MamaT's shout out to the saints.......

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.....which I didn't get to do on the right day, but I'm doing today in a spare minute. Never too late for this, huh?

St. Martha: Because she is the patron saint of all of us practical people who need a reminder that work isn't enough by itself. Also, because she was one of the first confessors of Christ: "Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, he who is coming into the world." (John 11:27) She is my constant friend and companion. I cannot wait to meet her one day.

St. Jerome: He gives me hope that even the cranky among us can achieve holiness. He was also dogged in his pursuit of truth in translating the Bible--work that still stands today. It was not for nothing that our homeschool was called St. Jerome's Academy. He also said: "No athlete is crowned but in the sweat of his brow." Something that we tried to take to heart in our schooling.

St. Augustine: Because I, too, waited long to find the Truth, and to make it central to my life.

St. Catherine of Siena: Letter writer, stigmatist, mystic; St. Catherine did it all. And in such a short time. She asked that the weight of the Church be placed on her shoulders--she bore it for three months before her death. She was the conscience of the Church at a dreadful time, but kept her eyes always on Christ.

Venerable Solanus Casey: One of my heroes. Capuchin friar, simplex priest. Doorkeeper at the monastery for more than 20 years. He has taught me that where God has placed you is where you do your work. Humbly, simply, and patiently. That's the part I'll be working on until I die.

St. Teresa of Avila: "If this is how you treat your friends, it is no wonder that you have so few!" I want that relationship with God. She was herself before God, for better or worse.

Blessed Damien of Molokai: "Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." He ministered to the lowest of the low--the lepers in the colony at Molokai. He ministered to them both physically, building water lines and houses, and spiritually, with masses and festivals and processions. Finally, he truly became one of them, contracting leprosy himself, and dying of the disease. He points me to the charity that I ought to have, but do not.

Blessed Teresa of Calcutta: She had mercy, where I have none. And she did it through what we now know was a profound dark night of the soul, where she received no consolations. A tiny person with a rocklike faith, she moved the entire world. And she said things that stay with me: "If you can't feed a hundred people, then feed just one." And: "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love." And: "It is easy to love the people far away. It is not always easy to love those close to us. It is easier to give a cup of rice to relieve hunger than to relieve the loneliness and pain of someone unloved in our own home. Bring love into your home for this is where our love for each other must start."

And, of course

Mother Mary: Because. Just because.

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Holy moly, we do have a lot of the same favorites!

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This page contains a single entry by MamaT published on November 3, 2006 10:52 AM.

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