When I was in elementary school I would very often go to my grandmother's house after school until my parents came home from work. One day after getting off the bus I went into her house to find things a little upside down. My grandmother was upset and traveling from one pile of things to another saying, "Look Tony this is important I have to know what happened to this!" I'm thinking oh my she has company and there is a big mess here. But as I looked around, I saw no one. But my grandmother keeps talking to this Tony guy. Finally, I ask my grandmother, "Grandma who are you talking to?" She tells me," I'm talking to Tony because I lost the Savings Bond I was giving for your cousin's Baptism." By the look I gave her she must have figured out that I was lost and had no idea what she was talking about. She stopped for a moment and explained, "Saint Anthony, is the saint of lost things. He and I are friends we talk every day during my prayer time. Because we are such good friends, I call him Tony." And at my age I was impressed. I had heard about the saints, and would pray to them at church, home and religion class. But here was my grandmother who felt so close to one through her daily prayers she felt comfortable calling him by his nick name. That was really my introduction to a true devotion to a saint. (Yes, she did find the Savings Bond not long after our talk.) It has been quite a while since my grandmother passed away. But I think of this moment in my childhood often when All Saints Day comes around. I'd like to think she got to personally meet "Tony" and thank him for the many times he helped her.
This Wednesday, November 1st, is All Saints Day. In our Catholic Faith it is a Holy Day of Obligation. (Mass times are Tuesday evening 4pm, Wednesday 9am and 6pm.) It is intended to be a time to remember all those people (known and not so known) who have come before us and were able to be the hands and feet of Christ here on earth. It is their strong faith and love of Christ that allowed them in their own way to change our world for the better by always pointing us back to God. They were ordinary people who were able to ascend to extradentary things in their life through God's help. Each of them carries a unique personal story. As a family you might want to start a little internet search to learn more about the saints. You could start with St. Rose of Lima who our church is named after. Also, I bet when you attend mass you have a favorite place to sit. The next time you are sitting there take a look at the window by your seat. Each of our windows has an image of a saint. Maybe as a family you could do a quick Google search of that saint. Nothing big just five minutes or so getting some basic information on them. If you already have a special devotion to a saint, you may want to look on FORMED for a movie or show created about them. This week I have attached a cartoon on All Saints Day and an interesting short video by Father Mike entitled All Saints Day Pep Talk. I hope you are able to take a moment this week to think on the saints in some way. I also hope that those who were able to attend Trunk or Treat on Friday had a great time. I loved being able to talk with many of you and enjoy all the wonderful costume ideas and creative car themes you all came up with. May you and your family have a good week and find some of God's blessings along the way.
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