We know that Thomas Becket was born in London in 1118, but not much is known of his early life.  His parents were people of means and they saw to it that he was well educated in Sussex, Bologna and Paris.  Shortly after he graduated his parents died and he began working as a clerk in the sheriff’s court where it was noticed that he was intelligent and had many abilities. 

At age 24 he was given a job with the Archbishop of Canterbury—pretty impressive for such a young person!  While there he decided to begin formation for the priesthood.  He studied canon law and after being ordained as a deacon was appointed Archdeacon of Canterbury, the highest church office in England after that of the bishop and the abbot.

When Henry II came to the throne he appointed Thomas his chancellor.  They were close friends and most of the reforms for which King Henry is praised, are due in large part to Thomas, who has been described as honest and diplomatic, wise and discerning, conscientious and having a pleasant disposition.  But he wasn’t yet a saint!  He was proud and strong-willed and had to struggle with these tendencies all his life.

After Thomas was ordained a priest and then Archbishop, he turned to a life more centered in prayer and good works.  He visited the sick, gave alms to the poor, read, prayed and discussed the scriptures.  For a time he and Henry remained friends, but soon the matters of church and state conflicted and there was a series of very complicated dealings between them.

One day King Henry made a remark to his knights rebuking them for letting Becket live, saying, “Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?”  The knights, interpreting the question as a royal command, set off at once to confront Thomas and make demands that, given his conscience, Thomas couldn’t even consider.  There was a scuffle with swords and Thomas received a fatal blow, crying out, “For the name of Jesus and in defense of the Church I am willing to die.”  He died at the age of 52 defending the principle that there is a higher authority than the King. 

Within three years of his death Thomas Becket had been canonized a martyr saint.  His tomb was one of the most frequented pilgrimage sites in all of Europe.  Henry himself walked barefoot to Becket’s grave in partial reparation for his sin.  There have been numerous books, movie, play and opera scripts written about his life.

St. Martin of Tours has been called one of the most popular saints and one of the first not to be a martyr.  During his life he clearly faced decisions similar to those we all face—choice of a career and vocation, decisions regarding violence or peace, struggles between the desires of family and personal hopes.

Martin was born the son of pagan parents in what is now Hungary.  His father was an officer in the army and he expected Martin to follow in his footsteps.  At the age of 15, Martin became a soldier, even though it wasn’t his desire.  At the age of 20, two years after he was baptized a Christian, he asked to be released from the army, saying it wasn’t right for him to fight.  Today he might be called a “conscientious objector.”  He was charged with cowardice and jailed.  As a result of that accusation he volunteered to go into battle armed only with the cross.  The emperor took him at his word, but peace came before he could fulfill that promise and the battle did not need to be fought.  Martin was then released from his duties as a soldier, free to follow his own pursuits.

Soon after that episode Martin became a disciple of Hilary, Bishop of Poitiers, who was canonized a saint after his death.  Martin began living as a hermit and within a short period of time many others, inspired by his example, followed him into a life of solitude.  The growing community developed what was probably the first monastery in France.  Martin’s reputation for sanctity spread far and wide and many people came to him for advice and healing.  

He is probably best remembered for the “Cloak Story,” which has evolved over the years so that part of it may now be considered legend.  As the story goes, early in his adult life Martin met a scantily clad beggar.  He cut his own military cloak in half and shared it with the beggar.  That night he dreamed that Jesus was wearing the half cloak that Martin had given away.  When Martin awoke his cloak was whole again.

When Hilary, Bishop of Tours, died in 371 the people begged Martin to replace him.  They were so impressed by his faithful commitment to the word of God and his concern for others before himself.  He didn’t want to be bishop, but the people tricked him into coming to Tours by telling him that a sick person needed him.  Once there he reluctantly allowed himself to be consecrated Bishop of Tours.

As bishop he continued to establish monasteries and convents.  When Martin died in 397 at the age of 81, more than two thousand monks and sisters attended his funeral, grateful for his positive influence on their vocation.  There are many towns and churches named after him, and one of them is right down Glenmore Avenue!

St. Therese of Lisieux has been special to me since I was very young.  I took Therese as my Confirmation name and October 1 was my mother’s birthday. 

Therese was born in France January 2, 1873; her sisters would have called her a spoiled child.  Not only was she the youngest of four girls, she was born after the family lost four children.  All members of the family surrounded her with affection and doted on her.

All of her sisters entered a religious community.  Therese wanted to enter also, but at the age of 14 she was considered too young.  After requesting permission from the Bishop and even the Pope to enter the Carmelite convent, she finally obtained the permission she needed, so great was her resolve.

From all outward appearances Therese led an uneventful life, but her autobiography, The Story of a Soul reveals that an ordinary life can be a path to holiness.  She wrote her memoirs because she was asked to do so by her superior.  Her goal was to become a saint and she set about finding her unique way to accomplish that objective. 

She didn’t believe she could become a great saint, but she was sure that God wanted her (and everyone) to be a saint.  Her way became known as the “Little Way.”  It consisted in knowing that God loved her and that she was called to love others.  She said, “My vocation is love.”  She saw the power of love.  Her spirituality is characterized by doing small things with love for God.  Most people of that day thought that holiness demanded heroic virtues and severe sacrifices.  She said, “Jesus does not demand great actions from us but simply surrender and gratitude.”

Therese drew very close to God, even though she frequently experienced a lack of consolation in prayer, especially during the last years of her life as her health deteriorated.  Nevertheless she was faithful to spending long periods of time praying.  She describes prayer as “the heart’s impulse, a simple gaze toward heaven.  It is a cry of gratitude and love from the depths of trial as well as the heights of joy.”

Therese died of tuberculosis at the age of 24.  Many have found inspiration in her short life because she seemed ordinary like most people.  Great tasks didn’t come her way so she did small things with love.  She smiled at people she didn’t like; she ate everything given her even if she found it distasteful; she picked up things cluttering the floor and ground.  These small daily sacrifices cost her more than big ones because no one noticed she was doing them and she didn’t draw attention to these small acts of love.

Because Therese, commonly known as the “Little Flower,” died young and didn’t have an opportunity to do all she wanted to do, she said she would spend her heaven sending a shower of roses upon earth.  When Pope Pius XI canonized her he stressed that she was particularly significant for our time because she fulfilled her vocation “without leaving the common order of things.”

Vincent was born to a peasant family in 1580 in Pouy, Gascony, France; that town is now called St. Vincent.  He tried to escape his humble roots by becoming a priest and was ordained at the young age of 19.

When his father visited him in the seminary Vincent was so ashamed of his shabby clothes that he refused to see him.  It wasn’t until much later in life that he manifested the makings of a saint.  As a young priest he was captured by pirates and sold as a slave in Tunis.  After about two years he found a way to escape and used his great charm and social skills to gain entry into the highest levels of society.  He served as tutor and chaplain to one of the wealthiest families of Paris.

In mid-life he underwent a transformation.  The occasion was a summons to hear the dying confession of a peasant.  The man said that he might well have died in the state of mortal sin if Vincent had not come to give him the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  Vincent was struck as never before by the seriousness of his vocation.  He determined from that moment on to serve the poor.

He founded the Vincentian priests, dedicated to the training of parish clergy and to mission work in the countryside.  With his numerous contacts among the wealthy he was able to raise a great deal of money for charitable works.

One of those wealthy women was Louise de Marillac, who helped him found the Daughters of Charity, a group of women devoted to serving the poor and the sick.

There were few charitable projects in which Vincent was not engaged.  He founded hospitals and orphanages, as well as homes for the humane care of the mentally ill.  He had a personal ministry to slaves and prisoners.  He became known even in his own lifetime as something of a legend.  The rich and powerful vied to fund his projects; the poor accepted him as one of their own.

In the midst of great activity Vincent was a man of prayer.  This was the secret of his great accomplishments.

Vincent is the patron of all charitable societies, named such by Pope Leo XIII.  The best known of these is the St. Vincent de Paul Society, founded in 1833 and still going strong.  As you know we have a conference of the Society here at Our Lady of Lourdes, in which you can participate either by becoming a member or contributing to their monthly collections. 

You can also decide other ways to serve the poor by checking the OLL Guide Book and Directory to see what other manner of service is available.  Elsewhere in this newsletter you will find a description of the up-coming Ministry Weekend at the end of this month.

St. Monica is the Patron of Christian mothers, as well as wives, abuse victims and difficult marriages.  But even if you don’t fit into any one of those categories, I invite you to read on because her faithful persistence in life is encouraging witness for every person, male or female, married or unmarried.

Monica was born in the early fourth century in Ostia, Italy, near Rome.  Her parents gave her in marriage, as was the custom in those days, to Patritius, a pagan man.  Patricius was annoyed by his wife’s habits of prayer and almsgiving while at the same time he held a reverence for her.  They had three children together; St. Augustine was the oldest.

Augustine was not always a saint!  He was brilliant, but lazy; he became adulterous like his father, but Monica prayed with patience and perseverance for both her husband and her oldest son.  She shed many tears over the waywardness of Augustine.  While sharing her plight with her Bishop he consoled her with these words, “The child of those tears will never perish.”

Her mother-in-law lived in their home until she died, and was anything but gracious to her new daughter-in-law.  Monica was kind to her and prayed for her.  Eventually she won over her mother-in-law, and her husband became a Christian. 

More perseverance was needed for Augustine who was full of pride and spent his early life seeking empty pleasures.  He himself acknowledged this in his autobiographical Confessions.  In that same book he gave his mother credit for his conversion, writing to God, “In the flesh she brought me to birth in this world; in her heart she brought me to birth in your eternal life.”

Augustine was baptized by St. Ambrose.  Monica lived to see this great day for which she prayed most of her adult life.  One of his most quoted prayers is “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You.”  Without his mother’s persistent prayer he would likely never have become a saint.

Saint Monica is proof positive of this quote from Donald Senior, President of CTU (Catholic Theological Union) in Chicago, “Prayer is like the oxygen of Christian faith.”

My choice of a saint to write about from the July calendar is Ignatius of Loyola for two very strong reasons: 1) The founder of the Sisters of St. Joseph was a Jesuit priest, Jean Pierre Medaille; the Jesuits were founded by St. Ignatius, 2) Ignatius’ Spiritual Exercises have profoundly influenced my own spirituality.

Inigo of Loyola was born in 1491 into a noble family in northern Spain, the youngest of thirteen children.  As a young man he served as a page at court and developed a taste for that type of life.  “Until the age of twenty-six he was a man given over to the vanities of the world.” (Autobiography of St. Ignatius)  He became a soldier and was seriously wounded in battle.  After undergoing several operations without anesthetic he endured a lengthy period of recuperation.

During his convalescence he read the only books that were available to him, i.e. the life of Christ and the lives of the saints; it was not the sort of reading material he had in mind.  However, while reading those books he found himself attracted to the lives of the saints and began to imagine himself as a person whose life would give glory to God.  He took the first steps to imitate the example of the saints.  His conversion was symbolized by exchanging his fine clothes with those of a poor beggar.

Prayer, fasting and begging characterized his life for many months, convincing him that he was being called to follow God more closely.  It became clear to him that in order to do something significant in the church, he would need more education, so he began a course of study at various universities.  Other men, attracted by his life of prayer and service to the poor, banded together with him and eventually formed the Society of Jesus, now more commonly known as the Jesuits.  Ignatius reluctantly became their first superior.  In fifteen years, until the death of Ignatius, the group grew from eight to a thousand members.

St. Ignatius has given the world a huge gift in The Spiritual Exercises and the “Consciousness Examen”.  Both have been the impetus for growing an intimate relationship with God; many people have been transformed by implementing those practices in their lives.  Ignatian spirituality is not just for Jesuits.  It is a spirituality that “recognizes the transcendence of God” and “is also grounded in the real-life experience of people living out their daily lives.”  (My Life with the Saints by James Martin, SJ)  Finding God in all things and doing everything for the greater glory of God are two of the central characteristics of Ignatian spirituality.  A person can become a saint guided by those principles.

St. Anthony is among the most popular of saints.  Mostly it has to do with the belief among many, that he intercedes in helping those who pray to him find lost objects.  That practice comes from a story in St. Anthony’s life.  When he was teaching the friars in the Franciscan order, he lost a Book of Psalms that was very important to him.  Books in the 13^th Century were difficult to come by, since the printing press had not yet been invented.  This particular treasured book also contained notes he had written to help him teach a class.  He prayed fervently that it would be returned.  At that same moment, the student who took the book when he left the novitiate, was moved to return the book.  He returned the book, and decided at the same time not to leave the seminary.

St. Anthony’s special gift for preaching was discovered quite by accident when a scheduled preacher failed to show up for a very important religious event.  St. Anthony was asked to fill in at the last minute.  He astonished his audience with his profound learning, his sense of conviction, his eloquence, his excellent memory, his winning smile, his clear and dramatic voice.  After hearing him preach, St. Francis of Assisi, the founder of the Franciscan order to which St. Anthony belonged, authorized and missioned him to preach and teach theology to the friars.

Later he was sent on a preaching assignment that covered all of Italy and most of France.  Thousands flocked to hear him and his visits had the impact of a spiritual renewal.  His sermons integrated uplifting spirituality with a bold social challenge, particularly regarding the vices of greed, hatred and division.  Enemies were reconciled; criminals were reformed.  Legend has it that even the fish loved to listen to him!

We do not have copies of the sermons he preached, but there is this remnant of his words: “Let your words teach and your actions speak.  . . .  Happy the person whose words issue from the Holy Spirit and not from him(her)self.”

Anthony was canonized only one year after he died.  It was the second fastest in canonization history, probably because many miracles were attributed to him even before his death.  He was named a Doctor of the Church in 1946.  You may remember from an earlier article (April, 2007) that there are only 33 Doctors of the Church.

The life of St. Joan of Arc, Maid of Orleans, France, has been the inspiration for films, plays, novels, poems and statues. I had never been attracted by her life story, probably because I’m not into visions or war. But looking further into her life I find characteristics worth imitating.

As a young peasant girl in southern France in the 15^th century, Joan claimed to hear the voices of Saints Michael, Margaret and Catherine. At first the visions told her to be good and go to church regularly. Later they charged her with a mission to save France by restoring the crown prince (the dauphin) to his rightful throne and driving the English enemy from French soil. That seemed like a ridiculously impossible task and so she told the voices, "I am a poor girl; I do not know how to ride or to fight." The voices said, "It is God who commands it."

Since the voices persisted Joan hesitatingly told the story to first one, then two or more people. People who heard the story either dismissed it or questioned it, as she herself had, but the voices persisted and she became determined to do God’s will, no matter how impossible a task it seemed. Eventually she won over her critics by her faith, her simplicity and her honesty.

She convinced the dauphin to put her in command of his faltering army. She inspired the French troops to courage and together they had a string of victories beginning with the Battle of Orleans, paving the way for the crowning of the dauphin as Charles VII, King of France. Later she was captured, sold to the English and imprisoned for a year. They interrogated her and found her guilty of heresy or witchcraft, even though she had impressed many with her wit and her faith. In the end she was publicly burned at the stake at the age of 19. Sainthood knows no age.

Joan trusted in God and lived her short life faithful to what she knew God was asking her to do. She stood up for what she thought was right and did not compromise her conscience, even before the most learned and powerful of people. It cost her her life. Some say that her appeal is in her willingness to be a "fool for Christ".

St. Catherine of Sienna

April 29

Catherine was born into a chaotic world in 1347. The Black Death was devastating the population, war was waging and the administration of the church was in the hands of corrupt men. The church and the world needed a charismatic leader who was close to God.

Catherine was the daughter of a prosperous wool dyer and the 24^th of 25 children! Her parents hoped that Catherine would marry well and thus contribute to the family in a material way. Catherine wanted instead, to give her life to God. As a sign of that personal commitment, she cut off her beautiful long, golden hair. This act was not well received by her parents, but eventually her father consented to having her follow her vocation, saying that "Christ would not make such a bad son-in-law".

At the age of 18 she became a third order Dominican, spending three years in seclusion prayer and sacrifice. Out of that deep and intense prayer life she responded to a call to serve those who were sick, poor and imprisoned.

Catherine was bright and had a gift for writing. She wrote spiritual letters of encouragement to the pope, monarchs and other public figures, counseling them on the performance of their duties. She also wrote a book, The Dialogue, describing her mystical conversations with God.

Because she had a reputation for being a holy woman she had a great influence on a wide variety of people. She worked tirelessly for peace between the city of Florence and the Avignon-based papacy. With many others she claimed that the court in Avignon "stank of sin". Affected by her appeal the pope did return to Rome. She traveled all over Italy to meet with those in contention during the Great Schism. She spent the last two years of her life in Rome working for unity in the church. She died at the age of 33. In 1970 Catherine was named a Doctor of the Church, i.e. a saint to whom "eminent learning" and "great sanctity" have been attributed by a proclamation of a pope or an ecumenical council. This honor is given rarely; to date there are only 33 Doctors of the Church.

St. Joseph, March 19

Since I am a Sister of St. Joseph, choosing St. Joseph as the March saint about whom I would write, seemed natural. We all know that there is very little written about Joseph in Scripture, nor are there any words quoted that he said; he seems to be in the shadows. However, for a Sister of St. Joseph there is a great deal to say. Still, rather than create my own biography on Joseph, I choose to share with you a Prayer to St. Joseph, which I find both powerfully descriptive and meaningfully prayerful. Joseph is a role model for everyone who seeks to be close to God.

Prayer to Saint Joseph

I recognize you, Joseph,

discreetly present on my pilgrim road,

by your gently attentive face,

by your openly available heart,

and by your ever-ready hand.

I need you, Joseph, there where I meet

my loves, my doubts, my hesitations,

because you have known all these

as you followed Mary’s mysterious adventure.

Take my hand and lead me

when night and darkness make my steps uncertain.

You sought and found your son, Jesus; so,

tell me where He is when day follows day,

filled with work and worries, loneliness and boredom.

Tell me where He is when trials and suffering become my daily bread.

Tell me where He is when I stop looking,

because I’m all settled in with ease and comfort.

Tell me where He is when hope revives my courage

and invites me to move ahead briskly.

Tell me where he is when my heart wants to love Him--

Him first of all, and then all others with Him and in Him.

Tell me where He is when others come close to me

seeking comfort, friendship, joy.

Joseph, you walked through sunshine and through shadows.

Teach me to meet the Lord in the "everydayness’ of my life.

Amen! Anonymous

As I begin a year of telling the stories of one saint each month, it seems fitting that my first story is that of Our Lady of Lourdes, the patron of our parish. Further, it seems appropriate to begin this series with Mary, who is the first of the Christian saints, because this is the year of our parish’s 80^th anniversary.

Mary is best known as the Mother of God. She is the closest human person to Jesus and therefore a compassionate mediator between humankind and her Son, Jesus. There are many other titles of Mary, each one a nuanced description of Mary.

In the Litany of Loreto there are 51 titles of Mary. There are 13 apparitions of Mary officially confirmed by the Church. One of those is Our Lady of Lourdes where Mary appeared to Bernadette Soubirous, the oldest daughter of Francois and Louise Soubirous. She was out gathering dead wood with which to cook lunch when she saw the beautiful lady in a white dress with a blue sash. Bernadette was filled with fear until they said the rosary together. Bernadette’s two companions saw nothing.

It was very difficult for Bernadette to crack the disbelief of her family and her parish priest, to whom she went to ask that a church be built on the spot, as "the lady" had requested. But because "the lady" requested it, Bernadette persevered beyond all obstacles. It was her perseverance and her humility that eventually convinced the authorities that she was telling the truth, along with the fact that she brought Mary’s words, "I am the Immaculate Conception." to the priest who demanded to know the name of "the lady". Bernadette didn’t understand the words and everyone knew that she couldn’t possibly have known those words on her own, since she was illiterate. From the first apparition on February 11, 1858, until July 16 of that same year, Bernadette had 17 more apparitions, and with each one the crowds of curiosity seekers and believers grew.

In 1862 a church was begun on the spot; in 1864 a statue of white Carare marbel was placed in the oval-shaped recess where Mary appeared to Bernadette. More buildings were built and today the entire area has become a tourist center, where there are more than 3,500,000 people and pilgrims from every continent who visit there every year. The place is a curiosity to some, but a journey of faith for most. They come desiring healing, physical and spiritual. They come for a reason to hope. They come to honor Mary whose life of humility, faithfulness, selflessness and obedience inspires believers to live a life committed to following Jesus.

Our Lady of Lourdes, pray for us.

SPIRITUALITY ARTICLE

Saints

Saints seemed to fall out of favor for a while among Catholic Christians.  I think it was because some of them led lives that appeared to be too unattainable for us mere mortals living average lives.  I believe that was more the fault of the biographers and the differing cultures or eras than the saints themselves.  Recently there have been new or revised Lives of the Saints; the authors let us see the humanness of the saints.

The new United States Catholic Catechism for Adults defines a saint as “a person who, after having lived a life of virtue, dies in the state of grace and has been granted the reward of eternal life by God.”  They are men and women, and sometimes children, who became holy by living their lives the best way they could.  We are all called to be holy, to become what God intended us to be—unique and one with God and all of God’s people and the rest of creation.  In other words, we are all called to be saints.

Saints are models for us, far better heroes than the sports and movie stars that many young people admire and seek to emulate.  There are many different sorts of saints—the extroverted revolutionary type and the introverted, quiet type; saints from all walks of life, e.g. married and single, priests, sisters and brothers, hermits; martyrs for the faith and those who died peacefully in their beds.  Some seemed to be holy most of their lives and some were public sinners who were converted and grew close to God later in life.

There are over 10,000 official saints; and there are countless individuals whose holiness is recognized only by God.  And then there are those that have become popular and well known for one reason or another.  Mary, the Mother of God, is a saint and holds many titles.  Every Catholic knows her as the person closest to Jesus and she is the patron of our parish.  St. Therese of Lisieux is a relatively modern saint who sanctified the ordinary by her simple way; there is a statue of her in our church.  St. Francis of Assisi is the founder of the Franciscans, model of the simple life and lover of creation.  Mother Teresa is not yet a canonized saint, but she has been beatified and we believe she is a saint; she lived a life of compassion.  What saint do you desire to admire?  Would it be the saint for whom you are named?  We are formed by what we admire.  What do you think is the special virtue for which you will be known? 

All of us, together with those who have gone before us in purgatory and heaven, are members of the communion of saints.  We are all companions on the journey and the saints are our guides.  In the Apostles Creed one of the things we say we believe in is “the communion of saints.” 

In this column over the course of the year I plan to write a bit about one saint each month, so that we can get to know one another in this community of saints and become more one, united across all boundaries of space and time.