saint of the week

This past Good Friday the teens from our parish again presented the living Stations of the Cross.  As youth minister, it is my job to be producer and director (and general worrier).  This year, as with every year past, the youth have done an outstandingly prayer-filled portrayal.  As I was watching them, I thought of something that had happened several years ago. I am not sure why it popped into my head, but it did.

 

At the time, my children were very small.  I think that my son was three.  One of our neighboring parishes was doing living stations with the youth on Good Friday.  In their tradition, they did this outside starting under the pavilion and then working their way up the long winding driveway.  We got there fairly early because I wanted my toddler to be able to see.  After what seemed like an eternity of octopus wrangling, they began.  At once my son caught sight of the teen playing Jesus.  He froze with his mouth wide open.

Then he began breathlessly pulling my arm saying, "Mom, mom look.  Look there's JESUS!"  Although I knew that this guy was a junior in high school and fairly good fielder; this was not the time or the place to explain; so I did not correct my son.  My former octopus was now as still as stone as he watched every station with baited breath.  At the 14^th station when Jesus was laid in the tomb, the "Roman Soldiers" carried Christ to his "tomb" inside the building.

My son looked up at me with his big blue eyes welling with tears, "Mom, where are they taking my Jesus?  I want to go see him.  I wanted to ask him to come to lunch with us."

 

Generally the week after Easter, the Emmaus story is read (Matt 16:12 or Luke 24:13).    In this story, two of Jesus' followers were walking to the town of Emmaus.  Jesus began to walk and talk with them, but they did not recognize Him.  Eventually though, they do realize that it is Jesus.  It happened when he blessed and broke the bread.  After he disappeared they realized that their hearts had been burning all the while. Then they returned to Jerusalem to tell the eleven that the Lord has risen indeed!

 

Isn't that the glory of Easter?  Jesus is with us all the while.  He is risen indeed!  We may just need to stop wiggling and pay attention.

 

 

 

 

 

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"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well". St. Julian of Norwich


Jamie Dillon

saint of the week

St. Columba

 

We have two dogs Star and Lucy. Both are therapy dogs.  Lucy is a 1 year old Golden Retriever who never leaves my side and has already been on a mission trip. Star appears to be a lab collie mix.  My son, not wanting her to feel like a mutt and taking note of breeds like Golden Doodles, calls her a Labradollie. We are not sure how old Star is because we rescued her.  We think that she is around nine.  When we adopted Star she was nothing but bones and flinched any time my husband or I moved quickly.  Clearly this dog had been neglected and abused.  I thought to myself, when we brought her into our home 6 years ago: What is the worst thing tha t could happen?  We should at least give her a chance.  For Star the worst had already happened, now she had a new life.

The very next morning I was working at my computer and looked down to see my then 3 year old daughter giving Star a new hairdo.  I knew then and there, she was going to be a good dog.  It was trying at times.  We had to go to basic obedience training twice because I could not get her to eat (take rewards) from my hands.  We had to fence in the yard because she liked to run away. But slowly we have earned her trust.  As I write this she is snoring laying on the bed beside my also snoring, son.  Ahh.  Doggie Paradise.

 

Even through the extra pound or two of dog hair that I clean up everyday, Star has enriched the life of our family.  When my son who has trouble with peer relationships is lonely, who does he talk to?  Who does he play with?  Star.  When our Golden Retriever that we had before Lucy passed away, who mourned with us?  Star.  When my daughter needs to try out a new hairdo, who is there?  Star.  When we brought a tiny puppy home, who patiently tolerated the innumerable puppy antics?  Star.  Who runs to the bus every afternoon?  Star.  Who is the one of the very few dogs that I have ever seen smile?  Star. 

Truly, she has a lot to smile about.  She came from a life of certain death to being a welcome part of this family and a therapy dog at the Veteran's Hospital.

 

St. Columba was born in Ireland around 521.  He left his wealthy family to become a priest.  He loved to read the gospels.  Books however were hard to come by.  He asked a local nobleman if he could borrow his in order to copy it.  The man refused so Columba would sneak in at night and copy a little at a time.  One night his luck ran out and Columba was caught.  The man was furious and wanted the copy.  Columba refused so the two took it to the king.  The king ruled in favor of the nobleman.  Columba was so angry that he incited his clan to go to war against the clan of the noblemen.  In the ensuing war it is said that 2000 men were killed.  Columba was ridden with guilt.  For his penance he was told to leave Ireland forever and spend the rest of his life bringing souls to God to make up for those who were killed in the war.  So he got a boat and set sail.  He landed in a small island off the coast of Scotland.  There he build a monastery a nd spent his days praying, reading and bringing as many souls to Christ as he could.  He must have done a great job, because as you can see, he is a saint.

 

Like Star, Columba too arose from certain death.  Columba's however, was certain death of his soul.  Even though he was in his forties, he saw the error of his thinking and the results of his actions and repented.  He changed dramatically for the better. 

 

That is what being a Christian is all about.  Mother Theresa used to say that "every day we must conquer ourselves".  St. Theresa of Avila said that our spiritual growth is like working our way through various rooms of castle, getting closer and closer to Christ.

 

Change is not easy.  Sometimes lessons need to be repeated in order to be learned.  But if we can trust our Master, we may find paradise.

 

His feast day is June 7.

 

--
"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well". St. Julian of Norwich


Jamie Dillon

saint of the week

St. Philip Neri

 

The other day my mother gave one of my grandmother's old journals to read.  It was from 1943.  I read some of it to my kids.  They loved it.  Then I began telling them stories that I remembered from my grandmother.  My grandmother always had a great sense of humor and a strong spirituality.  One of their favorites is the story that I tell about my grandmother playing a prank on my older sisters and my cousins.  At the time we were living at my grandmother's house.  It was an old farmhouse with a huge front porch and big crabapple tree in the front yard.  My sisters and cousins were planning on sleeping on the front porch that summer night.  They had taken the little TV out and were huddled around watching scary movies.  I, of course, being the baby, was not allowed anywhere near them.  I was sentenced to remain inside with Grandma.  After a while Grandma looked at me with a gleam in her eye, "Watch this" she said with a smile.

With the stealth of a cheetah, she silently crept over to the front screen door and locked it.  Then she got her flashlight from the kitchen drawer and quickly made her way upstairs to the front bedroom window.  She beamed the flashlight onto the tree while making haunting ghostly sounds.  My sisters practically impaled themselves on the locked front door; Shrieking and knocking.  Seconds later the five of them appeared at the back door, wide eyed and breathless.

Grandma played it cool.  She asked them what had happened and said (with a wink) that she could not have imagined how the door got locked.

That night they all slept on the floor of the living room.

Grandma and I slept upstairs in our beds, grinning.

 

St. Philip Neri was born in 1515 in Florence, Italy.   He was ordained in 1551.  It is said that one Pentecost while in prayer, he had a vision of a globe of fire and his heart physically grew that day.  Philip was capable of great love and spiritual wisdom.  Once a woman came to confession and told him about how she could not stop gossiping.  He told her to go to the market and buy a chicken and return to him.  But on her walk she should pluck the chicken.  She did and returned to him with a freshly plucked chicken .  He then told her to go back and gather all of the feathers.  She said that she could not because they all would have been scattered by the wind.  He said, so it is with your gossip.

 

St. Philip is known for having a great sense of humor and his unconventional methods.  He used practical jokes, laughter, games and even the occasional wine drinking contest to spread the gospel.  If he would have had a flashlight, I'll bet he would have used that too.

 

 

"Cheerfulness strengthens the heart and makes us persevere in a good life. Therefore the servant of God ought always to be in good spirits." -Saint Philip Neri

 

 

--
"All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well". St. Julian of Norwich


Jamie Dillon