A saint's parents' feast

"Happy feast day to Blessed Zelie Martin and Blessed Louis Martin, parents of St. Therese of Lisieux. When they married, they promised to 'serve God first' together. When we live with love, we grow in holiness."

Picture & source here

Solemnity of Sts. Peter and Paul

Little + Little = BIG!

So....I suppose I should write about why I have lots of cooking and baking posts. There is a point, really! Yes, the topic random because I am quite a random Catholic little asian girl, but it doesn't mean that there is no point.

You see, this summer I was expecting to come home from school to a nice office job with plenty of things to file, phone calls to make and answer, A/Cs to battle, and whatever else people do in offices. Well, that didn't exactly happen. In fact, not a single job that I applied for happened at all; not even a single internship or volunteer job.

You could say that I'm the type of person who finds great joy in doing things for people - literal things that equal evident progress and apparent customer satisfaction. I work in the library at school, and, believe it or not, I actually like running around helping unlock study rooms, searching for books on the computer, checking stacks of books higher than me back into the system, and shelving carts and carts of books. (Alright, maybe not so much the shelving...) Maybe it's not fun all the time, but when it's done, who wouldn't feel a sense of accomplishment after seeing everything that got done?

Except, that doesn't happen here. Here, I can't do big, useful things.


But then again, maybe I don't have to.


I think it was Saint Therese who said that just picking up a thimble with great love is enough to convert a sinner. Whoever it was, the whole "doing things with great love" popped in my head. There were plenty of little things to do around the house, why not? They make people happier just the same as helping customers at a counter.

Well, I found that washing dishes, sweeping floors, hanging the laundry, and scrubbing refrigerators with great love is much harder than doing something big. It's hard to keep a smile on when what you've cleaned becomes dirty the next day, or when nobody really notices, or when they ask you to do it all over. I don't claim to be able to love every single time! (Actually, I probably fail more than achieve at it.)

Cooking/baking is one of those little things that I do. I guess it's one of the bigger little things since people get to eat yummy (at least, I think they're yummy...) things. Plus, it's a good way to practice and explore new recipes!

It is worth it in the end. Because at the end of the day, the One who counts the most, counts all your little attempts. He sees them - and the love you put into them - even when nobody else does. And that, I think, is what matters.

Solemnity of St. John the Baptist

Happy Birthday St. John the Baptist! Wait I thought that we usually celebrate feast days on their anniversary of death, not their birthday. Well Mary and St. John the Baptist are the exceptions. Mary is the Mother of God so that’s not too surprising, but why John the Baptist? St. John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus. It was his job to announce, “Prepare ye the way of the Lord”. He is the bridge between the Old and the New Testaments. His birth precedes Christ’s and so his birthday is celebrated since it is so tied up with the Incarnation. He is celebrated today since from this time on there begins to be less and less sunlight until Christmas. The light decreases just like St. John decreased for Christ.

 

 

It is good to remember that all the saints point to Jesus. St. John the Baptist told the crowd’s “He must increase, I must decrease”(Mk.1:3 ). Today on this Solemnity we should try to remember to point to Christ and prepare a way for him in our hearts. I often find myself thinking about what is best for me, and what is most comfortable, instead of what does God want and what will help build the Kingdom of God. St. John is such a great example as he said, “He must increase, but I must decrease” (Jn. 3:30). Let’s pray to St. John the Baptist that we may decrease and that Christ may increase in us.

Christians have more fun.

If someone were to stumble on this blog and see the mixture of posts from cooking to saints they may wonder, "Why are there so many different themes?" The answer is that this is a blog about the Catholic Christian life. Many people believe that the Christian life is a set of rules, which would limit their freedom and stop them from having any fun. But God’s rules are really for our own good. Good parents wouldn’t let their child stick a fork in an electric socket.  They say no, not because they don’t want the little one to have fun but because they don’t want the little one to get hurt. Parents love it when their kids do things that are safe and good for them, like drawing a picture, playing a sport, or getting a good grade. It is the same way with God.

In the Garden of Eden, God made many trees and told them that they could eat from any tree in the garden, except one, the tree of knowledge. Nothing has changed we can do almost anything. In fact God really wants us to be happy and have fun, but in order to have fun we must not hurt ourselves. So the Christian life is not boring but exciting (and yes, at times challenging). If you want to go do something, providing it’s good for you (just ask the Church and check the 10 Commandments if you're not sure), go do it. God made trees, flowers, oceans, and mountains. He made it all for us to enjoy. Go play, cook, eat, read, whatever you want. As St. Augustine said, “Love God and do whatever you will.” This means that if you love God you will follow his ways and then you are free to do anything you desire. But if you love your own will first and ignore God’s rules, then you will feel sad and trapped in the end. (I can’t get up this morning to go to the game I have a hangover from last night. God says you can drink, but not to the point of getting drunk.) So you will find on this blog a lot of random things, but that’s because there are so many things to do. The dawn has broken! Wake up and have some fun.

St. Thomas More

Picture source

June 22. Just an ordinary date in June and, at a glance, nothing particularly spectacular about it. In all honesty, I'd forgotten about it until last week. That is, until someone pointed out that June 22 was a special feast day, the feast of St. Thomas More, one of my patrons.

Studied at London and Oxford, England. Page for the Archbishop of Canterbury. Lawyer. Twice married, and a widower he was the father of one son and three daughters, and a devoted family man. Writer, most famously of the novel which coined the word Utopia. Translated with works of Lucian. Known during his own day for his scholarship and the depth of his knowledge. Friend of King Henry VIII. Lord Chancellor of England from 1529 to 1532, a position of political power second only to the king. Fought any form of heresy, especially the incursion of Protestantism into England. Opposed the king on the matter of royal divorce, and refused to swear the Oath of Supremacy which declared the king the head of the Church in England. Resigned the Chancellorship, and was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Martyred for his refusal to bend his religious beliefs to the king‘s political needs. - From Saints.sqpn.com

I've never really given much thought about Thomas More. Having an entirely different field apart from a lawyer's, I thought his randomly being my patron was nice, but I didn't understand the relevancy.

Then I realized during the course of the day that he was married. Alright, I'd known that all along, but here was a man who had a family, a job and, from what I've read elsewhere, a witty sense of humor! He was a very real person; when it comes down to it, same as you or me or your next door neighbor. Now imagine your next door neighbor standing up to someone who would most likely execute you for it. Imagine your father or father-in-law doing so. While it is not uncommon to hear of priests' and religious' martyrdoms, it is not often that you hear of a common man winning that glorious crown.

Thomas More was an extraordinary ordinary man. Yes, he had some influence in court, but he was merely living out his life - the difference is that he lived it well to the very end. Let us pray that we might do likewise in our own lives, as ordinary as they might be.

"You say you see no reason why we should pray to the Saints since God can hear us and help us just as well, and will do so gladly, as any Saint in Heaven. Well, then, what need, I ask, do you have to ask any physician to help your fever, or to ask and pay any surgeon to heal your sore leg? For God can both hear you and help you as well as the best of doctors. He loves you more than they do, and He can help you sooner. Besides——-His poultices are cheaper and He will give you more for your words alone than they will for your money!"

"The ordinary acts we practice every day at home are of more importance to the soul than their simplicity might suggest."

"I die the king's faithful servant, but God's first."

- St. Thomas More

Saint of the Week: St. Aloysius

The Feast of St. Aloysius is celebrated today on June 21st. This is my first attempt making a video, so please forgive any mistakes. St. Thomas More is celebrated tomorrow, but more on him later. I hope you have blessed day and week.