A Bit Delayed

Yesterday, October 1, marked two important dates! Number one, the feast day of St. Therese of Lisieux (of the Child Jesus). Her autobiography, Story of a Soul is highly, highly, highly recommended reading, although it will make you feel like absolute trash. Whenever I'm reading any really good spiritual fare, two things happen. First of all, I get really depressed. It makes me realize how far I have yet to go. I have a bad habit of comparing myself to people around me, and going to public high school it's very easy to make myself out to be a saint. But I'm working on this whole pride thing, and reading about St. Therese is one good way to bring you back down to earth. And luckily, the second thing that happens when I read good things is that I'm inspired to get my butt in gear. Currently, I'm on The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis, and boy... I'd better get a-workin'! (I love reading it though, because every other sentence I feel like he's talking directly to me, because he's constantly dealing with things I stress over all the time.)

Sometimes when I get especially angsty, I just have to remind myself of that children's song wisdom, "Jesus loves me, this I know, for the Bible tells me so," because there's no functioning without that knowledge. Things get too overwhelming for me when I just think about how worthless I personally am, without thinking about how much Jesus loves me anyway. I'm a spiritual leper, but my Lord isn't afraid to touch me. That isn't to say He doesn't want me to get better, but He doesn't want us to live in constant fear and disgust of ourselves, even if that's what we deserve, because otherwise we'll obscure His message in our own hearts.

Second date, the five-year anniversary of the canonization of St. Katharine Drexel, who my church is named after! Indeed, we're the first church in the world named in honor of St. Katharine Drexel, as our bulletin so proudly proclaims! She had a special concern for blacks and Native Americans, as well as in general the "poor and marginalized of our society" as our parish prayer says. So, woot, woot, St. Katharine. Pray for us!

Oh, and Happy Respect Life Sunday! Pray, pray, and pray some more for an end to the genocide of the unborn in American society! And you know, do more than pray too, but never forget our most powerful weapon...