Bad Luck, Good Luck, Redemption
This week I learned a new word, eucatastrophe. J. R. R. Tolkien, the author of The Lord of the Rings, coined it for a calamity in a story that turns out to be something good. It reminded me of a story that Sister Mary St. Jude used to tell:
One day, a farmer’s old horse that tilled his fields escaped into the hills. When neighbors sympathized with the old man over his bad luck, the farmer replied, “Bad luck? Good luck? Who knows?” A week later, the horse returned with a herd of horses, and this time the neighbors congratulated the farmer on his good luck. His reply was, “Good luck? Bad luck? Who knows?” Then when the farmer’s son was attempting to tame one of the wild horses, he fell off its back and broke his leg. Everyone thought this very bad luck. Not the farmer, whose only reaction was, “Bad luck? Who knows?” Some weeks later the army marched into the village and conscripted every able-bodied youth they found. When they saw the farmer’s son with his broken leg, they let him off. Now was that good luck or bad luck?
I can think of several events in my own life that were eucatastrophes. For one thing when I was head of the English Department at one of our high schools and all set to pursue higher studies in English at an Ohio university, I was sent to the University of Minnesota to get a Master’s degree in math–without having had undergraduate courses in math! (more…)
God the All-Generous and Prodigal
The news last week carried the story that scientists discovered an ocean 400 miles below the earth’s surface that has about three times the amount of water as the oceans we know. Here we are combing space for a planet that has water and so can bear life, and our little Earth has a superabundance of it. This led me to reflect on the ways that God has gone overboard in creating Earth for us. Take the universe, for example. Beyond the brilliant night sky we see in our Milky Way galaxy are billions of other galaxies billions of light years away that the Hubble Space Telescope has revealed. And who knows what lies beyond them? Then there are the males in any species, including our own, who produce billions of sperm when only one is needed to unite with an ovum and produce life. Consider flowers. Roses and lilies would have been sufficient to beautify our planet, yet God designed a variety of flowers to delight us. God’s attributes are all-merciful, all-good, all-knowing, all-just, and so on. In view of his output, we should definitely add all-generous. (more…)
Saints Teach Friendship
In a recent Sunday Parade magazine there was an article about two young men who were best friends. One died fighting in Afghanistan and the other in Iraq. Their families had the two friends buried side by side in Arlington Cemetery. Similarly, Blessed John Henry Cardinal Newman asked to be buried in the same grave as his best friend (something that was done in those days). The Sisters of Notre Dame began with two French friends, and our branch originated with two German friends.
Working together, saints support each other and accomplish great things. Friends encourage, give advice, warn, share, and simply journey through life with you. Writer Francois Mauriac noted, “No love, no friendship can cross the path of our destiny without leaving some mark on it forever.” Friendship is a blessing to be enjoyed and cherished. Like a lovely flower, it is to be cultivated.
One of my favorite saint friendships bloomed between a sister and brother, St. Benedict and his twin, St. Scholastica. A charming story goes that one day when he visited her in the convent, she begged him to stay. It was against his rule to be away from the monastery at night, so he refused. Scholastica put her head down and sobbed. At that a terrific storm arose. Benedict asked his sister, “What have you done?” and she replied, “I asked you and you wouldn’t listen, so I asked God and he did listen.”
Other famous saint “couples” are St. Teresa of Avila and St. John of the Cross (whom she called the “half-monk” because he was short), St. Francis of Assisi and St. Clare (who nursed him as he died), St. Vincent de Paul and St. Louise de Marillac, and St. Frances de Sales and St. Jane de Chantal. In the Old Testament, David and Saul’s son Jonathan were best friends. David’s descendant Jesus too had special friends. Three apostles belonged to his inner circle: Peter, James, and John. Jesus enjoyed relaxing in Bethany at the house of brother and his two sisters—Lazarus, Martha, and Mary. When Lazarus died and the sisters were overcome with grief, Jesus cried. He loved his human friends that much.
A husband and wife must first of all be friends. Sharing their lives, they provide love and strength for each other. They make each other holy.
Someone defined a friend as someone who knows all about you and likes you anyhow. Of all the friends we consider precious— and they come and go throughout our lives—the best friend and the most constant is Jesus. He is truly a friend to the end. Coincidentally June 8 was Best Friends Day and Pentecost. The Holy Spirit is the one who binds us to Jesus.
What two friends do you know of who are models of friendship? Why?
No Bed of Roses for Saints
Writing a book on saints, I’ve come to realize how much they have suffered. You would think that a person who lived a good life and loved God would be blessed with a peaceful, easy life. So often this wasn’t the case. Instead of enjoying a charmed life, saints endured conflict, criticism, persecution, not to mention bad health. Sound familiar? If this is the story of your life at times, take heart. You must be doing something right! Recall when St. Teresa of Avila was riding a mule and ended up sitting in mud. She prayed, “If this is how you treat your friends, no wonder you have so few!” Jesus did warn us that in following him we could expect persecutions and a share of the cross. (more…)
Saints, Human Like Us
What is your concept of a saint? Do you think of someone pale and sickly, serious (if not downright grim), dressed in religious garb and living in caves or on clouds? Actually the saints had their feet on the ground. They were not all angels, although angels are included in the term “saints.” Saints were human like us. We are to imitate them, but how can we imitate someone we can’t identify with? In the course of time, stories about saints’ lives became exaggerated as the authors tried to emphasize the saints’ holiness. (This happens with other heroes too, like George Washington whose legend of chopping down the cherry tree serves to illustrate his truthfulness.) One example of this idealized biography, known as hagiography, is the story of St. Christina the Astonishing. Supposedly she died at age 22 and during her funeral, she left her coffin and flew to the church rafters. (more…)
