of course, Easter trumps a memorial, but i cannot let this day pass without sharing that april 11th is the memorial of my beloved saint, saint gemma galgani. i credit saint francis of assissi and my precious, though somewhat obscure, saint gemma galgani as the saints that worked most tirelessly to draw me into the Church. both saints bore the stigmata...which, in hindsight, reveals much about the pain of my conversion.
