saints in october - st. als' parish paper
ST. THERESE OF THE CHILD JESUS, (1873-1897; Feast Day October 1) teacher of the Childhood Spirituality, a Carmelite Nun who died at the young age of 24.
She wrote: “Let us go forward, our eyes upon heaven, the only one goal of our labors.”
Heaven is the goal. This is a very simple assertion, but how many times have we forgotten this?
Look what happens when reputation becomes the goal - we pretend, we lie, we become affected even by the slightest mistake.
Look what happens when riches, ambition or power is the goal - we corrupt, we connive, we cheat, we neglect the people we love and we suffer physically, mentally and even spiritually because of our desire for it.
Riches and health are not the goal. These are helps in order to reach the goal, but they are not the goal. How I use my wealth and health is defined by my goal.
The priesthood is not the goal. Married life is not the goal. These are all means to attain my goal, means that I will do well to the best of my ability in order that these will help me attain my goal.
A position of power is not the goal. If I seek it, I seek it in order to reach my one and only goal.
ST. FRANCIS OF ASSISI, (1121-1226; Feast Day October 4) founder of the Order of the Franciscans.
“If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.”
He called all of God’s creatures as Brother Sun, Sister Moon, Mother Earth, Brother Wind, Sister Water, Sister and Brother Birds, Brother Wolf, and even Sister Death.
Francis showed honor, respect and love to all of God’s creatures, whether beggar or noble, sparrow or tree, poor or pope, leper or thief, water or wind.
Francis has discovered a new way of looking at the world. He saw them as “creation.” Not nature but creation. When one sees nature as “creation” one sees them in the light of the Creator. And when one sees creatures in the light of the Creator, one sees them as God sees everything He created – “very good.”
This is where Francis’ honor and respect, compassion and pity to all of God’s creation comes from.
ST. TERESA OF AVILA, (1515-1582; Feast Day October 15) a Carmelite nun and reformer, considered by the Church as an expert on prayer and therefore a rightful teacher of prayer. She believed that immersing ourselves in the ordinary moments of daily life are occasions when we can become closer to God.
The sacred can be found in the mundane, the extraordinary in the ordinary, and holiness can be had with each and every moment of life.
As she said to her sisters, “Don’t think that if you had a great deal of time you would spend more of it in prayer. Get rid of that idea! Know that even when you are in the kitchen, Our Lord is moving among the pots and pans.”
And so here’s her Kitchen Prayer…
O Lord of pots and pans and things,
Since I have no time to be
a great saint by doing lovely things,
or watching late with Thee,
or dreaming in the dawn light,
or storming Heaven's gates,
Make me a saint by getting meals,
and washing up the plates.
Since I have no time to be
a great saint by doing lovely things,
or watching late with Thee,
or dreaming in the dawn light,
or storming Heaven's gates,
Make me a saint by getting meals,
and washing up the plates.
One time she told her sisters, “A sad nun is a bad nun.” When one can get closer to God even in the ordinariness of washing plates, then it’s true.
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