Holy Relic Visitation: Our Lady of Fatima Prayer Group, 3/29/2014

An old print of St. Colette

What a hectic day yesterday was! It started early with Mass; followed by a medical appointment; and then two funeral services, one after another; before finally concluding with our monthly Rosary Prayer Meeting at the Gruber home! I was tired... but as exhausting as it was, I can't think of a better way to start and end a day than with the Eucharist and the Holy Rosary.

Our prayer meeting was actually small this month; most of our regular members were occupied with personal matters, too... and the mood of the meeting was somewhat somber since we recently lost one of our members, "Auntie Lita".  We missed her presence very much (God rest her soul)... but our faith gave us hope and comfort that she was in the presence of Jesus and Our Lady, and that we'll see her again one day.

So given that we're currently in "Lenten Mode", I picked a Saint to share and venerate who was a Saint of the Passion - St. Colette of Corbie (d. 1447) - a French stigmatic and the reformer of the Poor Clares.  I like to think of her as the "Franciscan version" of St. Teresa of Avila (d. 1582), who in her lifetime launched a reform of the Carmelite Order.

A bone relic of St. Colette we venerated

Interestingly, early in her life, St. Colette was a hermit before being commissioned through a vision of St. Francis of Assisi and the Lord to reform the Franciscans; to bring the Order back to the observance of the Franciscan Rule, as it was originally meant to be lived. At first the Saint bluntly refused the mission entrusted to her because she didn't think she was the right person for the job, but she eventually relented after the Lord struck her blind for three days, followed by deafness for another three days.  Talk about effective persuasion tactics!

After sharing the life of St. Colette, I emphasized to our group that each of us are also called by the Lord to do His will and evangelize, but we sometimes resist because, like our Saint of the Month, we feel inadequate.  The life of this illustrious holy woman served to remind us that sometimes God sees something worthwhile in us that we may not recognize ourselves; more often than not, all He needs is a willing heart and that's enough for Him to make use of us to bring a measure of light and goodness into the world.  What a beautiful thought.

Anyhow, after our prayers finished we had our customary dinner. Last night's menu included Popeye's Fried Chicken, Chow Fun Noodles, and Stuffed Eggplant - YUM!  Needless to say, I knocked out soon after I got home and had a very contented sleep.