Little Steps to being a Saint

"To be holy, it is not necessary to be Bishops, priests or religious. 

We are all called to become saints!"

~Pope Francis, November 19th General Audience

Today, Pope Francis reminded Christians that we are all called to be Saints.  May we all take the little steps toward sainthood that God offers us everyday, regardless of our circumstances.

The full translation of the Holy Father's remarks are available at Zenit.org:

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

A great gift of the Second Vatican Council was that of recovering a vision of the Church founded on communion, and regaining also the principle of authority and of hierarchy in this perspective. This has helped us to understand better that all Christians, in as much as baptized, have the same dignity before the Lord and share the same vocation, which is that to holiness (cf. Constitution Lumen Gentium, 39-42). Now we ask ourselves: what does this universal vocation to be Saints consist of? And how can we achieve it?

First of all we must keep very present that holiness is not something that we procure for ourselves; that we obtain with our qualities and our capacities. Holiness is a gift, it is a gift that the Lord Jesus gives us, when He takes us to Himself, clothes us with Himself, and renders us like Himself. In the Letter to the Ephesians, the Apostle Paul affirms that “Christ loved the Church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her” (Ephesians 5:25-26). There, holiness is truly the most beautiful face of the Church: it is to rediscover oneself in communion with God, in the fullness of His life and of His love. One understands, then, that holiness is not only the prerogative of some: holiness is a gift that is offered to all; no one is excluded, it is what constitutes the distinctive character of every Christian.

All this makes us understand that, to be holy, it is not necessary to be Bishops, priests or religious … We are all called to become saints! Very often, however, we are tempted to think that holiness is reserved only to those who have the possibility to detach themselves from ordinary tasks, to dedicate themselves exclusively to prayer. But it is not so! Some people think that holiness is closing your eyes and putting on a pious face... No! That is not holiness! Holiness is something greater, more profound that God gives us. In fact, it is precisely by living with love and offering Christian witness in our daily tasks that we are called to become Saints – and each one in the conditions and in the state in which he finds himself. Are you consecrated? Be holy  by living with joy your donation and your ministry. Are you married? Be holy by loving and taking care of your husband or your wife, as Christ did with the Church. Are you an unmarried baptized person? Be holy by doing your work with honesty and competence and offering time to the service of brothers.  "But, father, I work in a factory ... I work as an accountant, always with the numbers, I cannot be a saint there..." - "Yes, you can! There, where you work you can become a saint.

God gives you the grace to become a saint. God communicates with you." Always and everywhere you can become a saint, that is, by being receptive to the grace that is working in us and leads us to holiness. Are you a parent or a grandparent? Be holy by passionately teaching your children or your grandchildren to know and to follow Jesus. And this takes a lot of patience, to be a good parent, a good grandfather, a good mother, a good grandmother, it takes a lot of patience and this patience is the holiness exercising patience.  Are you a catechist, educator or volunteer? Be a Saint by becoming a visible sign of the love of God and of His presence at our side. This is it: every state of life leads to holiness, always!  At home, on the streets, at work, at church, in the moment and with the state of life that you have, a door is opened on the road to sainthood. Do not be discouraged to travel this road. God gives you the grace to do so. And this is all that the Lord asks, is that we are in communion with Him and serve others. If lived in communion with the Lord and in the service of others.

At this point, each of us can examine our conscience, we can do it now, everyone answering for himself, inside, in silence: So far how have we responded to God's call to holiness? But do I want to improve, to be a better Christian? This is the path to holiness. When the Lord calls us to be saints, he does not call us to something hard or sad... Not at all! It is an invitation to share His joy, to live and offer every moment of our lives with joy, at the same time making it a gift of love for the people around us. If we understand this, everything changes and takes on a new meaning, a beautiful meaning, to begin with the little everyday things. An example. A lady goes to the market to shop and meets another neighbor and starts talking and then comes the gossip and this lady says, "No, no, no I will not gossip about anyone." That's one step towards holiness, this helps you to become more holy. Then, at home, your son asks you to talk to him about his fantasies: "Oh, I'm so tired, I worked so hard today..." - "But sit down and listen to your son, he needs this." And you sit, you listen with patience... This is a step towards holiness. Then at end the day, we are all tired, but prayer... We must pray! That's one way to holiness. Then Sunday comes and you go to Mass and to take Communion, at times, a good confession that cleans us up a little. This is a step towards holiness. Then, Our Lady, so good, so beautiful, I take up the Rosary and pray. This is a step towards holiness. And so many steps towards holiness, little ones... Then I go down the street, I see a poor person, someone in need, I ask him, give him something, another step towards holiness. Small things are small steps toward holiness. And every step towards holiness will make us better people, free from selfishness and being closed in on ourselves, and open us up to our brothers and sisters and their needs.

Dear friends, in the First Letter of Saint Peter, this exhortation is addressed to us: “As each has received a gift, employ it for one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who utters oracles of God; whoever renders service, as one who renders it by the strength which God supplies, in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ” (4:10-11). See the invitation to holiness! Let us receive it with joy, and support one another, because the path to holiness is not traveled on one’s own, each one on his own account, but it is traveled together, in the one Body that is the Church, loved and rendered holy by the Lord Jesus.

~Pope Francis, November 19th General Audience

First week of October Feasts

The first week of October is filled with wonderful Feast Days.  The celebratory gauntlet begins on September 29th with the Feast of the Archangels, followed by the Feast of St. Jerome (who translated the Bible into Latin), the Feast of St. Therese of Lisieux, the Feast of the Guardian Angels, and the Feast of St. Francis of Assisi.   Thank goodness, because I have been feeling ready for a Feast Day.  Church holidays seem like a distant memory this time of year, and Advent still feels a long way off.  What is more, discouraging news and tragic happenings seem to be everywhere in the news.  Thank goodness for the ministry of the Church: although we are called to daily sacrifice and cross-bearing, we can almost always find a good feast to celebrate.

I am a big fan of both St. Therese and St. Francis, but because I couldn't make special celebrations happen everyday during our busy week, we planned to celebrate the Feast of the Archangels and Feast of the Guardian Angels on Saturday at home together as a family.   Below are five reasons and five ways to consider celebrating these Angelic Feasts, either sometime this week or in the years to come.

Five Reasons to Celebrate the Feasts of the Arch and Guardian Angels:

Number 5:  Who doesn’t love a celebration?   Like I said, I feel ready for a little celebrating.  Around Oct 1st, the newness of school has worn off, dark Halloween decorations seem to be popping up everywhere, major liturgical holidays feel far away and I could use a little boost of positive energy to face daily discouraging news.  Plus, my kids don’t need much convincing to join in a celebration, and Feast Days are a wonderful way to teach them truths about our Faith.

Number 4:  Begin a season of celebrating the Heavenly Hosts.  At the end of the month, we’ll celebrate All Saints and All Souls days.  The feasts celebrating the Arch and Guardian Angels help set the stage for acknowledging and thanking God for the Heavenly Hosts, the great Cloud of Witnesses.  As we plunge through the last few weeks of Ordinary Time, we have these chances to direct our attention Heavenward and gain strength to carry our daily crosses.

Number 3:  There is real evil in the world.  As much as our society  may mock this idea at times, let’s not forget that the Devil is real and so is evil.  Our Holy Father recently called on the Faithful to weep over the tragedies in Iraq and Syria. On the Feast of the Archangels, the Holy Father spoke of the ongoing battle between the Devil and mankind and called on us to pray to the angels charged to defend us.  Even secular author Camille Paglia wrote in Time this week about the failure of American campuses to comprehend the existence of real evil.  When Camille Paglia’s message begins to echo Pope Francis, something is afoot.  I want to help my young children appreciate that the Devil and evil are real, even though the world around them may seem safe.  Celebrating our celestial defenders gives me an opportunity to do just that.

Number 2: We have real heroes to celebrate. All of my kids love a good superhero.  Plus, with the Halloween season fast approaching, characters of all kinds are receiving increased scrutiny and attention as my kids search for the perfect costume.  The Angelic Feasts are a great way to bring angels to the forefront of my kid’s attention and imagination, for they are, as this great article pointed out, the real superheroes of our Universe.  Already this week, after my husband and I described the Archangels to our children, my sons have been running around with capes and swords, declaring themselves the “Angel Protectors” of our family.  These feasts, along with the approaching Feast of All Saints, give us the opportunity to teach our kids the truth about super-powers, heroism, and real heroes that we can look up to and pray to for protection.

Number 1:  God’s love for us is Great.  The heavenly host of angels points to the majesty and awesomeness of our God. The fact that He would send any of these celestial beings to our aid points to his boundless love for us. The angels serve Christ by serving us, always pointing us toward Him.

Five Ways to Make the Celebration Special:

I used rainbow carrots for our glazed carrot recipe.  Delicious.

Number 5: Treats make a party.  Angelfood cake, a traditional Scottish St. Micheal Bannock for breakfast, or cookies cut with that Christmas angel cookie cutter would all suffice.  We hosted a big breakfast with MoMo and Papa.  Our menu included a St. Michael Bannock with whipped cream, Angelfood smoothie (T's favorite from our days near SmoothieKing in Alabama), bacon and eggs, and glazed carrots, a traditional Scottish food for this feast day.

Number 4: Heavenly host decorations.  Our dress-up swords and shields on the table along with printed classical artwork of archangels and guardian angels made great, simple decorations.  My hope over the course of the month is to make a “Heavenly Hosts” wall in our dining room, beginning with angel artwork this week, adding artwork depicting the saints leading up to All Saints Day and pictures of our deceased loved ones in time for All Souls day.  Over the course of the next month, the decorations will hopefully draw our hearts heavenward and inspire some additional prayers.

Our Heavenly Host wall for the months of October and November.  We'll add saints for All Saints Day and family members throughout the month of November in honor of All Souls Day.

Number 3: Prayers for the long haul.  Speaking of prayers, I am thankful that these feast days give me the opportunity to learn a few new prayers, specifically the Prayer to St. Michael and the Prayer to the Guardian Angel.  G-Bear learned a Guardian Angel prayer herself and taught it to the rest of us at breakfast, which was a real treat.  These are prayers we need in our daily arsenal.

St. Michael carrot spears for the kids, and cards with our Angel prayers.  

Number 2: Stories of victory.  The Bible is filled with stories of angels visiting and aiding God’s people.  These feasts are a great time to get out these stories and share them together.  An angel was with Daniel in the lions den and with Shadrach, Meshach and Abendnego in the fiery furnace.  Angels announced Christ’s birth, were at the empty tomb to tell the women that Jesus was risen, attended to Jesus after his forty days in the desert, and of course, Gabriel appeared to Mary at the Annunciation and later to Joseph in a dream.

Our place cards at breakfast, from Catholic Icing

Number 1: An activity for the day: For our younger children, a craft was our big activity of the day.  We made this angel craft from Catholic Icing together, something my kids can hang on their wall as a reminder for the day.  We also made the above angel cut-outs from here at Catholic Icing to serve as place cards at our feast table.  In future years, I may challenge myself and my kids to find another way to remember our Guardian Angel throughout the day.  Saint Jose Maria Escriva was especially known for his recourse to Guardian Angels and I have heard it said that he would often pause in doorways and briefly gesture as a way of acknowledging and inviting his Guardian Angel to go first through the door.  Whether we pause to thank God for our Guardian Angel in a doorway, pray the Angelus three times during the day, or choose some other special remembrance, these activities are all intended to draw our hearts closer to our Lord.

My greatest prayer, as we celebrate feast days like this together, is that God might bless us with a deeper love and trust in Him.  Jesus, may your angels draw us ever closer to you!

Happily Ever,

Queen B

Everyday Wisdom from Blessed Alvaro de Portillo

On Saturday, a man named Fr. Alvaro de Portillo was Beatified in Madrid.  

This is one of his often repeated short prayers to Jesus, perfect for everyday life:

"Thank you, 

forgive me, 

help me more."

~Blessed Don Alvaro de Portillo

Thank you, Lord, for Your many servants who help to show us Your Way.

Help us, too, to follow Your lead.

Happily Ever,

Queen B

Daily Works of Mercy

Occasionally, I am tempted to feel overwhelmed by all the needs and hurting in the world.  The overachiever in me sometimes feels restrained by the demands of daily, family life.   Really, can I do any good for the wider, broken world in the midst of meal prep, laundry loads, potty training and nap time?

In those moments, I need to settle my restless heart with a reminder from Blessed Mother Theresa of Calcutta:

"Do ordinary things with extraordinary love."

To help this needy, hurting world, I need to change the way I see the work in my day, not shirk my responsibilities within it.

Mother Theresa also once said,

"What I can do, you can not.  What you can do, I can not.  

But together, we can do something beautiful for God."

Which reminds me of one of my favorite prayers from Saint Teresa of Avila:

Jesus has no body now on earth but yours, no hands but yours, no feet but yours.

Yours are the eyes through which the compassion of Christ must look out on the world. 

Yours are the feet with which he is to go about doing good.

Yours are the hands with which he is to bless his people.

So, with new eyes I review the corporal and spiritual works of mercy that we, as Christians, are called to bring into the world:

The Corporal Works of Mercy                                   The Spiritual works of Mercy

Feeding the hungry                                                   Admonishing the sinner

Giving drink to the thirsty                                              Instructing the ignorant

Clothing the naked                                                      Counseling the doubtful

Hospitality to the homeless                                            Comforting the sorrowful

Caring for the sick                                                         Bearing wrongs patiently   

Visiting the imprisoned                                                      Forgiving all injuries

Burying the dead                                                      Praying for the living 

                                                                                                       and the dead

When I reflect on these works of mercy with new eyes, they suddenly sound remarkably similar to many of my daily responsibilities.  God, grant me the mercy to complete these great works with great love.  Then I would be truly helping to change the world.

For the weaker days...

In Memoriam: Deacon Bill

Let me introduce you to a great man of God,

a dear friend we will miss,

Deacon Bill.

Tonight we watched our beloved Deacon's funeral Mass.

He was the founding president of EWTN alongside Mother Angelica.

He succeeded Mother Angelica as CEO and Chairman of EWTN.

He was a faithful husband of 59 years, affected countless lives for the Lord,

and received the Pontifical Medal from Pope Benedict XVI for extraordinary service to the Church.

For all his impressive accomplishments, 

we'll remember him and be forever grateful to him

for the great things he did in our lives,

things that will never make his resume,

but which are eternally meaningful to us.

Deacon Bill welcomed me to Alabama when I moved in 2003 to be closer  to T.

He walked along side us as we struggled with questions of faith and future.

Deacon Bill and wife Ramona stood with my dear family and T as I was confirmed in the Church.

He led us in marriage preparation, agreed to preside at our wedding,

and arranged for Father Anthony to preside in his stead when he was unable to travel.

Deacon Bill encouraged us with countless letters, phone calls and prayers.

Most meaningful of all, he baptized G-Bear and E-Bear with all proud grandparents present

the week before T's dad passed away.

Our family with Deacon Bill and Ramona at G-Bear's and E-Bear's baptism.

I hope that I never forget the sound of Deacon Bill voice saying his perpetually offered phrase, 

"Thank you, Jesus!"

These were the words that he offered the first time I met him,

he said this in greeting,

in saying good-byes.

He inserted this thanks into almost every conversation.

Indeed, these were the words by which he lived his life.

Thank you, Jesus, for Deacon Bill.

Lord, let perpetual light shine upon him.

Help us to follow his footsteps, which always pointed us to You.

These Hallowed Days

Happy Halloween and a blessed All Saints' Day!

These days have been wild, in the best possible ways.

We have had a wonderful time taking in both holidays.  E-Bear and G-Bear have worn their Halloween costumes for most of the week, and anticipation has been mounting for days.  Yesterday, G-Bear was able to wear her Rapunzel dress to school, complete with ribbons and flowers in her braided hair.  Not to be outdone, the boys wore costumes all day as we ran errands.  We were a sight walking home together after picking up G-Bear.

We continued our tradition of meeting at MoMo & Papa's house for trick-or-treating.  As Papa said last night, "not much has changed about Halloween over the past 30 years in this neighborhood," and that is a good thing. The treaters are plentiful, the decorations festive, and the houses close enough together for even the littlest tikes to join in the fun.

This was definitely our boldest treating year yet.  We made it up and down two whole blocks!  G-Bear and E-Bear ran their hearts out (they didn't wear coats and never once complained about the cold).  G-Bear would squeal in delight to E-Bear,

"E-Bear, isn't trick-o-treating fun??!"

Buddy Bear was so excited to get a few treats that he clutched his little paper bag to his chest as T carried him around the block.  He was so eager and willing to toddle up to the door and hold out his bag for a treat.  He was so careful to sign a big 'thank-you' before turning to leave.  We didn't quite get him in the traditional 1 year old pumpkin suit for pictures.  I thought he made a pretty cute "X-Ray" in his skeleton pjs!

Buddy Bear was so excited to show off his treat bag.

G-Bear counted 89 pieces of candy when we got home.  Heavens, what will we do with all of it?  

As always, MoMo and Papa's pumpkin was the largest on the block.  It's smile was just as inviting and joyful as ever (perhaps why they always get so many treaters?).

"The bright Jack-o-lantern with it's friendly, big grin reminds us God's love is a light from within."

~From P is for Pumpkin: God's Harvest Alphabet by Kathy-Jo Wargin

~~

We may have been up late, but we were up early this morning with more to celebrate:  

Happy All Saints' Day!

This morning, Buddy Bear and I watched as G-Bear processed with her fellow Kinders as the 'March of Saints' in her All Saints' Day all-school Mass.  Each Kinder wore a saint hat with their name on it.  It was a beautiful  reminder that God calls all of us to join in the march of faith toward sainthood.  I teared up just watching them!

Tonight we hosted MoMo and Papa for an All Saints' Day dinner party!  We decorated the dining room with pictures of the saints, and everyone got their own "saintly" name card.  My favorite decorations were the Mandy Groce "Armor of God" paper dolls, made by E-Bear and G-Bear.   We made them a few weeks ago as part of our Year of Faith craft & learning time, but they were perfect decorations for our table tonight.  We need to put on the Armor of God in our daily walk of faith toward sainthood!

 

For dessert we had apple spice cake with whipped cream and sprinkles.  Everyone got a piece with their own candle, and we sang "This Little Light of Mine" before blowing them out.  Delicious!

Our table was full for All Saints' Day.

Tonight was truly a celebration.  We are so grateful for these joyful moments together.

Blessings to you on these All Saints' and All Souls' Days.

Saint Therese's inspiration for the routine

"What matters in life is not great deeds, but great love."

~St. Therese of Lisieux

My inspiration today came from a prayer in honor of St. Therese of Lisieux, as part of a novena leading up to her feast day, October 1st:

"Loving God, you gave St. Therese the ability to see you in the ordinary routine of each day.  

Help me to be aware of your presence in the everyday events of my life."

~Day Three, St. Therese of Lisieux Novena

When your feeling short on time

Feeling short on time?  

I constantly feel that the demands on my time outstrip the hours I have in a day.  I want to love my husband, my children, my family, my friends, and my patients well.  But loving others takes time, right?  Surely my lack of time is a shortcoming on my part, I often berate myself.  

This brief message is from Saint Josemaria Escriva, speaking to a doctor who is concerned about not having enough time.  His message is salient and pertinent to all of us who feel overwhelmed as we seek to love God and neighbor in our limited time.

Thank you, Lord, that I don't have enough time.

Leap Year Inspiration

Today is a treat we only enjoy once every four years.  Today is Leap Year Day!   In honor of February 29th, here is some inspiration from our day to help you leap into tomorrow and the year beyond.

"Hey Moooooooooom!  Could you please help me find my Buzzzz Wightyear sleep shirt?  

Thank you.  Hey, Mom?  I am going to be Buzz.  Here I go, "Whooooosh!"

~From E-Bear, who knows the importance of asking nicely

and that the best way to travel is to 'whoosh.'

"Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa!"

"Sniff, sniff."

*smile*

~From Baby Bear, who knows that when you fall on your head,

you need moment to cry, 

a moment to refocus,

and the persistence to strike out again. 

"If I had a piece of hair on my pizza,

I'll tell you what I would do.

I would cover it up with mushrooms,

and eat my pizza with you."

~An original poem (in the style of Shel Silverstein) by G-Bear, 
who knows that sometimes life is messy,

and good food should be shared, not wasted :)

And finally, a quote that I needed to read today, thanks to my friend Kat and Father Najim:

"So you have failed?  You - be convinced of it - can never fail.  You haven't failed; you've 

acquired experience.  Forward!"  ~Saint Josemaria Escriva

Saint Josemaria Escriva

"God is not removing you from your environment.  He is not taking you away from the world, or from your condition in life or from your noble human ambitions or from your professional work....But, He wants you to be a saint, right THERE!" ~Saint Josemaria Escriva

This weekend marked the celebration, or feast day, of one my favorite saints and inspirational people, Saint Josemaria Escriva.  Have you heard of him? He is the founder of Opus Dei, a Catholic organization dedicated to helping people turn their daily work and activities into occasions for growing closer to God, for serving others, and improving society.  He is known for emphasizing that we are all called to and can achieve closeness and holiness with God, no matter what our station in life or what our profession.  Mother, pre-schooler, father, baker, janitor, judge, priest, missionary, dishwasher---God has a plan for each of our lives and wants to use us in extraordinary ways to bless the world and His Kingdom.

When he died in Rome in 1975, thousands of people, including one third of the world's bishops, requested that the Vatican begin the process of his beatification and canonization as a saint.  

I really like this quote from one of his books, The Furrow.  I am reminded that sometimes I go about my day trying to be perfect in many ways, but still feel unfulfilled. Why?  I have missed the whole point by forgetting to do everything in love for God and love for others:

"You fulfill a demanding plan of life: you rise early, you pray, you frequent the sacraments, you work or study a lot, you are sober and mortified, but you are aware that something is missing. Consider this in your conversation with God: since holiness, or the struggle to achieve it, is the fullness of charity, you must look again at your love of God and your love of others for his sake. Then you may discover, hidden in your soul, great defects that you have not even been fighting against. You may not be a good son, a good brother, a good companion, a good friend, a good colleague. And, if you love your "holiness'' in a disordered manner, you are envious. You sacrifice yourself in many small personal details, and so you are attached to yourself, to your own person. Deep down you do not live for God or for others, but only for yourself." (Furrow, 739)

You can learn more about this amazing man at Josemariaescriva.info.  Then, when you have time, learn more about Opus Dei and its amazing mission.