lover of animals; which is why he stands appropriately near
our bird-feeders.
And St. Joseph, another favorite hero of mine and defender of the Holy Family,
hangs near a favorite sitting spot of Cuppycake’s & mine.
What is a Saint?
A saint is one who has been recognized for having an exceptional degree of holiness, sanctity, and virtue.
What is a Hero?
A person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. 2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.
“I’m pretty sure I fit the criteria for both.”
And so it is for me that the two are synonymous as I have not met a Saint who has not qualified as Hero. And while Hero’s, on the other hand, aren’t always made a Saint…does that mean we all shouldn’t at least aspire to be one?
Our parish priest, Fr. Larry Richards, often reminds us we should all aspire to be Saints! That when we leave this earthly life our lives will have been so devoted to pointing always to Him, despite the trials we may face, that our parishes will be filled with statues of each one of us!
(I wrote in a previous post what I would envision my statue to denote.)
In our modern day vernacular we have made the term “SAINT” synonymous with perfection. If someone lives a life above reproach we say “He is a real saint,”
if one dedicates their life to solely doing good works, such as Mother Teresa, we say “She is a real saint,” if one lives a life exemplary of good morals and high standards we ascribe to them the “title” of saint.
We have set some pretty high standards for achieving sainthood!
(Rightfully so!)
And yet…
I do believe the Saints themselves would say quite differntly.
They would remind us that to attain Sainthood is a courageous battle to be fought daily, with great joy! That there is no perfection to be found in living the life of a Saint, only imperfect people (sinners) striving to love Him always…in ALL ways and doing so heroically!
Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.
Michael 7:8
St. Paul himself, declares in Romans 7:15, this struggle to do good is difficult!
“I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate,” Romans 7:15
However, we should never stop trying!
Will we tire?
Yes.
Should we quit?
Never.
And that is exactly why the Saints are my heroes.
Heroes never quit!
They fall down…
and then
get up.
“Does the ‘no-quitting’ part include a dog-treat when I get back up again?”
In this past half-century I have met many Heroes!
All of whom I have drawn strength from at various moments of my life,
some more than others,
but each equally as important.
Outside the Shrine of St. Gemma Galgani in Lucca, Italy.
I hope you will find a hero (or more) to fall in love with!
Remember they are who we can draw strength from as we aspire to be
The first 50 years of childhood are always the hardest!
What is a period of 50 years or grouping of 50?
Well, let me tell you…
“A Half-Century!”
Which means I have had a Half-Centuryof blessings to be thankful for!
I Hope-ity-hope if anyone ever re-enacts ME in another 50…they remember 2 important things: hats and polka-dots!
Does this mean it has been 50 years of perfect-living?
Of day after day of over-flowing joy?
‘Celebration Ribbons’ are so much fun!
Of no tears nor pain?
Of only sunshine beams streaming and eating zero-calorie ice cream for my dinner?
Let me tell you…
“NO!”
“Angel of God, my guardian dear…”
But I have learned, while skipping along the way,
(even if it were to have been *admittedly*s-l-o-w-l-y)
that the “perfection” of my life has occurred in the
Sweet Surrender of accepting God’s will.
Let me tell you…
God knows what He is doing!
God has a bigger plan for me than I have ever had for myself
and His plan far exceeds the circumstances of any one given day!
And, let me tell you…
I can hardly wait to discover what this next
half-century
will contain!
Erie, Pa is a beautiful place to have lived for 50 years.
There is so much more I would like to sing-song-say,
but if I could only tell you 50 things
I’ve discovered during this first half-century
Let me tell you…
Let go! Let God!
Peace on the outside comes from knowing God on the inside.
Start each day with a grateful heart.
The older I get the surer I am that I’m not running the show!
Life is not meant to be perfect…it’s meant to be LIVED with all its imperfections.
We aren’t called to shine our own light; we are called to reflect His.
Find joy in the ordinary.
Pray hardest when it is hardest to pray.
Not my circus. Not my monkeys.
Let it be.
Don’t worry about others opinions of you. God never told you to impress people; only to love them.
Character is how you treat those who can do nothing for you.
Learn to say “no” without explaining yourself.
Sometimes not saying anything is the best answer. (Silence can never be misquoted.)
We aren’t called to be like others, we are called to be like Christ.
To forgive takes love, to forget takes humility.
Heaven is not a prize for the perfect, but the future home for all who are willing to be perfected.
Sometimes you’ve just gotta accept that some people can only be in your heart, not in your life.
Let all that you do be done with love.
God refuses nothing.
Until God opens the next door, pray in the hallway.
Faith means that you have peace, even when you don’t have all the answers.
Having a soft heart in a cruel world is courage, not weakness.
A certain darkness is needed to see the stars.
Say you’re sorry, ask for forgiveness, and mean it. Truly.
Be prepared when you pray to God to defend you against your enemies, you may lose a few friends.
Each day is a decision!
You can’t but God can!
Take care of your body as if you were going to live forever; and take care of your soul as if you were going to die tomorrow.
You can be the ripest, juiciest peach in the world, and there’s still going to be somebody who hates peaches.
Everything is going to be alright. Maybe not today but eventually.
On a bad day…there’s always crochet!
If it doesn’t make you feel fabulous; don’t do it, don’t buy it, don’t keep it.
No one heals themselves by wounding another.
NO ONE will ever love you more than Jesus.
Hope is the only thing stronger than fear.
Life becomes easier when you learn to accept the apology you never got.
Someday it’s going to make sense!
For what it’s worth: it’s never too late to be whoever you want to be! I hope you live a life you’re proud of , and if you find that you’re not, I hope you have the strength to start over.
Do the next thing.
Be confident because you are a child of God. Be humble because everyone else is too.
The unhappiest people in this world, are those who care the most about what other people think.
God often uses small matches to light up great torches. No matter how small you feel in this world, He has something big in store for you.
Surround yourself with the dreamers and the doers, the believers and the thinkers, but most of all, surround yourself with those who see the greatness within you, even when you don’t see it yourself.
A few nice words can help a person more than you think.
It’s okay to say no to unnecessary crazy.
Sometimes it’s better to react with no reaction.
Never get tired of doing little things for others. Sometimes those little things occupy the biggest part of their hearts.
We don’t stop playing because we grow old. We grow old because we stop playing! AND LAST BUT CERTAINLY NOT LEAST…..
It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters in the end.
I pray my humble-attempts at living out
this half-century
has been pleasing to Him…
but even perfect people (of which I am not) make mistakes
(that’s #51 I’d like to tell you!)
Where I have failed I pray, with God’s help,
to do better this next half-century
so that I may celebrate
2 Solid-Gold 50’s someday!
(I wonder if Smucker’s could add some polka-dots?)
hugs n’ blessings to all those who will tell me new life-lessons, along the way!
hugsnblessings 