On this feast of St. Scholastica, Father M. read the Gospel story of Martha and Mary, then began his homily with the familiar story about St. Scholastica’s prayer to prolong her brother’s visit–which was answered with a storm so severe that St. Benedict was unable to depart. Father mentioned that Benedict was concerned about following the rules–under the Rule he himself had written–and wanted to end the visit in time to return to the monastery by nightfall. Scholastica, on the other hand, wanted to savor the time of prayer and conversation with her brother, and wanted him to stay. When he refused, she took the matter straight to the top. Benedict realized that the storm was no coincidence, and when he called her on it, she replied, “I asked a favor of you, and you refused. I asked a favor of God, and he granted it.”
BOOM.
Father went on to preach about the Gospel. It’s one of my favorite passages–even more so after what was said today. First, he said that it’s not a bad thing, in and of itself, to be concerned about serving a meal. That’s a great comfort to me, as I’m all about serving meals. But here’s the best part: Jesus wasn’t chiding Martha because she was working on serving a meal to her guests. He was chiding her because she didn’t take into account Whom she was serving.
Guilty as charged. Every single time.
I guess that’s why I have a soft spot for Martha.
St. Benedict, in his efforts to stay true to his Rule, forgot whom he was serving during his visit with his sister. It took her prayer and God’s answer in the form of a thunderstorm to show him that his sister, like Mary of Bethany, had “chosen the better part.”
Hot off the presses from Franciscan Media’s Servant Books, here’s Catholic blogger Jean Heimann’s Seven Saints for Seven Virtues! And you can WIN a copy right here!
I’ve followed Jean’s blog, Catholic Fire, for years; the same careful scholarship and fervent faith she shows in the blog is revealed in this book.
What it’s all about: This book examines seven saints of the Church in association with a virtue for which each one is known.
Charity: Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta
Chastity: Saint Agnes
Diligence: Saint Pope John Paul II
Humility: Saint Joseph
Kindness: Saint Catherine of Siena
Patience: Saint Monica
Temperence: Saint Augustine
What’s inside: A thoughtful foreword by Lisa Hendey of CatholicMom.com, Jean’s own introduction to the book, and a short bio of each saint, supplemented by a discussion of that saint’s particular virtue, quotes by or about the saint, information from the Catechism of the Catholic Church, Jean’s reflection on the model of each virtue in her own life, suggestions for practicing each virtue, and a prayer at the end of every chapter. There’s also a generous Recommended Reading list in case you want to learn more.
Author Jean Heimann
Why I love it: Saints are often depicted as if they’re so holy, they’re almost not human. That’s not the case with this book. Jean brings out each saint’s special virtue and starts the reader on the path toward living that particular virtue.
How to read it: I’ll admit that after reading the foreword and the introduction, I skipped straight to Saint Monica’s chapter, because patience is one of those virtues that I really have trouble displaying. This book gave me a new perspective on what patience actually involves (hint: it’s more than just being peaceful about waiting in line). You don’t have to read this book in a straight line from start to finish. Choose the saint whose virtues you need the most right now. Start there, and you won’t want to stop reading about the other saints whose virtues Jean highlights!
Try this: Take this book to Eucharistic Adoration. In the space of one Holy Hour, you can read, pray and reflect on a saint and a virtue. Bring along your journal and resolve to work toward developing that virtue in your own life.
How to win a book: Just leave a comment with a valid email address answering this question: who’s your go-to saint?
The winner will be chosen at random from all entries at the conclusion of Jean’s book tour on Thursday, October 23. Winner will be notified by email and will have 48 hours to respond and claim the prize or an alternate winner will be chosen.
Follow along with the tour. Here are the other stops on the Seven Saints for Seven Virtues Book Tour. Many of these are offering giveaways of the book as well!
Seven Saints for Seven Virtues is available on Amazon as a paperback or ebook (my advice: get the paperback! You’ll want to write in the margins and highlight the parts that speak most to you.) Your purchase of this book through my Amazon affiliate link helps defray the cost of this website!
I’ve had a soft spot for St. Jerome ever since I heard on a radio show that he was a pretty crabby guy.
We cranky people have to stick together.
I know that Franciscans are known for being joyful, but I have this tendency to be pessimistic, critical and snarky–and even harder on myself than I am on others.
Evidently, I’m in good company.
St. Jerome is proof that by cooperating with Grace, even grumpy, snarky people can become saints.
Today the Church celebrates a priest I first learned about in grade school.
Public school.
(I’m pretty sure that would never happen today.)
But back in second grade in 1972, our Social Studies book had a whole section on the California missionaries, led by Father Junípero Serra.
I was fascinated.
Here were pictures, in my schoolbook, of men dressed like my uncle, who is a Franciscan friar. Here was the story of a priest who founded a string of Catholic churches throughout what later became the state of California at the same time the American Revolution was being fought in the eastern part of our nation.
In the Catholic middle school I attended, I learned about Father Serra again; this time the lesson was brought to us by speakers from the Serra Club, a group that promotes vocations to the priesthood and religious life.
As an adult, when I had the chance to visit California with Hubs in 1995, I made sure to see one of the mission churches there. I’d love to take a trip along El Camino Real and see them all. They’re beautiful tributes to evangelization.
I’ve always been intrigued by the saints–especially those from the USA. And having struggled through a fairly-tedious biography of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in the past, I welcomed the opportunity to read an advance copy of a new bio by Joan Barthel. Titled American Saint: The Life of Elizabeth Seton, this book reads more like historical fiction than a biography.
The material for this book was gathered from primary sources: letters by the saint herself. For me, that was the most fascinating thing about this book. I was left wanting to read more of her letters, which were heavily quoted in the book. Through her letters, we are given an account of her journey of faith, her struggle to survive after her husband’s death, and some of the minutiae of parenting, running a household, teaching a school and leading a new religious community.
I was not aware of the extent to which Catholics were persecuted in post-Revolutionary America, and the author of this book gives a thorough treatment of the anti-Catholic social climate of Seton’s time.
This book is, however, not without its own bias. I did not expect that a biography would be so overtly flavored by the author’s political agenda, but the introduction of the book mentions nothing of its subject until the last sentence of a 3-page defense of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious. I’d have preferred a more-objective treatment of Seton’s life, rather than the editorializing about women’s roles and aspirations that was intermingled with the story. I am not convinced that Seton spoke, thought or acted as she did as part of any feminist agenda, but simply because she was trying to be the best wife, mother, teacher, leader and Catholic she could be.
I received an advance copy of this book from the publisher, and no other compensation, for my honest opinion presented in this review.
Father mentioned that Benedict was concerned about following the rules–under the Rule he himself had written–and wanted to end the visit in time to return to the monastery by nightfall. Scholastica, on the other hand, wanted to savor the time of prayer and conversation with her brother, and wanted him to stay. When he refused, she took the matter straight to the top. Benedict realized that the storm was no coincidence, and when he called her on it, she replied, “I asked a favor of you, and you refused. I asked a favor of God, and he granted it.”
