A few weeks ago, Sr. Diane of the Heading Avenue Franciscans, asked if Luke and I would portray two saints-St. Bernadette and St. Dominic Savio- for a presentation that she was making today. Talk about intimidating! Luke and I had to do a little research on the two saints and dress how they might have dressed.
St. Bernadette is familiar to many for the visions of Mary that she saw which led to the shrine at Lourdes, France. She was born in 1844 and when she was 14, Mary visited her 18 times while she was by a spring near Lourdes. In the years since then, at least 69 people have had unexplained authenticated cures from visiting Lourdes. Despite the great honor of having Mary appear to her, Bernadette remained humble. When people would ask about the apparitions, St. Bernadette would say, "The Virgin used me as a broom to remove the dust. When the work is done, the broom is put behind the door again.
I am humbled to say that I had never heard of St Dominic Savio until Sr. Diane asked Luke to portray him. Dominic, who was born in Italy, was a very holy and loving boy who kept his friends from fighting and showed them kindness. One winter day, a couple of his classmates filled the stove at school with snow and garbage. Dominic took the blame for this action. When his friends found out the real story, they asked him why he didn't say anything. "Jesus remained quiet during his persecution and crucifixion and I wanted to imitate him." For this, St. Dominic Savio is the patron saint of the falsely accused. He was 14 when he died and is the only non-martyr child saint.
Becoming a saint seems like an impossibility. But during her presentation, Sr. Diane said that in order to be a saint a person has to want to be a saint. This is where it starts. Another way to put this is to want to be what God wants us to be. Perhaps this start is within all of our sights.
P.S. John was in Haiti doing the work of a saint!
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