Below is a little talk I gave this morning to our school students (most of whom are little), who are accustomed to hearing a few minutes’ meditation about the saint of the day before each Mass. Since today is a Ferial day, claiming no saint on the liturgical calendar, I gave a hortatory improvisation in the form of a quiz that seemed to hold their attention.
I told them at the beginning that they had to guess who these two saints were. See if you can. (And don’t cheat by skipping to the end!)
* * *
Saints X and Y were very unique, even though they were a lot alike. One was a girl (Saint X), the other was a boy (Saint Y). Both of them did a lot for the faith in modern times. Just as St. Stephen of Hungary, and St. Vladimir of Russia, and Saint Remigius of France, and Saint Augustine of Canterbury (England) all worked for the conversion of those countries, these saints worked for the conversion of America, by prayer, penance, good example, and pure and holy conversation.
Both did penance for their sinful family members. Both respected priests and religious, and all others in authority. Both hated sin so much that they left the room when people said immodest or offensive things. Sometimes, Saint Y wanted to punch such people in the nose, but instead, he offered up this cross for their conversion. He prayed the Rosary fervently every day. She (Saint X) did too, and she also read a chapter from the Gospels daily. Both loved the Holy Mass, daily Communion, the Rosary, Sacred Scripture, and mental prayer — and they tried to interest their friends in these things. Both strove to live in God’s presence all the time, even when they were having fun, or when they felt bad, or had to do homework.
Saints X and Y always forgave people who wronged them and they even prayed for people who were nasty to them, because that’s what Our Lord did and they wanted to be like Him. Their Lents were very strict, as Lent used to be, and they gave up lots of things they liked in order to grow closer to the Holy Trinity and bring sinners to God.
Do you know who they are? Give up?
Well, Saints X and Y are no one in particular, but they could be Saint You!
You were not made for this world. You were made for Heaven, so start living now as if you actually belong there. Maybe, if you become Saint X or Saint Y, September 4 can become your feast day and I won’t have to make up something like this in the future.
News Items, Site Updates:
» Update on Theological Blog. Two new postings have gone up: Catholics, Non-Catholics, and the Natural Law and The Three Integral Parts of a Moral Act (and a bit of fun). A more recent posting, on the Gifts of the Holy Ghost, is actually a repeat of something already on our site. Links and other blog features have also been augmented somewhat.
» Two Articles on Catholicism and Nazism. Mission Impossible? Tom Cruise to Play German Catholic Hero is R. Cort Kirkwood’s brief, polished article on Claus Philip Schenk von Stauffenberg, the Catholic who tried to kill Hitler. Catholics Resisted Nazism Says Expert: New Film Released concerns Sophie Scholl, a leader of the resistance movement known as The White Rose. In the mad rush to condemn all Germans, including Catholics, for “doing nothing” about Hitler, the history related in these two stories is often overlooked. Gary Potter has written of both of these figures at greater length, including also other instances of Catholic resistance to Hitler, in July 20, 1944.
» Alexy II greets Catholics as they reintroduce Latin Mass. The point has been made before. The new liturgy is bad for union with the Orthodox. If we want them to embrace union with the Holy See, we need to show them that we value our own traditions. (See, for instance, our arguments in Ad Rem 41: Tired Old Arguments against Tradition.
» New Article added to site. Apostle of the Infinite: The Life of Saint Vincent Pallotti. Actually, it’s an old From the Housetops article about one of my favorite saints.
