saint of the week

Hi everyone: 

Here is this week's saint.  If you want to read other "saint of the week" messages just go to www.stscholasticayouth.org and click on saint of the week!

 

 

 

Saint of the Week: October 9

 

Last night I attended confirmation at St. Scholastica.   We had over 85 candidates and  their loved ones.  Needless to say, the church was packed.  Being that is has been unseasonably hot, the church was like an oven.  I thought of it as being a real way to experience the FIRE of the Spirit!  Most people though, were fanning themselves.  I guess that sometimes the fire can be a bit overwhelming.  After the sacrament I decided to help straighten up the church.  As I stacked chairs (dozens of extras were pulled out because the pews were filled) , I found several candy wrappers on the floor.  I tried to figure out a way that candy could tie into confirmation.  I don't think that truffles are a gift of the Spirit even though it is something that I for one, could certainly benefit from occassionally.  Being unable to tie candy to confirmation, I realized that someone was just having a snack and then rudely left their wrappers in the church.  That's when my temper began its own fire.  The Holy Spirit however, must have been lingering, because as I walked to the garbage can I thought of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower.

 

St. Therese's feast day was October 1.  She was a Carmelite nun who died about a century ago at the age of 24.  St. Therese is not a saint because she healed someone or walked through fire unscathed.  She is a saint because she did the little, demeaning jobs unscathed.  She completed her work with great love.  She kept her mind and her heart focused on Jesus.  She did not complain about the heat.  She did not eat truffles during confirmation.  Sh e did not complain about picking up truffle wrappers after confirmation while everyone else was having cookies and ice cold punch.

 

I usually try to keep my unkind thoughts in my thought bubble, like a cartoon character.  But really, if my mind and heart were focused on Jesus, there would not be any room in my bubble for anything else.

 

I guess that's why St. Therese is a saint, and I am just a youth minister.