All Adorable Saints Day

Today at Mass, Fr. let the kids dress up as saints.  They were SO adorable!!

One mom had three boys.  Her youngest was St. Patrick.  She made the costume from adult sized green t-shirt and used glitter glue to make a cross on the front and back so it looked like a vestment.  She made him a bishop's mitre out of cardboard with a gold cross on it.

The best part (if you are a 2.5 year old boy) was the green snake he got to carry.

Her other son had a Franciscan robe on.  When I first saw it, I assumed he was St. Francis.  DH asked me, "Why does he have a cell phone?!"

Then we noticed the keys...I'm thinking "St. Peter, maybe?"

Then DH realized...it wasn't a cell phone.  It was a TV remote, keys, a wallet and eye glasses attached to the robe.

He was St. Anthony, finding lost items!!!!

Ingenious!  

Happy All Saints Day

Happy All Saint's Day from Dymphna's Well.

All Saint's Day

Today is All Saint's Day. This video has quotes from various saints set to music from Handel's Messiah.

All Saints' Day

Today is All Saints' Day. Saints are truly our brothers and sisters in Christ. They have gone before us and have "fought the good fight" and "finished the race" (2 Timothy 4:7). Remember, Saints are fallible human beings just like ourselves who depended totally on God and ran to Him for everything.

We are all called to be saints, although most of us will never be recognized officially as such by the Church. But, being a saint is not something for "them" and not for "us." Being a saint is a requirement for us to enter into God's glory in Heaven.

Also, being a saint is not something that ceased with the Middle Ages. There are saints walking the earth right this minute. There are people who have died fairly recently, who are on their way to being recognized as saints by the Church, for example the late Pope John Paul II, and Mother Teresa of Calcutta. They were people who lived through modernity just as we do, and yet, reached out to God and lived heroic and holy lives no matter the cost.

It is impossible for me to mention each saint on this day set aside to remember them. There is a saint for every person, a saint for every difficulty and for every joy. Look to them for inspiration and guidance and ask them to pray for you in your journey to Heaven.

All Hallow's Eve

In honor of this whole season in which we remember our beloved dead, (the actual meaning of Halloween--All Hallow's Eve) I am posting this video. During this time of waning outdoor light, our minds turn to the inevitable time when we will no longer be alive here on earth.

All Saints Day--November 1

"[An] angel came and stood at the altar [in heaven] with a golden censer; and he was given much incense to mingle with the prayers of all the saints upon the golden altar before the throne; and the smoke of the incense rose with the prayers of the saints from the hand of the angel before God" (Rev. 8:3-4).

"The twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each holding a harp, and with golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints"
(Rev. 5:8).

All Saints Day

Don't forget, All Saints Day (Tuesday) is a Holy Day of Obligation in the Latin Church. Parishes often have a vigil Mass the night before, as well as Masses the day of the holy day.

We have the entire Communion of Saints in Heaven with God who are praying for us continually. Something that is often overlooked today, is that a saint is merely a person who has made it to Heaven. Therefore, we all hope to be a saint one day. Is sainthood your goal? Who is your favorite saint?

Saint Therese of Lisieux

Today is the feast of one of my all-time favorite saints, Saint Therese of Lieseux. Born Marie-Francoise-Therese Martin, she grew up in Alencon, France. Her mother described Therese's early temperment this way:

"She (Therese) flies into frightful tantrums; when things don't go just right and according to her way of thinking, she rolls on the floor in desperation like one without any hope. There are times when it gets too much for her and she literally chokes. She's a nervous child, but she is very good, very intelligent and remembers everything."

Therese's mother died of breast cancer when Therese was only 4 and the family moved to Lisieux. Her eldest sister, Pauline, took over the role of mother for Therese. After Pauline's entrance into the convent, Therese fell seriously ill. Doctors diagnosed it as everything from a kidney infection to a nervous breakdown.

At one point, Therese looked over at a statue of the Virgin Mary and prayed for a cure. The statue seemed to smile at her, and Therese was cured.

Her quest to enter a convent at the age of 15 took her all the way to Rome to the Pope. She entered the convent on April 9, 1888. She developed her famous "Little Way" to Christ. She felt she could not do the great things she wanted to do, so she offered up every tiny, daily work and frustration for the love of Jesus.

She said that when she died she would "Spend my Heaven doing good on earth" and that she would let fall a "shower of roses" after her death. Those who pray for her intercession often report an unexpected rose crossing their daily path as a sign of an answer to their prayer.