This
blog started out to be about some of the Saints of March. Some
well- known; others less well-known. But, every time I tried to write, the
political issues of our times kept interrupting. So,
what I wanted to be a clear article became a series of disjointed musings.
March
7: Saints Felicity and Perpetua two young mothers who were martyred
for their Christian faith. One was a slave the other her mistress yet they went
to their death with their arms around each other. Is this
not religious intolerance? Is it not the inhuman separation of
mothers and children?
March
17: Saint Patrick captured, sold as a slave came back to Ireland when
voices called him to “come and walk with us again.” Is this
not an example of human trafficking? How would Ireland be converted? Where
would the monasteries be that preserved the world’s literacy?
March
19: Saint Joseph, a carpenter, was known as “a just man.” His
call to be Mary’s husband and the foster father of Jesus was announced to him
in a dream. He did not know what he was being asked, yet he took Mary as his
wife and supported her and Jesus by manual labor. Where
are all the ordinary jobs by which people can support a family? How
realistic is it to think that they will return and quickly?
March
21: Saint Benedict fled the high life of Rome to seek solitude and
closeness with God. His holiness spread so that many followed him. But,
his life was threatened several times by some of the same monks who wanted to
follow him. Saint Benedict’s simple rule respected people of all
kinds. He taught respect for things as simple as the dishes. Where
is our respect for life, for the earth, for the air we breathe, the water we
drink and the land that supplies our food? Can we
still say that there is no such thing as global warming ?
March
25: The Annunciation: Mary was visited by an angel with a
tremendous request; to be the mother of God. As a
young unmarried Jewish girl, this had to be complicated and perplexing. What
faith and courage it took for Mary to say “yes” not knowing what the future
would bring. Where is our courage? What kind of faith do we have? Do we
trust? Can we, trust in a bigger plan? Can we
trust the plan of a loving God who created us in His image?
Perhaps
it’s time to look to those who have gone before us.
Sr. Kathleen Ryan, OSB
Dear Sister, you are right, there is so much to learn from the saints. It is also good to discover about the obscure saints or saints in other traditions. How many of us know about Saint Alban, the British proto-martyr, or the early saints that went from Ireland to Bretagne, via Cornwall? In Bretagne they seem to have a saint for every village, and their faith remains very strong. Good learning from the saints! Thank you.
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