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Painting:
The Virgin and Child Enthroned Between Angels,
the Annunciation, and Female Saints
In our SMF school days, the day after Halloween brought us to
school with a sugar-rush hangover. Not too pretty. It must have been such a
chore for the nuns to get us to focus our attention on the day at hand.
November 1st, All Saints Day, meant a half-day-ish of school
because it was a holy day of obligation. Mass was an obligation. From our
perspective, it was time-off from classwork. We started the day with prayers
and our religion studies, and then proceeded to Mass in the church right next
door.
The nuns encouraged us for Halloween to choose a saint for our
costumes. Read, study, make a costume and represent a saint in school; all in
all, not a bad lesson. All Saints Day honors those who have gone before us. It
honors those who have successfully become aware of the ‘gifts if the Spirit’
that allow us into heaven. Patron saints
were recommended…mine being St. Catherine of Siena. I honestly don’t remember anyone
else’s choices, but there are many strong women who have gone before us. Perhaps
you remember yours. Names such as Mother Mary and Joan of Arc are the first to
jump to mind. Sts. Therese and Bernadette immediately follow along with Bridget
and Anne.
As mentors may come and go in our lives, perhaps finding comfort
in a namesake or another strong ancestor of choice will help guide us on our
path.
Cathy
Female Saints: http://www.catholic.org/saints/female.php
St. Catherine: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=9
St. Catherine: http://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=9
1 comment:
St Bernadette - my Patron saint - She changed her name when she became a nun to Sr. Marie Bernard....
and check out
http://www.ewtn.com/saintsHoly/
for more information on the saints...interesting reading actually - some of them were robust vibrant people and not so holy at first...
another one that you might want to check out St Augustyn
he was quite the rogue.... His mother was Saint Monica...
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