Wednesday, October 31, 2012

To My Fellow saints!



Every year as we approach All Saints’ and All Souls’ days, I am reminded of a homily I heard a few years back.  The priest talked about first about the different Saint statues they had around the sanctuary and why each of those people became Saints.  But then he started to talk about our everyday saints (the ones with a small “s” instead of the official large “S”), the ordinary people in our lives that we encounter every day. 

I would bet for many of us it’s easy to come up with the saints in our lives.  The loving husband who cared for his ailing wife and stayed by her side until she breathed her last.  The mother of fourteen who always had a smile and a plate of freshly baked cookies.  The good Samaritan who stopped to help you push your car from the ditch.  The next door neighbor who came over to help you get rid of a skunk, even though they were on their way to a wedding.  These are the obvious choices for saints in our lives.  But what about the others?  The next door neighbor that doesn’t rake his leaves so they blow into your yard.  The sullen teenager that makes it her life’s mission to rebel against everything her parents tell her.  The older brother who can’t help but to terrorize his little sister.   The death row prisoner.  The super slow driver on the freeway, or the one who doesn’t use their signals.  What about these people?  Well guess what, they are saints too!!  

Believe it or not, we are all saints (some of us just need more training than others).  Most of us won’t ever get the chance to become a formally canonized Catholic Saint, but we all have the potential to be one because we are all already a saint to someone.  And I bet if we started thinking of ourselves as saints and that everyone we encounter is a saint, the way we treat others and ourselves will improve. 

So to my fellow saints, have a happy and blessed All Saints and All Souls Days. May we remember the all the Saints and saints up in heaven and those still here on earth.

Tuesday, April 24, 2012

New Beginning

I have for quite some time now I wanted to get into writing (mainly blogging) more.  I've made it a goal for many weeks, months, and years, but it always got pushed to the side. I have wrote several lists of possible topics and even a couple reflections in one of my journals.  I wrote the occasional bulletin or newsletter article, and get that instant gratification.  I would get a few compliments, which would re-release the writing bugs and briefly they would be fluttering away in my soul...but then time and busy-ness would show up with their ugly faces!!

My friend (and fellow blogger), Kateri, reminded me recently (okay maybe it was a few months ago!) that goals are more likely to happen if you write them down, and even more likely if you tell others about the goal.  So today, I restart my blogging journey...with a new blog and many new life experiences.