Matthew Kelley picked some of my best friends for this chapter. Each of the saints he discusses has bolstered me, inspired me and sustained me, but two (St. John Vianney and St. Thomas More) in a particular way. I am not a fan of holding hands during the Our Father for many reasons--but I do often imagine as I pray that these two particular saints that follow are there with me, on either side (and maybe holding my hands...) As I have learned to ask the saints for their intercessions, our friendship has grown--they are so very real to me!
It’s a pity we spend so little time getting to know the saints, because they faced the same kinds of challenges we do and they all had different strengths and weaknesses. They’ve travelled the path we are on, and their lives have much to offer. I read the “Saint of the Day” every day, and am constantly struck by how like us their lives are--though their holiness is something else. And they reached that holiness even in spite of glaring faults that persisted: tempers, appetites, despair....reading the lives of the saints really is like looking at the “study guide” for holiness.
I recently read a biography of St. Camillus de Lellis--what an amazing story: a warrior, a drunkard, a gambler, with a temper to match--becoming a tool in the hands of God took a long time and he still retained the characteristics that made him Camillus (including that temper--he gave himself a serious hernia when, angry at being cheated by a provider of wheat to one of his infirmaries, he threw bags of inferior flour, each about 100 pounds, into the street, and the unfortunate purveyor after them... ) But the things he was able to do when he opened himself to God, perhaps including the incident with the flour, and how he allowed God to pick him up again and again--amazing. By the way--his order is the source of the red cross still used today for hospital services....
St. John VIanney reaches my heart in a very special way. He was not a great intellect. In fact, his ordination was said to be an act of Christian charity, because he was so poor in his studies. However, he knew and responded to God’s call in a way that few ever do. And he did so simply by doing what the Church has always prescribed for those who would be holy: fast, do penance, pray and give alms. I doubt that St. John Vianney would have been able to give a great explanation of the theology of any of those things--he simply did as he knew, as he had been taught. And his life proved how life giving those teachings are. This is good to remember in a world that sees such practices as outdated, old-fashioned, superstitious and ineffective.
It's good to keep in mind that he became a priest after the Reign of Terror, when the faith was supressed and priests were executed for saying mass. France was almost devoid of religious practice. By his penance and prayers and his work in the community, Ars became a place of great faith once again. TImes are bad now, for faith, but they have been bad before and the Church survived. What brought Ars and its Cure through the time of darkness will bring us too, if we but do them in trust and with conviction. God is truly greater than any darkness or any human limitation, and He uses the strangest vessels to reach His ends....
John Vianney reminds me not to make things too complicated and to trust that God and His Church will lead me in the right direction. I need not understand to be obedient or to reap the rewards of moving forward in faith. The Catholic faith is not an intellectual exercise--though it is deep enough for the greatest minds, and then some. It is a way of living that makes its fruits accessible even to the "least" among us. Sometimes, I think, especially to the ones the world sees as least, precisely because they approach it with confidence and simplicity and utter trust. Those of us who would wrestle too much with ideas often fail in the "trust" category. If the saints teach us anything, it is perseverance and trust in God in all circumstances--even when things seem to be going very, very badly here on earth. I'm not there yet....but my friends are patient in teaching me how to get there....
Another story of SJV that I really like is the night the devil set fire to his bed, with John in it. It is said that the great saint just rolled over, said, “Oh, it’s just you,” and went back to sleep. The charred bed is still in his home in Ars. His quiet calm in the face of such an attack reminds me not to be fearful myself. After all, no matter what he chooses to do, the devil is just a creature and God is infinitely greater and more powerful Hard to live--but true and SJV reminds me of that.
SJV also reminds me how indebted I am to priests--as does St. Frances, whose reverence for the hands that brought him Jesus was well known. I am constantly reminded: No priests, no sacraments. No sacraments, no church. We Catholics need to be mindful of that. Perhaps we should cut our priests a little slack when they irritate us--do we not often expect a perfection from them that we cannot find in ourselves? How often do we pray--REALLY PRAY-- and offer alms and penance for our priests? John Vianney also shows us that the priest is a favorite target of the devil: strike the shepherd, scatter the sheep. Our priests need our prayers and our love (willing the good of the other as other--not mere affection, though that is nice, too), not our ill humor and our demands that everything be done our way.
And we certainly need to stop thinking of a life given over to God in a vocation to the priesthood or religious life as somehow “wasted.” How many of us with children still at home discuss the idea of a vocation to the priesthood or religious life? How many of us think that such a vocation is for other people, not for our own kids (or--if you’re a young person reading this--for yourself)?
Thomas More, the great English lawyer and martyr reminds me that it really is possible to hold fast to one’s faith and still be a force in the world at large, though it may one day cost one’s head. His simplicity of life, despite his status and wealth are compelling--he drank nothing other than water, and ate plain food--the Catholic life really ought to be austere but few of us today seek this kind of simplicity as a virtue (me included). He also has a special place in my heart as the patron of adopted children and their parents. And he looked for any way he could to take the oath and remain true to his faith--he didn’t spoil for a fight with Henry VIII--a reminder that faith has a certain elasticity that can permit us to maneuver in the world and still be true to God's call to us--IF we really know that our faith demands, and IF we are certain that we will not compromise that which cannot be compromised. Imagine what the world would be like if Catholics lived--really lived--like that.....not accepting convenient excuses from themselves or from others (like politicians) on those things that are essential.
Last but not least, the saints remind me not that their holiness makes them less aware of sin--but more so. The key to their holiness seems to lie in part in their acute awareness of how they fell short, but also in their utter trust in God to lead them through those faults to holy perfection in His own good time. Not a bad lesson for the "I'm OK-You're OK" generation.
Here are a few of quotations from my friends:
When a man takes an oath, he's holding his own self in his own hands...like water. And if he opens his fingers then, he needn't hope to find himself again.
(Thomas More (and daughter Meg) conversing in A Man for All Seasons)
O how great is the priest! If he realized what he is, he would die...God obeys him: he utters a few words and the Lord descends from heaven at his voice, to be contained in a small host.
Without the sacrament of Holy Orders, we would not have the Lord. Who put him there is that tabernacle? The priest.
Who welcomed your soul at the beginning of your life? The priest.
Who feeds your soul and gives it strength for the journey? The priest.
Who will prepare it to appear before God, bathing it one last time in the blood of Jesus Christ? The priest.
And if this soul should happen to die as a result of sin, who will raise it up, who will restore it to calm and peace? Again, the priest.
Only in heaven will he fully realize what he is... were we to fully realize what a priest is on earth we would die, not of fright but of love... without the priest, the passion and death of our Lord would be of no avail.
l
It is the priest who continues the work of redemption here on earth...what use would be a house filled with gold, if there were no one to open the door? The priest holds the key to the treasures of heaven. It is he who opens the door: He is the steward of the Good Lord, the administrator of HIs goods......
St. Jean-Marie Baptiste Vianney
It is a poverty to decide that a child must die so that you can live as you wish.
Bl. Teresa of Calcutta (her 100th birthday is September 4...)
Off to read about another of our kin--St. Theresa of Avila. One problem with a big family like this is that there are SO many relatives to get to know, and so little time to do so! Fortunately, there's a family reunion every Sunday....
Pax---Martha
This is a good chapter for everyone to make a short comment on. We all have Saint names. What is yours? Why? What inspired that choice? Share something of the story of your namesake with us.
ReplyDeleteMine is Luke…physician, author of the third Gospel and the Book of Acts. He is the patron saint of Doctors and Artists. Luke was a Gentile, not a Jew. He traveled with and was present with Paul during his imprisonments. In my case the choice was inspired by the fact that we share the same occupation. Fairly simple, really.
Luke
Martha is mine, because I can SO identify with her whining about Mary not helping in the kitchen--ask my kids and husband! Martha is the patron saint of those who labor in hospitality, something that seems to be my gift in spite of myself.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, who better to teach me to concentrate on the important things in life than Martha, who initially missed them? Who better to remind me not to fret about unimportant things? Who better to remind me that one sure sign of trouble is when I am telling God what to do--and he has to call me by name, not once, but twice......Then, again, Martha was the first to recognize the connection between the resurrection and Christ--and this was before Calvary. Her faith was so simple and so strong: Lord, had you been here, my brother would not have died. Would that someday my faith will be like that! I didn't find Martha, she found me.
Martha
This was a fantastic post - they've all been great - and I just appreciate all the effort. As a fairly recent convert, I had for too long not appreciated how helpful a familiarity with the saints' lives and writings can be for my faith (along with the early Church fathers). When I joined the Church, I didn't actually choose the name of a saint (yet). Pope John Paul II was a great inspiration for me, and reading his biography by George Weigel very much deepened my admiration. It became an easy decision to choose his name.
ReplyDelete- John Paul
Saint Patrick is one of the more familiar saints, but his actual life - far more fascinating to me than his myth - is known by few. His family were Roman citizens living in Britain. In the early 5th century, Patrick was captured and enslaved by Irish pirates. His owners mistreated him badly until he finally escaped with the aid of some miraculously answered prayers. His experience as a slave and as one delivered miraculously led him to seek the priesthood and ultimately to return to Ireland (Sorry, the pope didn't send him. St Palladius was sent by Pope St Celestine a few years earlier), where he managed to convert the high king's daughters, and as they say, the rest is history.
ReplyDeleteI had chosen Patrick simply due to my Irish descent and my fascination with his authentic story. Unlike many Saints of his age (the Dark Ages. Really), he left us a written account of his life, as well as that wonderful hymn "the Breastplate"
First of all I would like to thank God for the gift of Martha. He speaks so clearly and tangibly through her words, ideas, memories and her many vantage points.
ReplyDeleteOh my, I have so many patrons that I turn to on so many different occasions of my life. I was named for St. Jude patron of Hopeless cases.. Growing up, I was always reminded of this fact and on some level I’m sure that knowledge has helped to shape who I am today in some measure.
My other patrons have been St Ann who I have petitioned quite often, as well as Mary our Blessed Mother. . All the worries, concerns and joys of motherhood have compounded at times to send me to my knees and I have received great comfort and companionship in knowing that these godly women, these maidservants to the Lord, the first of the saints know what I may be experiencing. Not that misery loves company or anything but having them on my team has made a tangible difference in grace with which I can respond to difficult times as wife and mother.
I can’t overlook the influence of St. Francis of Assisi, my confirmation name saint. Between St. Francis and St.’ s Theresa, my spiritual direction has been steadily growing albeit slowly. But they say that slow and steady wins the race. I really love the words of this man and these women. Theay are truly words to flesh-out the command of Jesus to “Love one another as I have loved you.”
There are others, of course, but that’s between me and them and the Lord. It is absolutely predictable how God, Our Creator uses the most unpredictable circumstances and people to accomplish His will . I absolutely thrive on that truth. It encourages me in my darkest of times. And let all God’s people say “AMEN”.
Fof A
Chapter 8 - Martha
ReplyDeleteMartha presented an amazing synopsis of these Saints with a very generous sprinkling of her own thoughts and feelings. In fact, her comments were quite moving to say the least. It was indeed a great pleasure to read her presentation...one that made me think. I was particularly touched by her comments about priests. We need to pray for them that they receive the strength and passion to be the best priest that each one can be. Bravo Martha! God bless you, Theodore