Called to be Saints

Marcia invited Regina and me to assist her with a presentation, "Called to be Saints," given to the Catholic Women's group from Holy Rosary Parish in Pomeroy.  It didn't take long for all of us to sing with Susan Boyle's "Make Me a Channel of Your Peace."  This YouTube video has great  images that remind us of what it means to be an everyday saint.

Julie Claussen and Cindy Klaveano planned, organized, and carried out this great event. They used their scrapbooking talents to create great centerpieces, name tags, and remembrances of saints. 

We enjoyed a great meal followed by lively discussion of Canonized Saints and modern-day saints.  Regina reminded us that Saints help bring us into the presence of God.  Turning to canonized saints mirrors the way we turn to our earthly friends for encouragement and support.  Heroic saints  show us all kinds of possibilites for those who follow the Lord.  The church canonizes saints, not because they were perfect people, but because they exhibited qualities of prayer, love, hope, and trust.  My patron saint, Therese' of Liseux, sometimes nicknamed Theresa, the Little Flower, died at age 23 after developing the "little way" which expressed her devotion to God the Father with childlike simplicity.  Sister Petronilla, a modern day saint, often called me the her Little Flower when I was in high school.  I recalled how my sister, Carole, became a modern-day saint despite living with the darkness of a physical handicap.  She gave me hope by the way she peacefully let go of her life.  Her death became her final gift to me and my extended family.

My new friends, Micki and Jennie spent time talking about modern day saints that inspired our lives - grandmothers, sisters, friends who teach catechism and help with sacramental preparation.  Marcia and Regina reminded us that saints have common traits of being prayerful and open, of walking through darkness and light, and sharing an incredible love of Jesus.  Perhaps our table sharing time encouraged us to recognize these qualities in each other and strive to be saints in our own way.

Cindy and Julie surrounded us with the qualities of modern day saints.  We knew it to be true when they scrambled to find us after Marcia left her purse behind.  They figured out a way to call Regina from Marcia's cell phone and then drove half way up the Alpowa Grade to return Marcia's purse.  We drove the rest of the way home grateful for an evening blessed with love and hope.