Saints

 

Yesterday in worship, we named our saints.  We sang the great line that, “saints are folks like you and me, God help me to be one too.”  Sometimes Protestants are squeamish about saints.  What is your reaction and response to this word, “saints”?  The Catholic church has over 10,000 saints.  Some are names you would recognize: St. Peter, St. Francis, St. Christopher (the patron saint of travelers), St. Jude (the patron saint of lost causes, which I can really identify with), and, of course, Mary and Joseph (Jesus’ parents) are saints too.  Have you heard of the practice of burying St. Joseph upside down in your yard to sell your house? I confess that I did that when we sold our house in Janesville years ago.  Or maybe you’ve seen a statue of St. Francis at your local gardening center, as he is the saint of creation.  Or maybe you’ve heard of someone praying to St. Joseph (Jesus’ foster father) when looking for employment?

 

There are saints for many occasions ~ Saint Isidore of Seville is the patron saint of the internet ~ not exactly the job I would want.  Saint Rita is known as the patron saint of impossible situations.  And St. Friard, who is the patron saint against a fear of wasps ~ which, as someone who has an allergy to stings, I am going to learn more about him, maybe buy his statue to keep in my pocket! 

 

What I find fascinating is the lives of faithful people.  My hunch is Friard didn’t set out to be known for his connection to wasps!!  Let me introduce you to another saint, St. Katharine Drexel, who lived 1858-1955.  She was the founder of Xavier University in New Orleans, the first Catholic University for African Americans.  She is now the patron saint of racial justice and philanthropists.  She came from a wealthy family.  Her mother died when she was five weeks old, so she was raised by a stepmother and father, both of whom cared for the poor.  She spoke about the injustices on reservations and gave up her wealth to become a missionary in the United States.  According to the Archdiocese of San Francisco, “She was crafty and politically savvy, working around Jim Crow laws in the South that prohibited Blacks and whites from sitting together in church.”  As one example of her craftiness, notes Anthony Walton, she set up church seating so that the separation ran from front to back, so that both whites and Blacks were sitting parallel to each other rather than with Blacks in the back.  To be sure, that doesn’t seem so revolutionary or rebellious, but I am sure if Twitter had been around during Katharine’s life, she would have had a few trolls threatening her. Also, did you know, her feast day is my birthday, March 3.  I encourage you today to look up St. Martin De Porres, whose feast day is today.  He lived in Lima, Peru, in the 16^th Century to learn more about his faith and how his song might sing to your soul in these days.