TB too.  St. Therese wasn't highly regarded among the other nuns in her convent.  She was thought to be slow or dim, she was often overlooked, she was young, she was small.  She was one of God's "little ones." 
And so is our Marta, to be sure...one of God's "little ones."
If I know anything, I know that.
 
But really....
I am learning, every single blooming day, that I think we were compelled to add "Therese" to Marta's name also because this saint teaches us how to love. 
In the little things. 
Which of course, means that they are the very biggest things. 
Because this saint struggled all her life to die to her self and her pride and her desires so she could love Jesus better. 

And she ultimately was given the grace of real understanding of the biggest simplest secret: that the Love was waiting for her.  She didn't have to scale great heights, or go on far missions, or accomplish amazing feats to prove her love.  All she had to do was lift up her arms(heart) and open herself to Love.  And, um, do it.  Love.  Love in the little things.  Every day.  The next thing, right in front of her.  Do the chore before her without complaint.  Smile at the irritating Sister and bite her tongue.  Not correct the error of someone being catty, but let it roll off her back. 
It wasn't easy for her, she didn't possess any "saintly" or superhuman patience:

"I understood how easy it is to become all wrapped up on self, forgetting entirely the sublime goal of one's calling."

Rather she figured out that:

"...perfection consists in doing God's will, in being what he wills us to be."

and

"We can do no good when we seek our self."

Or, in other terms, to be us, and to love. 
Period.

And yeah, it sounds so simple.  Like stupid simple, right? 
Well, yup, it does.  So why do I fail and kick and fuss and gripe against it every blooming day?
Because it's the hardest most profound thing we can do, any day, any moment. 
And yet, also the most sublime and simplest. 

To bring this ramble back around...and so it is with  my Marta Therese. 
She too, teaches me how to love. Really. 
Really love.
Because it can be so hard with her.  Because she is small and suffers the after-effects of the TB that ravaged her. Because it's still sometimes strange and it's still often hard and it's sometimes ridiculously complicated.  Because I am slow and am ridiculously complicated and strange. Because she has delays and it makes things very slow and often limited. 
But oh, I know, she is aptly named. 
She is one of the small ones. 
And she loves, to the best of her ability. 
And I am called to love her. 
And sometimes that is simply an act of will. 
And sometimes it is with a tired fuss.
And sometimes it is with a stabbing intake of breath, glimpsing her for a moment as God does. 
He sent me one of his special ones, to give me remedial lessons. 
Because I too am slow.
And need so  much to learn to truly really love. 
The little way.  
It's so big.  

So today we celebrate, I am thinking upon, St. Therese of Liseaux, and her intentions: 

 "I ask Jesus to draw me into the flames of his love, to unite me so closely to him that he live and act in me."

And I am asking her for her prayers, for our Marti Therese, my family,  and for me. 
So that I can lift up my arms and  heart, and love better, more truly, all those littles ones given to me.....eight of them. 

See, remedial lessons, lifelong....me. 
Doh. 
And so I can say, "Thank you, here I am Love, lift me up." 

Servant of Servants

Drawing by Matt Alderman, a fellow "Domer."  

His pen and ink work is always fantastic.

It's the feast of Pope St. Gregory the Great!
Or, as we know him around our house: St. Gregory, Chris' patron.
We hit him up for prayers, ok, I hit him up for prayers for my eldest son quite often.
By which I mean, I'm a dreadful nudge about it all.  But he is a faithful patron, and I am grateful for his prayers for my son.

It's the feast day of Pope St. Gregory the Great.

 I don't remember all of Buddybug's reasons for choosing St. Gregory the Great as his patron. But I suspect that his love of music was one of the links. St. Gregory promoted sacred music, now known to us as, duh: "Gregorian Chant." And Buddybug (and his mom and dad) love Gregorian Chant. So, no surprise there.

St. Gregory is one of the few who have "the Great" attached to their name, and is also a doctor of the Church (meaning a great teacher). He sent missionaries into England and Ireland, and then Germany - spreading the hope and faith throughout Europe. He was highly educated and founded seven monasteries. Eventually he even was elected Pope. As Pope, he tirelessly worked in service for the Church.  Indeed, he is the one who so aptly coined the most appropriate and under-used title for the Pope: "Servant of the servants of God."

I always just mostly think of my son when I think of St. Gregory the Great. And another little but extra pleasing link for me: St. Gregory's mother was St. Silvia. My mother's first name is Sylvia (hence, Buddybug's grandma is Silvia). I know, teensy nothings, but yet, they make me smile. And since this saint and my boy are connected in my daily prayers, they are kind of supernaturally and eternally connected I think too (and certainly are in my head).

So, I thank St. Gregory for his prayers for my boy.

And I wish him and my Buddybug:

Happy Feast Day!!

St. Gregory the Great, pray for us!

Mom Feast

Feast of St. Monica

Painting of St. Monica, by John Nava

Today is the feast of St. Monica!
It's a special feast day for us moms, because she is a special patron of mothers...especially the moms who have persevere in prayer and try to convert their worries and fretting and even fears for their kids into something more productive: prayer.
Here is one of the premier examples of patience, especially for us moms.
Really, I should unofficially consider her a patron, because here is a mom who showed such patience and perseverance in prayer...and these are some of the traits (especially that whole patience thing) that I severely lack.

Painting of St. Monica, by Janet McKenzie

St. Monica, a saint from north Africa, prayed for the conversion (successfully) of her husband and his mother. But, most famously, she prayed and prayed faithfully for the conversion of her wild, wayward son, Augustine.

Augustine was a son that would give any mom many sleepless nights and teary phone calls with girlfriends. And while Monica wasn't of the phone call era, I suspect she had many a night awake fretting over her boy. He was wild and ignored her pleas, getting into all sorts of revelry; ok, even trouble...the kind of trouble we moms go gray over (can read more about him tomorrow on his feast day!).

But Monica persevered, because this was her son, she knew the truth and she had the faith that her prayers would be answered according to God's will....sooner or later. Well, it was something like 17 years later, but it happened. Not only did Augustine turn his life around and step back onto more solid ground, but he converted to the faith and was ordained by St. Ambrose himself.

I like to think it is in no small part due to the faithful lasting sure prayers of his mom, as well as her prayerful example and steadfast love, no matter what. She didn't shun him. She might well have corrected him, being his mom and all (whether or not he listened)..... {I know this is an old holy card image, but it makes me laugh.
It's St. Monica praying for St. Augustine,
but that's the same look my boys have when I'm giving them advice...
which is surely also a scene from the life of these two!}

....but she never stopped loving him. And that is what will turn even the hardest furthest of hearts back to the truth of Real Love. So I love St Monica, and she reminds me to never give up. Ever. We mom's can't give up...it's one of the things that keeps the world spinning correctly on it's axis.  I know it.

Antiphon from today's morning prayer:

"You answered her prayer, O Lord, you did not disregard her tears 

which fell upon the earth wherever she prayed."

Happy feast day, moms.
St. Monica, pray for us!

{Much of this reposted, not all, from last  year...it's a busy time, but this feast day is not to be missed}.

St. Max, saint for modern days

Today is the feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe!

He is my son Jon's patron and one very awesome saint.
He is a 'modern' saint, of the twentieth century, completely devoted to Mary and a Franciscan.

But what St. Maximilan is known for is his sacrifice, his martrydom of charity.

St. Maximilian was sent to Auschwitz Concentration camp, for being a Catholic and a priest. After ministering to his fellow prisoners during his time there, sick and hungry as the rest, Maximilian made the ultimate sacrifice: he stepped forward and volunteered to go to his death in order to spare a father of a family from this fate. St. Maximilian went to his death in a father's place; dying after two weeks of forced starvation and ultimately, an injection of carbolic acid (and forgiving the one who gave him that shot as he was injected).

As such, not only is he a hero, among many other things, he is the patron of families, and he is the patron of addiction (the needle connection, I'm guessing, and really IMHO due to his inner core of strength and faith, something anyone prone to addiction of any sort needs to get well and be well).


We are big on family here around the coffeeblog.  We hit up St. Max for prayers for many of our friends and families who are going through different hard things but also this year for my Jon as he heads off to college and needs a strong faithful patron to also keep him in prayer.  And the prayers of a righteous man, a saint and patron of families, who knows from sacrificial living, are worth much. So, thank you St. Maximilian, for your patronage of my son, and for your prayers for so many!

Happy feast day Booboo!
St. Maximilian Kolbe, thank you for your prayers! 

Official disclaimer: Much but not all of this post is reposted from last year because things are slamming here at the coffeehouse. 

St. Jane Francis de Chantal

Today is the memorial of St. Jane Francis de Chantal.

{Reposted from last  year because there are so many great saint days this month, but with school starting for seven of my kids....it's busy!! See that "Seven" connection, just below}

Now, she is a fascinating saint to me because, for one thing, she was mother to seven children.
That's right!
Mom to seven kids, and STILL she made it to sainthood.

I'm tellin' ya, it gives me hope, it does.
If nothing else, here is a gal that I figure can understand me to a fair degree and I can hit up for prayers on my behalf.
We moms of big families stick together!

She was french, born into a noble family. She also married a nobleman. Which is cool in it's own way because, once again, we see that saints can come from any circumstances; it's the disposition of our hearts and the choices we make, not the situations we are born to that determine the outcome. I think that's fairly encouraging! St. Jane was widowed due to a hunting accident - her husband was shot. She struggled for many years to forgive the man who killed her husband; eventually she succeeded after much prayer and counsel.

Her closest counselor, friend, confident was none other than St. Francis de Sales (another top notch fav saint, and the author of this amazing book). So, here we have St. Jane showing us the importance of true friendship and how a holy friendship can lead to amazing things. Another reason I am keen on her. Her long friendship with St. Francis led her to eventually found the order Visitation nuns. Eventually she founded eighty-five convents.A woman who can be a mom to a bunch of kids, manage her household in a holy manner, forgive the hardest things and be a long and true friend, and still then manage to found an organization that does eternal good in the world.....now there is an example!
I have much to learn from a woman like St. Jane.
She is not of this era, but I daresay that Oprah and the modern reality tv micro-celebs could take a lesson from her too!
St. Jane de Chantal, pray for us!

Wordless Wednesday: saint edition

It's the feast of St. Clare today!

As you all know, she's the great friend of St. Francis of Assisi, and founder of the sister order to his Franciscans: the Poor Clares.   It's wordless wednesday, so I'll not write much more (shock, I know)...except this quote and then prayer that sums it up from St. Clare:

"Love God, serve God, everything is in that."

"Let us pray to God together for each other,
for, by sharing each other's burden of charity in this way,
we shall easily fulfill the law of Christ."
St. Clare of Assisi

The Basilica of St. Clare, Assisi 
{that's Jon and Marta way up in the photo, tiny}

Feast Day of St. Joseph!

Ok, we've been doing the novena...now we have the feast!! Yay! 

Its the feast of St. Joseph!!

I love a feast, everything about it..food, fest, fete, remembering, commemorating, celebrating...it's all the good stuff wrapped up into that one word, isn't it: FEAST.  Yay.  We Catholics, we love a feast!

St. Joseph sculpture by Dony McManus

Anyhow, you had to see it coming...ya can't do a novena without then marking the feast day, can  you? Never!  So, last year I also did a post on this great saint, on his feast day.  And since I can't redo my words or thoughts, and don't really want to, please go here to get a bit on dear St. Joseph.  As my mind continues to decline and muddle, best to return to my older posts that might be a bit more um, clear.....always!  

Anyhow, last year I wrote all about my adoption links and issues with St. Joseph.  Not HIM actually, but rather others perception of him.  I mean, give the guy some cred! He's the dad!  Ok...I begin to digress. Go read my post if you have a spark of curiosity about this from an adoptive perspective.  

This year, I just want and need to think about dear St. Joseph as dad.  As father.  As a faithful humble man, who served his God, his family, his child and community.  He didn't get a lot of attention for it, except for some seriously negative opinions and sniping in the beginning of it all regarding his bride.....  So he didn't get the kudos, he didn't get the understanding.  He was and is still misunderstood.  But, and here is the key for me: he didn't stand up and correct everyone and make sure they understood just what he was doing.  He didn't. He just went ahead and did the next thing, lived and loved deeply as the dad.  Every day.  In his little town, doing his regular job, no status, no notice, no blog.  Just, day to day, keeping on.  

So, I wonder.  He was  human.  Did he ever want to stand up on one of those tables he made (sturdy, no doubt) and holler at his little townspeople or neighbors, "Hey, I know you have all sorts of ideas about what is going on, but you're wrong.  I love her.  I love him.  He's special.  Yeah, God told me it's ok, it's right even.  So. Stop judging.  It's SO much more than you know."  Ya think???? Ok, probably not.  But, I wonder sometimes.  He's a saint, but he was human.  He's a saint not because God made him extra perfect and different than us.  He's a saint because he was faithful, even when he didn't understand.  

Saint Joseph and the Infant Christ, c. 1670-85 Giovanni Battista Gaulli

And that, that is like a whack in the head to me.

He was faithful, even when he didn't - couldn't - understand.  Because it all didn't make sense.  But he still accepted.  And gave in to this plan.  And did what he was called to do.  And he didn't whine and whinge on about it all.  He just did it.  Every day.  Every night.  As long as he was called to do it.  And that, I struggle with that.  Every day lately.  Because I always fall into the narcissistic trap of "it's all about me."  I don't think St. Joseph did that.  Which blows my mind.  

So yeah,  he's one of my heroes.  He's still misunderstood.  But, he has much to teach me.  

St. Joseph, pray for us!

Happy Feast Day!

Feast of St. Agnes

El Greco, St. Agnes.

Today is the feast of St. Agnes.
St. Agnes is a patron of many, but most especially apropos today: of young girls and also those victims of sexual assault.  Considering the news of the disaster in Haiti and the spinoff news and reality of the vulnerable children stranded by this crisis there....St. Agnes and her prayers are much needed. 

St Agnes (- 304)

Agnes was filled with the love of God from an early age, vowed herself to celibacy, and when the opportunity of martyrdom arose, she did not hide away but stepped forward and took it.

  That is really all that is known: but it is enough. We who are used to compromising with the world at every turn, and would find excuses to avoid any inconveniences that our faith might cause us, let alone martyrdom (“yes, of course I would die for my faith in principle, but wouldn’t I be able do more good in the long run if I stayed alive just now?”), should admire the simple wisdom of Agnes, realise that there are moments where compromise and moral ambiguity just will not do, and pray for the strength to live up to such moments when they happen. 
From Universalis, Commentary, Office of Readings

 St. Agnes, pray for us.
Pray for the Haitian earthquake victims, especially the children.