Love Among the Saints

Love Among the Saints

Do we think of saints being married? Among the most popular — St. Therese, St. Francis, St. Pio of Pietrelcina, St. Teresa of Calcutta were wed to Christ and the church. Yet Catholic history proclaims saintly husbands and wives who lived lives much like the rest of us. Who could ever imagine that the father of one of the most scholarly popes would have crafted a newspaper ad to find his wife? Or that a couple, now on their way to sainthood, would have a story that rivals Romeo and Juliet in family drama? Only one husband lived not just to testify to his wife’s saintliness but also to be present at her canonization. Another saint married twice. And one husband literally tried the patience of a saint.

Patrick O’Hearn’s Courtship of the Saints: How the Saints Met their Spouses, offers lively, loved-filled accounts of couples from Biblical times into the 21st Century. They shaped the church in some way through their sacrifice and devotion to one another and to their families by making the prayer their foundation and God the center of their lives.

Mr. O’Hearn, also the author of Parents of the Saints: The Hidden Heroes Behind Our Favorite Saints, and former acquisitions editor with Tan Books, clearly strives to provide an antidote to the decades old “hookup culture” that has degraded marriage, women, and men. He does this with inspirational examples of a proven formula for meeting one’s true love. People have, over the centuries, continued to seek love, but the ways of going about it have failed. He promises that the contents lying beyond the beckoning cover of the intimate painting, “The Meeting of Joachim and Anne outside the Golden Gate of Jerusalem,” by Fillipino Lippi (1497) are “… better than any romantic novel because they return to the source of love: God Himself” (p. 5), and Mr. O’Hearn is as eager as any evangelist to share the news.

He doesn’t begin there, however, because without the proper framework, the stories would only be pretty romance tales. Mr. O’Hearn commences by defining courtship and its significance, offering historical and contemporary perspectives. He explains how it is different from modern “dating” and urges those called to marriage to pursue it. “Our culture will only be renewed when the family is strong … when marriages reflect Christ’s radical love for His church; when couples love each other madly through the good times and bad, and are open to the number of children God wants to provide them.” (pp. 5-6). He peppers the narrative with quotes from Ven. Fulton Sheen, St. Thomas Aquinas, and other well-known and favored theologians.

“Courtship looks to the future – to eternity,” he explains. “Courtship asks the following questions: Does this person have virtue? Is this the best person to lead me — and, God willing, my future children — to heaven?” (p. 11). He moves into betrothal: “…a time for a couple to intensify their prayer life as they prepare for marriage” (p. 19). Introspective questions give further substance to the book and to Mr. O’Hearn’s premise of returning to a prayer-filled, God-invited relationship. Part Two “Courtship Counsel and Prayers” is a kind of action plan that offers contemplative questions such as: How do I pray daily for my future spouse? Where should I look for a future spouse? It also advises how to choose a spouse, discern marriage as a vocation, and offers prayers and saintly inspirational quotes.  A section for married couples opens with this guidance: “Rediscover why you fell in love in the first place and continue to fall in love. Don’t let the fire burn out.” Mr. O’Hearn then suggests practical applications for doing so.

Sandwiched between the practical is the romantic with the couple’s entertaining encounters. The 23- year union between Karol and Emilia Wojtyla so influenced their young son that it helped to shape his perception of the love between a man and a woman that the author asserts it “… provided the first education concerning the splendor of marital love” contained in Pope St. John Paul II’s “Theology of the Body.” His parents are now Servants of God. Accounts like the Wojtylas will melt hearts. Others might drop jaws, such as the meeting of Josef and Maria Ratzinger that occurred when she responded to a newspaper ad he wrote to find a wife. St. Thomas More transitions from the martyr who dared to defy King Henry VII to the guy down the street who is widowed prematurely and, out of concern for his young children, begins looking for a wife. No doubt readers will chuckle – because they know a couple just like this — when they read about Bl. Anna-Maria Taigi and her husband, Dominic, who possessed “rough” manners.

Others will bring tears. Arguably, no other romance is as beautiful as that between Pietro Molla and Gianna Beretta and the family life they created. The author devotes nearly 20 pages to them. Anyone who has read Journey of Our Love: The Letters of Saint Gianna Beretta and Pietro Molla, which the author cites, will marvel at how he was able to keep it to 20.

Among the 25 couples, readers will have many favorites because, regardless of the time, all have uniqueness and relatability. Each one also has the commonality of fervent prayer and love of God. Anyone willing to put their love life into God’s hand will be able to find joy, endure hardships, and withstand suffering, proving that but no one can write a love story better than the Father Himself.

© Copyright 2025 by Mary McWilliams

Feature Photo by Eugenia Remark: https://www.pexels.com/photo/decorated-cards-golden-plate-and-ring-in-box-14784845/

Inset photo by Mary McWilliams

Parent tossing child in the air on a beach at sunset.

God’s Got Our Back

God’s Got Our Back

I went to Confession hungry—hungry for something I couldn’t articulate at the time, but God knew and satisfied that unnamed gnawing through one of His kind priests.  Monsignor Ignacio gave me the penance of learning Psalm 139.  He told me how much God loved me and that, if I prayed this psalm, I would know absolutely just how deeply God knows, accepts, and loves me. I think I cried all the way home, realizing that, despite my faults, imperfections, and self-doubts, someone—God—could love me so completely.

I went on to memorize excerpts from that psalm and prayed it every morning for a while. I shared copies with friends and family.  I even wrote it down on scratch paper during a plane ride to visit my daughter and gave it to a misty-eyed young man sitting next to me. He cried.

Eventually, I stopped the daily morning recitation and drifted into a rhythm of aimless newly retired life. But I was hungry again. I was preparing to offer a workshop at our local Catholic Writers Guild meeting. “Writing with Intent” aimed at sharing tips and tools to kick-start or rejuvenate the writing life. At that time, chapter members ranged from new writers to seasoned authors. What could I possibly offer that would appeal to and encompass such a range of needs?  I began to worry and stress over the presentation.

That’s when Psalm 139 surfaced again. When we are hungry, God’s words speak to our hearts. Whether new to the pen and unsure of intent or seasoned with countless pages and seeking fresh perspectives, as Catholic writers, we need to know, without a doubt, that God loves us and has got our back. It is He Who guides our writing and satiates our hunger when we ask.

“Probe me, God, know my heart;

try me, know my concern.

See if my way is crooked,

then lead me in the ancient paths.”—Psalm 139: 23–24

The reading and meditation on excerpts from Psalm 139 set the introductory tone for the workshop, which was well received by all.  God was right there for me and them. Then and now.

Excerpts from Psalm 139

 

Lord, You have probed me, You know me:

You know when I sit and stand;

You understand my thoughts from afar.

My travels and my rest You mark;

with all my ways You are familiar.

Even before a word is on my tongue,

Lord, You know it all.

Behind and before, You encircle me

and rest Your hand upon me.

. . . 

If I fly with the wings of dawn

and alight beyond the sea,

even there Your hand will guide me,

Your right hand hold me fast.

. . .

You formed my inmost being;

You knit me in my mother’s womb.

I praise You, so wonderfully You made me;

wonderful are Your works!

. . .

How precious to me are Your designs, O God;

how vast the sum of them!

Were I to count, they would outnumber the sands;

to finish, I would need eternity.

. . .

Probe me, God, know my heart;

try me, know my concern.

See if my way is crooked,

then lead me in the ancient paths.

 

—Psalm 139: 1–5, 9–10, 13–14, 17–18, 23–24

St. Joseph Edition of The New American Bible

 

© Paula Veloso Babadi 2025

Edited by Gabriella Batel

When not playing pickleball or “Nana,” Paula Veloso Babadi cooks, gardens, and writes poetry and short personal essays. You can find her first book-length collection, Everywhere Hope, at amazon.com.

Christ Sends Apostles Out in Pairs Anonymous Dutch Painting, Public Domain

Two by Two

Jesus summoned the Twelve and began to send them out two by two. (Mark 6:7)

 

Two by two. Not alone. Not in a group. Jesus sent out the twelve two by two.

Jesus could have sent the disciples out on their own. After all, there would come a time when they would each go their own way — James to Spain, Thomas to present-day Iran, Andrew to Greece, John to Asia, Matthew to Africa, and so on. He could have told them that this first sending out was meant to prepare them for what was to come. He could have told them that there are times in life when they would feel and be alone, and they would have nobody to turn to or consult or just talk to.

Likewise, He could have sent them in two groups of six or three groups of four. There’s safety in numbers. Plus, groups of young men traveling around the globe attracting audiences have always been popular, right?

 

Two Are Better than One

Instead, Jesus sent them two by two. He knew that two is better than one, and often two work better than a group. In Ecclesiastes, we read,

Two are better than one … If the one falls, the other will help the fallen one. But woe to the solitary person! If that one should fall, there is no other to help. (Ecclesiastes 4:9-10)

C.S. Lewis takes it even farther. He tells us in the introduction to  Athanasius’ On The Incarnation, “Two heads are better than one, not because either is infallible, but because they are unlikely to go wrong in the same direction.” Two people are more accountable and hold each other accountable. They recognize when one is going off course and can steer each other to the right place, be it a safe harbor or a challenging cliff that can only be climbed together.

 

Finding A Second

For several years, I have thought about whether I need a spiritual advisor. Of course, being human and being the independent, forge ahead at all costs person I am, I’ve always laughed it off as something I don’t need and certainly don’t have time for! I never stopped to think that maybe I don’t have time for one because I’m not making the time or because I’m not where I’m meant to be and am too busy running around to see it.

More and more, this concept of having someone else in my spiritual corner — someone to help me when I’m falling, when I’m off course, when I need help — has been weighing more and more on my heart. I finally reached out to a friend who is a spiritual advisor and asked her opinion. As expected, she told me that “the Holy Spirit is a nudger worth listening to.”

In sending the Apostles out two by two, Jesus affirmed the view of two people working together to help each other out, to receive help when one falls, and direction when off-course, to further the Kingdom. If Jesus felt that this was the best way to go about our missions and bring His Word to the world, who am I to try to make the journey solo?

 

Christ Sends Apostles Out in Pairs Anonymous Dutch Painting, Public Domain

Christ Sends Apostles Out in Pairs Anonymous Dutch Painting, Public Domain

 

We Can’t Do It Alone

So they went off and preached repentance. The Twelve drove out many demons, and they anointed with oil many who were sick and cured them. (Mark 6:12-13)

As two together, the Apostles experienced the fruits of the Holy Spirit. They were successful, doing as Jesus told them, and healing may of their afflictions, both spiritual and physical. Perhaps they would not have been able to accomplish this on their own. Even after Jesus died, and they were to carry on the mission, they needed the Holy Spirit to descend upon them and grace them with confidence and ability. They couldn’t do it alone.

My brothers and sisters, if you are pondering where to turn for guidance and companionship on your spiritual journey, know that you are not alone and that you aren’t meant to be. If not a spiritual advisor, seek someone who will share the mission with you, be there when you fall, and steer you in the right direction. Two are better than one.

“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.” (Matthew 18:20)

 

Let us pray: Lord, I ask you to open my heart and my mind to the nudging of the Holy Spirit. I pray that you lead me to the person you have chosen as my spiritual partner. Help us to further Your Kingdom as we walk two by two. Amen.


Copyright 2025 Amy Schisler

Resolute

When the days for his being taken up were fulfilled, [Jesus] resolutely determined to journey to Jerusalem. -Luke 9:51 (NABRE)

 

New Year’s resolutions. Pretty much everyone makes at least one. “I’m going to exercise every day,” or “I’m going to read a book a month this year,” or “I’m going to get on a better sleep schedule.” But the reality is, not many of us make it past the first month. By January 31, most of us give up, and it’s just kind of accepted in our culture.

But when Jesus resolved to do something, He stuck it out to the end. The gospel of Luke tells us that when Jesus knew it was time for Him to go up to Jerusalem to suffer and die, He “resolutely determined” to go and fulfill what He’d been sent to Earth to do. He didn’t make excuses, and He didn’t back out. Even though it hurt, He endured to the end…because He believed that what awaited Him on the other side was worth it.

I’m not suggesting you make twenty New Year’s resolutions and burn yourself out trying to keep them all. But maybe we should give our resolutions this year some prayerful thought and ask Jesus what He wants us to accomplish this year…and then “resolutely determine” to stick it out to the end. And I’m not just referring to health goals and goals that make us nicer people, but the ultimate goal: to get to heaven.

Enduring to the end may hurt, like it did for Jesus. But if we stick it out and push ourselves to be resolute in our mission, we can trust that what awaits us on the other side is better than we could ever imagine.

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Isabelle Wood is an editor for both the Catholic Writer’s Guild blog and Extraordinary Mission, a non-profit Catholic ministry. She is currently enrolled in a Christian, college-equivalent writing program, and it’s her dream to write stories that shine the light of Jesus and the Catholic Church into the darkness of this world.

 

©️ copyright 2025 Isabelle Wood

Edited by Sarah Reinhard

clutterwordcollage

Spiritual Clutter…Is There Such A Thing?

 

There are many instances when I feel obligated to clean outside my normal daily housework. Some of the most popular reasons people do a deep clean are to welcome spring, prepare for a guest, entertain during the holidays, and declutter. 

At least twice a year, I feel the urge to purge. Sometimes, I focus on one home area, such as a closet or cabinet, while other times, I focus on an entire room. Emotions such as stress, anxiety, and sadness also trigger a massive cleaning response in me. These emotions often set me into a cleaning mode. 

Usually, a deep clean involves deciding whether to keep various unnecessary items, loading up the car, and delivering to a local donation center. I breathe a sigh of relief, and when I finish, I can sit back and enjoy the freshness of my home. 

I recently set my sights on cleaning my home office, which doubles as my prayer space. I worked from one end of the small room to the other, quickly realizing I had a lot of clutter. Sitting down in my rocker to pray and setting my coffee cup on the table beside me was a chore, as I had to move many items just to set the cup down.  

As a spiritual director, I have quite a collection of spiritual books, journals, prayer cards, etc., all of which hold special meanings. Some were gifts; others contained wisdom and reflections necessary to me and those I accompany on their spiritual journey. It is much easier for me to donate an old sweater than to let go of items related to my faith. 

 

“It is much easier for me to donate an old sweater than to let go of items related to my faith.”

 

I organized my items so that I didn’t need to donate them. When the Holy Spirit calls me to pass an item along to someone else, I set aside a pile for “gifting.” As I admired the newly decluttered room, I wondered if we could have so much physical clutter in our lives that it is possible to have spiritual clutter.

I considered what I gather when I sit down for prayer time: a Bible, journal, devotional, sometimes a candle and rosary, coffee or tea, a prayer card or two, a pen, and a highlighter. Oh, let’s not forget the holding cross or personal memento that brings me into focus. Then, I often use a prayer app or reflective music. 

After thinking about the many things I have considered as prayer time must-haves, I asked myself, did Jesus need all this when he prayed? Am I bringing spiritual clutter into my sacred space and personal time with God, and are these things impeding my connection to Him?

Don’t get me wrong. I am not saying these prayer items are bad or unnecessary, but perhaps they have their time and place. If we look at that list again, it almost reads like someone conducting a Bible study class, not someone about to enter a sacred space with the Lord. 

So, how can we incorporate spiritual accessories in a way that does not interfere with our moments of prayer? The process will look different for everyone, as our styles are different. If you aim to use many or all of the items mentioned and it works for you, go for it. However, if you feel a prayerful connection is lacking, consider how to enter prayer and what external items you are taking along. 

When we enter prayer, already feeling cluttered, we bring these emotions with us, which can detract from completely opening our hearts to God. As we settle into this new year, take some time to evaluate your prayer space and routine. Take note of anything that brings you unease, feeling closed in, or frustration.  

You may be surprised to learn that to reach a deep prayerful connection, all God wants from you is you!  The accessories can be used to journal your emotions after your prayer time or for additional prayers aside from your meditations with scripture.  Be honest and only use what makes you feel connected to God. Make your prayer time with God count, have fun, and enjoy your moments of God’s Grace.  

_______________________________________________

Kimberly Novak is a wife, mother, author, and spiritual director. Her passion for inspiring and motivating those on a spiritual journey has bloomed into various ministries. Kimberly’s mission is to enhance each journey by guiding others where the light of strength is…God’s love. Find out more about Kimberly’s life and work at www.kimberlynovak.com. Additionally, Kimberly welcomes prayer requests at A Little God Time.

 

©️ copyright 2025 Kimberly Novak

Edited by Janet Tamez

Cup of Tears, Cup of Joy

Cup of Tears, Cup of Joy

 

Twelve years ago, I was in the hospital, recovering from an atypical total knee replacement, and feeling sorry for myself because I didn’t make it to the bathroom in time. My tears could have filled a cup, even though I was in a comfortable room, getting great medical care, and had plenty to eat and drink. What did I have to cry about? The pain? The dependency on others? The embarrassment?

When I caught sight of the TV screen just inches away from the crucifix, I stopped crying: I watched a commercial with an emaciated woman clinging to her skeleton-like baby as she reached forward with an old tin cup in her hand. Dehydrated and dying, this woman was holding out hope and joy that her cup would be filled with milk for her child.  

Fast-forward to a month ago when I joined my cousins in one of many shanty towns in Cebu, Philippines, to distribute school supplies, clothing, and treats for the children. As we navigated leaving along the narrow pathway, I spotted a little girl with toothpick limbs as she stopped to drizzle water over her bare feet from a makeshift spigot before she entered one of the shacks. She smiled amid the stench and garbage, happily holding her “gifts.”

As I think of Christ on the Crucifix and the suffering He endured out of love for each of us, I remember the joy of a fragile mother and an impoverished child and feel somewhat ashamed of the tears I shed over so many seemingly trivial trials. God gets me, and I am consoled by the Psalmist’s conviction:

“He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.” —Psalm 147:3

My prayer is to cultivate the strength to give up my cup of privileged tears and replace them with a cup full of joy and gratitude taught by a mother and a young child. As the new year progresses, may your cup of tears be filled also with hope, joy, and gratitude.

“…weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” —Psalm 30:5

© Paula Veloso Babadi 2025

Edited by Gabriella Batel

__________________________________________________________________________________

When she is not playing pickleball or “Nana,” Paula Veloso Babadi cooks, gardens, and writes poetry and short personal essays. You can find her first book-length collection, Everywhere Hope, on Amazon.

Earthly Acts of Spiritual Love

Earthly Acts of Spiritual Love

‘Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.’ (1 Cor. 13:7)

If everything we have known from personal experience and from knowledge of history tells us that all human lives are entwined with suffering, then why are we so surprised by the persistent presence of that pain, and why do we expect, even demand that it go away?

We have within our deepest hearts a hidden and vague knowledge that the way the world is now is not how it once was, nor how it ought to be. That secret knowledge stirs conflict within us.

As a psychotherapist working in medical settings, many of my clients experience suffering due to debilitating diseases, disabling conditions, chronic mental illnesses, substance use disorders, and, too often, the gradual erosion of close personal and family relationships. Psychotherapy can help foster fortitude and resilience in contending with all the things that can afflict a client. But the need for fortitude and resilience is not limited to persons in
psychotherapy. All persons experience loss, adversity, injustice, and painful events in life. How could it be anything else, considering we journey through a fallen world of sin, where sickness and death beset everyone?

Our modern inclination is to think of the presence of pain as a mistake, as something to blame someone else for, as something that can and should always be removed or remedied. Many of the difficulties of daily life can and ought to be corrected, and of course, we should strive to resolve our problems and give aid and comfort others who suffer. But the existence of pain represents more than simple error or misunderstanding. Some pain can be alleviated, and yet, sometimes pain must be borne – because it is an unavoidable element of life in a fallen world, not because we are morbid or weak or masochistic.

In the beginning, God and the human person walked together in harmony. Yet, since the cataclysmic events in Eden, we are heavily hampered by hardship. The entire story of the Bible is the tale of how God has responded to the consequences of what occurred in Eden. The Bible would not exist if Adam and Eve had not fallen. All of sacred Scripture relates the story of God’s actions to guide and rescue his children who are dwelling in darkness
and shadowed by death.

Jesus took upon himself the abominable scope of pain in this sin-filled world, to show us how to bear it, while still keeping faith beyond sight, while simultaneously bearing with every other person compassionately, because they, like ourselves, are caught in this web of painful sin-tainted darkness,
and we are each on the way in search of His kingdom. Some might say, “Why doesn’t God bring this messed up world to an end, and just sweep
away all the pain and bring lasting joy in its place? If He really was good, that’s what he would do now!”

But, when were you hoping for him to replace His plan with yours? His timing with yours? Sometime long ago, before you were born, perhaps? Or before your children, or grandchildren, or great, great grandchildren have had the chance to come into this world? Do you know what part the people yet to be born might play in His greater plan? Maybe we can shoulder the situation as it is and strive to do our part to bring goodness into the world.

God pointed out to St. Paul that humble and courageous acts of faith and love will light the path of our feet through the rubble and the trouble of life.
In his first letter to the Corinthians, St. Paul shines a light on deeper dimensions of love. He surprises his readers with the suggestion that it is love that bears, believes, hopes, and endures all of the challenging things of life on earth. Quite often, love is considered to be movements of emotions, yet St. Paul shows how love engages the activities of will. Through all the hard and the cold and the unfair and unknown things of this life, it is these willful acts
of love that will guide our way.

Bearing, believing, hoping, and enduring are not simply aspects of love. They are the key actions of love. Yet these particular acts of love are limited to our time on earth and are not elements of how love will be known in heaven. One will no longer need to bear or to endure pain, anguish, or injustice in heaven, because those things don’t exist there. One will not need to believe in what is invisible, or to hope for what is beyond the known, because all the things hoped for and believed in will be fully known and revealed in heaven.

But here, now, while we still live in a body and are under the sway of concupiscence, we have available to us the essential tools of spiritual love: bearing, believing, hoping, and enduring. Jesus, and our blessed Mother, and the saints, have shown us by their example how to practice earthly acts of love.

copyright 2025 Tom Medlar

Announcing Alzheimer’s

Announcing Alzheimer’s

By Lisa Livezey

Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what any day may bring forth.

– Proverbs 27:1 (NAB)

I stopped by my parents’ split-level suburban home for a quick visit and Mom met me at the door. “Lisa, I have ALZHEIMERS!!!!” she pronounced with angst. Dad stood in the background smiling tenderly.

The news was no surprise. In fact, Mom had announced her diagnosis to me three times already.

In a flash moment, I considered Mom’s exemplary life. She was a faithful wife, mother and grandmother, a registered nurse, volunteer librarian, had taken in foster children, kept an immaculate, organized home, and even led Bible studies.  She doted on her grandchildren, who hold happy memories of time spent at “Gigi and Pop’s” house along with weekends camping in the mountains.

Now at age 82, Mom was descending from the mountains and gazing despairingly upon the wilderness of Alzheimer’s disease.  For one so capable, no doubt the future appeared bleak and scary.

Giving her a hug, I said, “Don’t worry, Mom. It’ll be okay.”  Surely God would provide the daily help she needed, just as He had during her more productive years.

I knew Mom was in good hands with Dad’s stabilizing presence beside her. He capably handled Mom’s health issues and certainly would be her continued comfort and guide amidst the changing landscape of her brain.

Lord, Thank you for today. I know not what tomorrow holds, so help me to trust You with the future.

Reflect: Think about loved ones in your life who are experiencing change due to age or illness and offer up a prayer for each one.

 

The author’s parents, Christmas 2016, six months
before “Announcing Alzheimer’s” took place

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The above blog piece is the Prologue in Minding Mom: A Caregiver’s Devotional Story by Lisa Livezey (© 2024, En Route Books and Media)

Minding Mom: A Caregiver’s Devotional Story by Lisa Livezey | En Route Books and Media

Listen to the audio version of “Announcing Alzheiemer’s” read by the author.

 

Copyright 2025 Lisa Livezey

Mother Seton, Elizabeth Ann Seton at Emmittsburg, Maryland

What are you looking for?

“The two disciples heard what he said and followed Jesus. Jesus turned and saw them following him and said to them, ‘What are you looking for?’” John 1:38

 

My favorite hymn when I was a child was, Here I Am, Lord. I loved the rhythm and the simple prose, and I thought the sentiment behind the words was lovely even if I didn’t quite understand their importance. As an adult, the song continues to be my favorite hymn, and it brings tears to my eyes every single time I hear it. Though I still love the music and the words, it’s the deeper meaning that gets to me now. Jesus asks us to serve, and we need to respond like Samuel and the Apostles, ready to answer and do His will.

Awaiting God’s Call

This month, we celebrate the feast day of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, our first American-born saint. Two of my three daughters graduated from Mount St. Mary’s in Emmitsburg, Maryland. Emmitsburg was the home and final resting place of Mother Seton. Mother Seton to Emmitsburg moved in 1809, where she founded the Sisters of Charity of St. Joseph’s, the first community for religious women established in the United States. It was in Emmitsburg where she also began St. Joseph’s Academy and Free School, the beginning of Catholic education in the United States. 

Before becoming a nun, Elizabeth was a wife and mother. She was not Catholic but was very religious. While nursing her sick husband in Italy, she learned about Catholicism from friends who lived there and was intrigued by the Church and its sacred traditions. The more she learned and attended Mass, the more she felt called to become Catholic.

Hearing God’s Call

Years, later, she heard the call to become a nun, and later, she heard the call to found the order and the school in Emmitsburg. 

Mother Seton wrote, “We know certainly that our God calls us to a holy life. We know that he gives us every grace, every abundant grace; and though we are so weak of ourselves, this grace is able to carry us through every obstacle and difficulty.”

Many generations before Mother Seton, Jesus asked Andrew and John, “What are you looking for?” (John 1:38) They immediately followed Him, asking where He was staying. Then they sought others and encouraged them to join as well (Andrew’s brother, Simon, John’s brother, James, and Andrew’s friend, Phillip). Without hesitating, they answered Jesus’ question with their actions. 

Jesus still asks this question, but so many fail to hear it or understand from whom it comes. So many of us spend our lives searching for meaning, for happiness, for belonging when Jesus openly and willingly offers us all that and more. When faced with Jesus’ question, we look for the answer in other people, in media and entertainment, or in addictions, and often overlook the most basic, most obvious places—Holy Scripture, the Mass, the Church. It was in the Church, at Mass, and through the sacraments that Mother Seton heard the call to convert, to become a nun, to serve, and to teach.

Answering God’s Call

We, too, are being called. We can hear God’s voice each time we attend Mass, go to Confession, or seek the Lord in Adoration. He is calling out to us to help Him build His Kingdom, to serve, to teach, and to bring others to Him.

Listen for the voice of Jesus in your daily life. Shut out the noise and the distractions. Be alert and awake. He is asking, “What are you looking for?” All you need to do is answer in the same way Mother Seton did, “Here am I, Lord; I come to do your will,” (1 Samuel 3:8, Psalm 40:9). “Speak, for your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10).

Let us pray, “Oh my God, forgive what I have been, correct what I am, and direct what I shall be” (St. Elizabeth Seton). Amen.

 

copyright 2025 Amy Schisler

Edited by Heather Gaffney

Bunnies and Bulbs

Bunnies and Bulbs

My parish recently hosted a Day of Reflection for parents and catechists. We had a good turnout of a couple hundred folks, with a keynote speaker in the morning and breakout workshops in the afternoon. I led one of the afternoon workshops, and I started off by posting a big picture on the screen of a cute, furry bunny sitting in emerald green grass, surrounded by a bunch of beautifully decorated Easter eggs.

Turning to the audience, I asked, “Why do we see bunnies at Easter?  Turn and talk to each other at your tables for a few minutes.”

There was a hum of conversation as everyone discussed this pretty simple question. When the chatter started to taper off, I asked if anyone wanted to share what they had come up with. A few people raised their hands.

“Bunnies are signs of new life,” one person said.

“Yes, new life,” agreed the next person.

“Bunnies remind us of Jesus’ new life at the resurrection,” another added.

I moved on to the next photo, posting a photo of a beautiful cluster of lilies and daffodils.

“How about this photo?” I asked again. “Why do we see lilies and spring flowers at Easter?”

Once again, I gave everyone an opportunity to chat with their neighbors, before drawing some responses from the group.

“Lilies are signs of new life.”

“They’re like the bunnies. They’re signs of new life.”

And herein lies a problem that I’ve spent a lot of energy trying to address. The answers everyone gave weren’t “wrong;” they are just only halfway there.

Now, to be clear, I found no fault in the people who were there that day. Everyone who attended had been willing to spend their free time, an entire Saturday, up at church in order to hopefully learn a little, grow a bit in their faith and be part of a community.  In many cases, they were also catechists at their parishes, leading the Faith Formation classes and trying to inspire and develop the next generation of Catholics.  I greatly appreciated their generosity of spirit. In fact, I would even say I found their presence there enormously commendable.

The problem that remains, though, is that we no longer know how to speak what Pope St. John Paul II called “our original language,” or read what St. Thérèse of Lisieux referred to as the “Book of Nature.”  What was once as easy and natural as breathing now involves labor and thought. We, the inheritors of original sin, not to mention the Enlightenment, now routinely think in terms of physical and spiritual.  What we can see, touch, hear, taste and smell is in one camp and what we cannot see, touch, hear, taste, or smell, but nevertheless believe in, is in another camp. So, bunnies and chicks and flowers that bloom in spring act as pointers towards new life, because, well, they didn’t exist before and now they do. They are new life. But that’s only such a very small part of their story.

We can call these bits of matter Easter symbols, not just Easter pointers, signs or reminders, because that is what they really are. A symbol not only points to something else, but it also incorporates that something else within itself. It makes present what it points to, in its own way. You probably already knew that.

So, if we revisit the earlier question, “Why do we use bunnies at Easter?” we might answer it by saying something like “Because they show us something true and real about what happened at Jesus’ resurrection. They teach us something deep and profound about this ‘new life.’” What might that be?

Bunnies are attracting. They invite us to come in closer. We want to pick them up and snuggle them, maybe put them in a pocket and carry them around. They breathe softly. We love their little noses and long ears. They are simply delightful, in and of themselves, and if they also happen to be on some beautiful, emerald green grass, under a cornflower blue sky, we suddenly feel that the world itself is full of color and inspiration and possibility; that there just might very well exist a place, somewhere, where bunnies can live without fear of being attacked by something big with sharp teeth. And if that might be the case for bunnies, might it not also be the case for people? The idea that there might be a place or a way where we can live in peace, free from fear, in the midst of creation, is at the very heart of Jesus’ resurrection. Our faith tells us that not only is that possible in the next life, but that Jesus’ physically resurrected (not just reanimated or ghostly) human body, assures us that the beginning of this place has begun here, now, on this earth.

Just like bunnies are delightful, in and of themselves, so, too, is the new life Jesus offers us, because the new life IS Jesus, who is, in and of himself, attracting and inviting.

Closeup of some lovely white Easter lilies.

We can try the same exercise with lilies.  What do they teach us about Jesus’ resurrection?  If we think of the life cycle of a lily, we know that it spends most of its life in a very unimpressive state, as a funny looking ovalish, brownish bulb, stuck down in the earth, out of sight. For most of its life, a bulb doesn’t look like anything is going on at all. But then, suddenly, something happens. It starts to put out feelers and sends out small shoots. Those shoots eventually break through the surface and keep on growing. Finally, each bulb erupts into a truly spectacular flower, a blossom so magnificent that we have to stop and stare at it. We have to drink it in, memorize it and photograph it. Bulbs teach us that just because we can’t see the inner life of grace working doesn’t mean that it is not there. It just hasn’t matured yet. Bulbs remind us of our true end, as persons with resurrected bodies, of blossoming into those fantastic flowers from a simple little brown bulb. Again, not only do we anticipate this in the next life, but we know that some of the saints have moved into this type of state while they were on earth. Jesus’ bursting forth from his tomb, trampling over death, is like the remarkable flower that bursts forth from the tomb of the bulb. Like the flowers from bulbs, the resurrection is not a small, meager, easily overlooked thing. Instead, it is huge and unbelievably magnificent.

All of the symbols we use throughout Easter, as well as through the year, point to a deeper meaning especially when they are connected to a liturgical season. This, ultimately, is what Scripture is proclaiming when it says “The heavens declare the glory of God; the firmament proclaims the works of his hands. Day unto day pours forth speech, night unto night whispers knowledge,” (Psalm 19:2-3) all without speech, words or voices.

So let me ask you the same question: What do bunnies, eggs, chicks and lilies teach you about the new life we celebrate at Easter? And more importantly, how will the new life of the resurrection burst forth in your own life, here, now, in this season of Easter 2024?

 

©Copyright 2024 by Sarah Pedrozo

Images from iStock

 

 

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