Summer Saints

August includes some important feasts – the feast of the Transfiguration and the Solemnity of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Some saints remembered include St. John Vianney (August 4), St. Clare (August 11) and others.

St. John Vianney is a patron of parish priests. We would do well to remember to pray for our parish priests, men and women religious, and for vocations that day and always.

During this Jubilee year of St. Francis of Assisi, we could celebrate with St. Clare, foundress of the Poor Clares. May we enjoy the beauty of God’s creation as the Franciscans and Poor Clares have. May their love of poverty of spirit help us to enjoy the simple joys of life.

St. Pius X (August 21) is known for lowering the age at which children might receive their first Holy Communion. St. Katharine received her first Holy Communion at eleven years old, one year earlier than the norm of twelve in 1870. Pope St. Pius X reigned from 1903 to 1914 and lowered the normal age to seven. Saint Katharine reflected: “How I would miss Our Lord if He were to be away from me by His bodily presence in the Blessed Sacrament! O Joy, today I shall see Him lifted up in the white consecrated Host and His Precious Blood in the Chalice. Would that I could meet Him truly as His handmaid, His pleasure, in my soul. Make me faithful to Him even as she [Mary] was to Him at Bethlehem and on the Hill of Skulls. I am needy and poor and I seek the strength to do this.”

May we always receive Holy Communion with the fervor and joy of those receiving Communion for the very first time!

The feasts of St. Monica and St. Augustine remind us of the power of a mother’s prayers. St. Augustine walked away from the church for thirty years before his mother’s prayers brought him back to the practice of his faith. May we share St. Monica’s perseverance in praying for family members or friends.

The end of summer is coming and soon the schools will welcome the return of students. May Our Lady, Seat of Wisdom, be with the students, teachers, staff and parents in the coming school year.

Stephanie Morris, Ph.D., A.S.B.S.