Understanding our place

A Rosary Meditation: The Second Sorrowful Mystery, The Scourging at the Pillar.

“This is why I was born, and why I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.” John 18:37.

There was never any doubt in the mind of Christ as to his place in the scheme of things. He knew why he was born, why he was here. He understood completely his vocation.

Vocation. Our place. It can be a little tricky for us, can’t it? Things that are hard for us to spot, for whatever reason, can cloud issues. We are, after all, only human. And that’s the truth. Sometimes trying to figure out our God-given place in life can be a painful experience. Look at what so many of the saints went through trying to find God’s will for themselves. Its like a kind of scourging. But that’s why God has given us people in authority, people with training, friends and family, spiritual advisers, our confessors, people with insight. They often see in us the obvious, things that, again, we may over look.

I remember years ago working with a guy who had, well, lets just say issues. I liked him, we worked well together, and we talked. He was divorced and had been for a long while. The marriage had ended badly. He had a daughter that he hadn’t seen in years and years. When she was old enough she found him. And after all that time they began forming a relationship. He was happy about it and I gathered she was too. Then she decided she was going to get married. She was 16 and I think her boyfriend was in his twenties. My friend tried to talk her out of it, to convince her it was a bad idea (lots of details, it WAS a bad idea). Her reply was always, “Mamma was my age when you married her!”  And she had him. Now his time of pain, his own scourging, began. He had no reasoning to come back with. What she said was absolutely true. How could he combat an obvious truth? He was telling me all this. Exasperated, desperate, he stopped talking, looking dejectedly at his feet. I just looked at him. To me it was obvious. So I said, “You know what the answer is to that don’t you?” “Well, no.” I looked at him and said, “The next time she tells you her mom was her age when you married her you tell her, ‘Yeah, and you see how THAT turned out.’ ” In his eyes I could see the light come on. “Yeah, yeah! You’re right. That’s what I’ll tell her!”

He was actually trying to help his daughter with her vocation at that stage of her life. And probably help her avoid a scourging all her own that was completely unnecessary. They were both missing the obvious. A disinterested party had a clearer view, emotions and history not getting in the way.

We all have a place in the scheme of things. Jesus knew his.

“But all these things one and the same Spirit worketh, dividing to every one according as he will.” 1 Corinthians 12:11, Douay-Rheims.

Just a thought … Some one says, “Just because Jesus knew his doesn’t mean I know mine.” True. That’s why Christ provides guidance. He has people here to take care of issues like not knowing our place. He will speak to us through them. (Anyone not believing this, please explain away the First Vatican Council and Papal Infallibility for me.) So you don’t know, so what? That doesn’t mean you can’t know. And the fact is that you CAN know because HE already does.

Who scourges Christ? … Friday, August 2

Cross Out Back- El Santuario de Chimayo. Please Google “El Santuario de Chimayo”. Its not directly related to this days meditation, its just a big blessing all its own.

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Sorrowful Mystery, the Scourging. “Pilate, then took Jesus and had Him scourged.” John 19:1. What are we? I mean Christians. What are we collectively? We are the Church, the Body of Christ, aren’t we? What happens when we judge and condemn one another? Or backbite? Or fight amongst ourselves? Have you ever felt the sting of any of these? If you’ve been around any length of time I’m betting your answer is yes. And the word “sting” is altogether appropriate here. Like the sting of the whip they used on Christ Himself. There is more than one way to scourge the Body of Christ. And the inflictor of pain needn’t be a pagan Roman soldier. We can do it to ourselves, to one another, with words and actions. The story following, that of Saint Eusebius of Vercelli, in his experiences with Arian “Christians” gives us one sort of example of this very thing. But what ought to concern us, you and me, more than this example is our own.

Today …

St. Eusebius of Vercelli

St. Eusebius of Vercelli.

Christians breathed a sigh of relief when Constantine proclaimed Christianity the state religion, believing this would end the bloodshed and martyrdom. But it was all too short a time until they were facing persecution once more — from others who claimed to be Christian. When Christianity became the state religion, many people adopted it for political reasons. Others adopted it without truly understanding it. Under these circumstances heresy found fertile ground. One of the most powerful heresies was Arianism which claimed that Jesus was not God (a heresy that has never completely died out). Some, and I’m one, believe that this period with the Arians is what Paul was talking about when he mentioned a “falling away” before the return of Christ and that Arius was the antichrist.  Whatever the truth of that the Arians were powerful people, including nobles, generals, emperors. They commanded armies and senates. True Christianity was in real danger of being stamped out once again. Eusebius had learned how to stand as a Christian from his father, who died a martyr in Sardinia. After his father’s death, he grew up in Rome where he was ordained a lector. This was a time when bishops were elected by the people and local clergy. When the people of Vercelli saw how well he served their Church, they had no doubt about choosing him as bishop. Pope Liberius also noticed his abilities and sent him on a mission to Emperor Constantius to try to resolve the troubles between the Arians and Catholics. Seeming to agree, Constantius convened a council in Milan in 355. The powerful Arians however weren’t there to talk but to force their own will on the others. A horrified Eusebius watched as his worst fears were confirmed and the Arians made this peace council into a condemnation of Saint Athanasius, their chief opponent. Eusebius, unafraid of their power, slapped the Nicene Creed
down on the table and demanded that everyone sign that before condemning Athanasius. (Hooray for our saint! Now HERE is a good example to follow in this day and age.) The Nicene Creed, adopted by a council of the full Church, proclaims that Jesus is one in being with the Father — directly contradicting the Arian teaching. The emperor then tried to force Eusebius, Saint Dionysius of Milan, and Lucifer of Cagliari to condemn Athanasius under pain of death. They steadfastly refused to condemn a man who far from being a heretic was supporting the truth. Instead of putting them to death, the emperor exiled them. In exile in Scythopolis in Palestine, Eusebius lived with the only Catholic
in town. Any comfort he had from visits of other saints was destroyed when the local Arians stripped him half-naked and dragged him through the streets to a tiny cell. The Arians finally let him go after he spent four days without food. But a few weeks later they were back, breaking into his house, stealing his belongings and food, and imprisoning him again. Eusebius was exiled to two other places before Constantius’ successor Julian let him and the other exiled bishops return home in 361. The problem was not over and Eusebius spent his last years working hard to counteract the damage the Arians had done and continued to do. After working with Athanasius and taking part in councils, he became a latter-day Saint Paul traveling all over in order to strengthen the faith and spread the truth. Eusebius died on August 1, 371.

A Question … I try to post these meditations early each morning so that they’ll be up and ready for the people who read them daily (or as often as they care to). Sometimes its a little hard for me to do that. Frankly, sometimes I just need to sleep extra and that seems to be happening more and more. That’s OK, I figure I must need it. My thought, and question, being: How would it be if I started posting today’s meditation the evening before? It would be there through the night, in my hemisphere, and ready in the morning. So, tell me what you think. Because even though I write the thing I consider it more your blog than mine. 🙂

Even when it hurts … Friday, May 24

Peter Paul Rubens “Flagellation of Christ”, Antwerp, Church of St. Paul.

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Sorrowful Mystery, the Scourging at the Pillar. “Though He was harshly treated, He submitted, like a lamb led to the slaughter.” Isaiah 53:7. There have been times that I felt myself misused. I’m certain we all have. Everyone suffers slights and insults, both the ones that are intentional and the ones that are, perhaps, simply a matter of our take on things. Some are real, some are imagined. There was nothing imaginary about what happened to Jesus. While its true that the ones responsible for His torture didn’t know what they were doing because they didn’t recognize Him for Who He was, given that the Roman’s knew nothing of a Messiah as the concept was foreign to their pagan religion and the Jews that did realize He was the Messiah didn’t understand that He was God in the flesh, the ones ultimately responsible, Satan and his hoard, knew full well what they were doing and took glee in it. The next time we suffer some sort of emotional scourging, or even a physical one, when we feel misused in some way, we might like to keep in mind that the guilty party probably isn’t fully aware of what they’re doing, we might also like to keep in mind the evil ones (Satan and the fallen angels) that are the basic source. And we should remember Jesus most of all, Who was led like a lamb to slaughter. Remembering the Lamb we need to follow Him even when it hurts.

Today … St. David I of Scotland was the youngest son of Scotland’s virtuous queen, (Saint) Margaret, and succeeded his brother to the Scottish throne in 1124. David’s friend, (Saint) Aelred, abbot  of the English monastery of Rievaulx, was later to recount David’s religious devotion and his generosity to the poor. From his riches he also endowed the founding of several dioceses and many monasteries. David was to express profound remorse for an ill-conceived and ill-fated invasion of England he had ordered on behalf of his niece. He also suffered the sorrow of the premature death of his only son. On Friday, May 22, 1153, as David was nearing death, he received the anointing of the sick and Viaticum, after which he devoted himself to reciting the Psalms with those at his bedside. The next day, the king told those urging him to take a rest from his devotions, “Let me rather think about the things of God, so that my spirit may set out strengthened on its journey from exile to home. When I stand before God’s tremendous judgment seat, you will not be able to answer for me or defend me.” He thus continued with his prayers. David died at dawn on Sunday, May 24, proving that those in political office can be saints. We should pray for the same today, praying for those in office today.

Pope Paul VI said … “It’s an absurd dichotomy to think one can live with Jesus, but without the Church, to follow Jesus outside the Church, to love Jesus and not the Church.”

Enjoy “Good Company”, even when it hurts … Tuesday, May 7

Here’s a pillar. Get used to it.

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Sorrowful Mystery, the Scourging at the Pillar. “Oppressed and condemned, He was taken away, a man of suffering.” Isaiah 53:8,3. Yesterday I asked the question, “Do you ever feel low?” The answer to that is of course, “Yes”. And the answer to the “Yes” is that its a blessing. Yesterday’s lowliness was a matter of obedience, service, and humility. Today we see a different sort of “low”. It’s what happens to us when we’re condemned by the world for no real reason, condemned because we’re “in the way”, “inconvenient” (Go visit a nursing home. Its filled with these.), or a reminder of whats right when the world doesn’t want to be reminded. Jesus was, in the world’s view, all of these and more. And He suffered as a result. We will too if we follow Him, if we remind the world of Him. There’s no way out of this short of death or the Second Coming. We’re promised suffering. We all get scourged one way or another. In that, we all take part in the Passion don’t we? So, when we suffer, when we’re scourged in whatever way it comes to us personally, how do we react? Do we bemoan our fate or give thanks because we are in such good company?

Today … St. Quadratus was a martyr. He was imprisoned for several years in Nicomedia, Nicaea, and Apamea before being put to death during the persecutions of the Church under Emperor Valerian. Now here is a Catholic that was scourged in a multitude of places, and no doubt in many ways. But he endured. And in the end he won. Why? Because God strengthened him. When we suffer, if we’ll remember where the strength comes from we’ll win too.

Remember … “Watch ye, stand fast in the faith, do manfully, and be strengthened.” 1 Corinthians 16:13.

The fights not over til the last round! … Friday, April 19

You might get knocked through the ropes, sure, but that doesn’t mean you’re not getting back in the ring!

Rosary Meditation … The Second Sorrowful Mystery, the Scourging at the Pillar. “Jesus answered, ‘My kingdom is not of this world. But thou sayest it; I am a king.” John 18:36-37. He never said that His kingdom wasn’t IN the world, or that it wasn’t a force to be reckoned with. Not being “off” the world, which is to say it’s not part of the worldly system, His kingdom here on earth, the Church, stands out against a backdrop of purely worldly empires. And it stands up as well, standing for the right and against the wrong. And He is King of all this. And More. A king about to be whipped by the worldly powers. Whipped, down but not out. A good lesson to be learned from the scourging, I think, is that just because we’re beaten doesn’t mean we’re beat. The world can throw punches and they can land. Some land pretty hard. So? I mean, so what? Knowing that we may be down but never out doesn’t make the beating not hurt. But it does give us a confidence in living that the world will never have, never know. When worldly fists hit and hit hard lets remember Jesus as He was being scourged. Remember that regardless the score kept at ring side by the judges, it ain’t over til the bell rings in the last round.

Today …

St. Expeditus

One of my favorites. The one I call the Patron Saint of Get’er done. No procrastination here. When Expeditus made his decision to be a Christian it wasn’t “I’ll do it later, when its more convenient.” He knew that it was now or never. Being a Roman centurion he knew that the punches would fly too. That didn’t stop him. Lets never let worldly blows, not illness, not oppressive governments, not the people next door that look at the statue of the Blessed Virgin in our yard and crinkle their noses, make us fearful. Lets just keep in mind that the last round bell hasn’t been sounded yet.

Consider … “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet (Here’s that ‘last bell’ I’ve been talking about!): for the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall rise again incorruptible: and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52.

Watering the grass … Tuesday, April 2

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Sorrowful Mystery, the Scourging at the Pillar. “For all flesh is as grass; and all the glory thereof as the flower of grass. The grass is withered, and the flower thereof is fallen away.” 1 Peter 1:24. Flesh, our physical body, IS like grass, isn’t it? It’s glory passes, it withers and wrinkles, and the flower, the beauty, passes. It wasn’t meant to be like this originally. This withering, this lack of lasting bloom, is the result of sin. The body of Jesus went through all of this, but not as the result of His sin. His withering was because of our sin. When a thing withers it shrinks in on itself, it retreats from the world around it. Would a body wither, retreat, if it was being beaten? If you remove the water from a plant, take its moisture away, it withers. If you remove the blood from a body it does the same. None of us can imagine the pain, the loss both physical and emotional, attached to the scourging of Christ. But we need to try. Put yourself in His place. He put Himself in yours.

Peter Paul Rubens, Flagellation of Christ, Antwerp, Church of St. Paul. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today … St. Mary of Egypt. A hermitess, living in the desert for 47 years, doing penance and suffering great temptations of the flesh. You’d think that being out there in the desert, all alone, no one to bother you with worldly distractions, that temptations would be few and sainthood nearly guaranteed. If that were true, if it was as easy as that, and the word got out there probably wouldn’t be enough desert to go around. But St. Mary of Egypt knew better from personal experience. We carry the source of our temptations, many of them anyway, with us. To the desert, to the forest glen, to the seaside, it doesn’t matter. When you get to where you’re going, when you escape from the world, you’re always there to meet you. And the body can cause the soul to wither just as surely as the whip can make the body wither. Sin is a cruel taskmaster, and temptation the crack of the whip. But just as moisture keeps the grass from withering, so does moisture keep the soul alive. And living for 47 years in the desert as she did I’m sure our saint knew this. “Jesus stood and cried, saying: If any man thirst, let him come to me, and drink.” John 7:37b.

Quote … “Faith is to believe what we do not see; and the reward of this faith is to see what we believe.” ~ St. Augustine ~

Grasses (Photo credit: Matt Ohia)

No scourging? Think twice … Tuesday, March 5

Satan, the”god” and father of this world. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Sorrowful Mystery, the Scourging. “But beware of men. For they will deliver you up in councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues.” Matthew 10:17. If we are supposed to be Christlike, and we are, why would it surprise us when Christlike things happen to us? Christlike things entail more than reigning, resurrecting, ruling, and restoring. Christlike things include ridicule, rashness, restlessness, and ROFL. ROFL  AT us as Catholics, not WITH us. Ridicule when our opinions go against the worldly grain. Rashness when we are judged wrongly with misinformation as the “proof”. Restlessness because we don’t really have a place to rest in this world, at least not as things stand currently. And ROFL? Well, with all of our antiquated ideas and customs, we’re so backwards by worldly standards that the world has no choice but to laugh. Anything less than laughter, and a scourge, might lend credence to our beliefs. Two of the easiest ways to discredit a thing, and there are plenty more than two, are #1; Laugh at it as tho it is foolish. #2; Ignore it as a thing so unworthy as to not even warrant thinking about or reacting to. Scourging is a punishment. There is the scourge made like a physical whip. There is the scourge of the tongue. Both can kill, either can maim. Jesus was scourged and told us we would be too. Live for Christ? Then expect Christlike things to happen. But the alternative? The alternative is don’t live for Christ and see what happens. In the long run the scourge is a blessing. It tones us, prepares us, and makes us Christlike. After all, they treated Him the same way. But going it on our own, going the way of the world and in that way sidestepping the scourge? Jesus never did that, His followers never do that. It’s not Christlike. It is not the way of our Father in Heaven. It is however very much like the father, or god, of this world. See 2 Corinthians 4:4 and John 8:44. Pray to be scourged like Christ. Keep reading, you’ll see why in a moment.

Today …  St. Feria? No, not hardly. “Feria” is a Latin word meaning “free day”. In the old calendar of saints it was a day on which no saint was celebrated. And, again with the old calendar, today was one of those days. The Code of Rubrics of Pope John XXIII (1960) divided ferias into four classes: Class I: Ash Wednesday and the whole of Holy Week. Class II: Advent from 17 December to 23 December and Ember Days. Class III: Lent and Passiontide from the day after Ash Wednesday to the day before the Second Sunday in Passiontide, excluding Ember Days. Class IV: all other ferias. So we still have them, but I don’t think we have as many and today is no longer one of them. Humor me here. For the sake of our spiritual well-being, in an attempt to be more Christlike, and as a Lenten exercise, lets celebrate the scourge today instead of a saint. Why?

Hebrews 12:6-8 … “For whom the Lord loveth, he chastiseth; and he scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Persevere under discipline. God dealeth with you as with his sons; for what son is there, whom the father doth not correct? But if you be without chastisement, whereof all are made partakers, then are you bastards, and not sons.”

Say when … Friday, February 15

Padre Pio celebrating mass. His Mass would often last hours, as the mystic received visions and experienced sufferings. Note the coverings worn on his hands to cover his stigmata. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Sorrowful Mystery, the Scourging. “Pilate, then took Jesus and had him scourged.” John 19:1. Have you ever been beaten up, punished for no reason? Or worse, blamed for what somebody else did and given THEIR due? What did you do? I know what I do in situations like that. I speak up, I let the other person know that I’m not the guilty party and I don’t deserve this sort of treatment. And I have no qualms about pointing out the culprit. All of which is nothing like Jesus, is it? I’m sure we’re all human, and I’m just as sure that we all have lots to learn. I remember that St. John Bosco was wrongly accused of printing subversive material. He knew he was innocent and could’ve proven it if he’d spoken up. But rather than talk back to a superior he humbly apologized and asked forgiveness. At one point certain people, folks who were jealous of Padre Pio, accused him of fakery. They claimed he was faking the stigmata. His superiors basically told him to go to his room and stay there till further notice. His reply? “Sweet is the hand of our mother (meaning the Church) even when she chastises us.” Of course he was vindicated in time, but it was because of others and not because he took up his own defence. There is, of course, a time and place for everything. “Christ-like” has never been and never will be spelled d-o-o-r-m-a-t. But knowing the time and place is, I think, part of being a saint. Being a saint is being Christ-like. There is a time to chase people out of the temple while you’re kicking over tables. But there is a time for being scourged too. There is a time in each of our lives when keeping our mouths shut and just taking it is the next right thing to do. The trick seems to be in knowing when. And this gives us something to offer up this decade for. The wisdom to know “when”.

Today … St. Craton. A martyr in Rome, he was a well-known philosopher, converted by St. Valentine, the bishop of Termi, Italy. Caught up in the persecutions, Craton was martyred with his wife and family. Now, being a philosopher, and a well-known one at that, don’t you think Craton could have raised a logical defense for his faith? With words, something well thought of and sought after (see Acts 17:21) in the pagan world, he might well have saved his life and the lives of his wife and family. Obviously Craton knew “when”.

“When” … Knowing when to speak up and when to remain silent is one of the keys to Christ-like wisdom and living I’m sure. Remembering where I left my keys, well, that’s the hard part.

Dealing with your own pillar … Friday, January 11

Geisselung Veitskirche Heiligenstadt (Photo credit: Wikipedia) Put yourself in this picture. Because if you live for Christ, sooner or later the world will put you there anyway.

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Sorrowful Mystery, the Scourging at the Pillar. “This is why I was born, and why I have come into the world, to bear witness to the truth.” John 18:37. Disclaimer: We all like warm and fuzzy. Be aware that some things are cold and prickly at best. Considering this as a given …  The truth is its own reward, but often as not the world doesn’t appreciate the truth because it pricks the conscience. The reward for this pricking, the world’s reward, is, many a time, being beaten either physically or emotionally. The physical beatings are obvious. Turn your back on the world by not going along, not trying to “fit in” (aka “give in”) and it may be that the back turned to the world and it’s ways is now faced with the whip. But emotional beatings aren’t always so obvious. “She thinks she is sooooo good, to good for us.” “Oh, he’s a ‘Christian’, he’s so special.” These are mild versions. “Why don’t you get real?! You’ve got to live in the real world! Stop living a fantasy!” Things denigrate from this point onward. Jesus knew what He was in for from day one. He pulled no punches when He spoke of the cost of discipleship. So whats to be done about it? Fight back? You can’t because He didn’t. If we fight back we’re no better than the one wielding the whip. Give in? That’s never an option. Keep our mouths shut? Sometimes, but at other times to keep silent is just as bad as giving in. So, what? Do what? What did He do? He took it. I’m not saying to be a doormat. He was never a doormat. Ask the people who sold animals and exchanged money in the temple. He stood up and stood firm when needed. But a woman in an abusive relationship needs to LEAVE. A man who’s being passed over for a promotion at work because he’s a Catholic needs a GOOD attorney. The child being harassed at school because they wear a crucifix needs parents who’ll uphold religious liberty by legal means with NO quarter given. Doormatism isn’t discipleship. Its giving place to the enemy. But leaving, attorneys, and confronting a teacher in the principle’s office well armed with legal facts and an obvious willingness to take further action aren’t always viable possibilities. So, when its the next right thing, and that can be a tricky call which is why we have spiritual advisers and confessors to go to for input, we take the beating just like He did. This is never the worlds way, the world always fights back, but it is, when needed, His way. That makes it ours too, if we’re His. It can be a difficult judgement call as to when we stand up as opposed to when we accept the whip. But being willing to be whipped defeats the enemy just as surely as a woman’s shelter, a good lawyer, or pro-active parents ever did. No screaming or begging from us takes all the worldly pleasure out of the beating that the world deals out. It’s not pleasant, but then neither was being tied to the pillar.

Today … St. Boadin, was a Benedictine monk from Ireland who joined that order in France. He was revered for his impeccable observance of the Holy Rule and for his kindness. Think about it. This is pretty simple. He kept the Rule of St. Benedict and he was kind, he was good to others. There is no such thing as a free lunch. All things have a cost attached. How often did family, friends, or even complete strangers chide Boadin for not living in the REAL world? How many times was his kindness repaid with cruel ingratitude? Ask him when you see him. For now just be faithful in following the Catholic rule of faith towards God and love towards others. When the whip comes, in whatever way it comes, and it will come, do the next right thing. And that next right thing is always to follow Jesus. Even when He walks to the pillar.

Remember … When Jesus walked towards Golgotha the faithful women were weeping for Him. He let them know that they should weep for others, because if they, “they” being the world, were doing this with a green tree what would they do with a dry one? Luke 23:31.

Friday, November 2

A Rosary Meditation … The Second Sorrowful Mystery, the Scourging. ” … he sought to placate the Jews in different ways. One of these was a private interview with some of the servants and friends of the high priests and priests.” (“The Mystical City of God” by Mary of Agreda) Pilate tries to set Jesus free. He knows that Christ is guilty of nothing but good. Still, in an attempt to placate His accusers, he willingly has Him beaten even while trying to gain His release. He thinks the beating will satisfy the mob and help set Jesus free. How often do we engage in warped logic, trying to do what WE think needs to be done, and all the while we’re simply making things worse? Pilate tried. But he tried by doing the wrong things and also by going to the wrong people. He turned to those he thought might be able to help in a worldly way. They couldn’t. What might have happened if he had gone to Jesus and said something like, “I don’t want You crucified. How do I get out of this?” Now, Jesus would’ve been crucified anyway because that’s why He came. He had to make His sacrifice and He would. But if Pilate had gone to Him instead of the others what might have changed for Pilate? Well, we might be referring to him as St. Pilate. There are all sorts of examples. Good and bad. The good show us what to do while the bad show us what to avoid. Pilate shows us here what to avoid. Rather than turn to people for help we ought always turn to God first. Now God will probably help us via people but by turning to Him first we have correct priorities. And may be someday, instead of referring to you people will refer to St. You. 🙂

Today … Today I offer you a challenge. Instead of thinking about a saint to copy, a saint that provides a good example, think of the example you’d want to set if you were a saint. Given your history, given your life, you would be the patron saint of what?

With that in mind … God has a sense of humor. We, having been created in His image, also have a sense of humor. So while you ponder what you would be the patron saint of keep in mind that being patron saint of cheap buffets is already taken. I’ve staked my claim. 😉