The Right Time

“To the servant of God, every place is the right place, and every time is the right time.” St. Catherine of Siena

Recently, a nearby parish offered the viewing of the relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis. It was on a tour and had two stops in my city. Interestingly, the parish priest scheduled October 31st, Halloween, to have a day of reverence. It began with mass at noon, Holy Hour, Veneration and it concluded with the vigil mass for All Saints. My cynicism always takes the best of me, and I thought to myself, who would go to that? I stopped by after work and I was amazed, pleasantly. There was a nice crowd, and people of all ages. There were the curious and not so curious. I took my spot at the back and watched and prayed. It was a beautiful event and the word out on the street was the pastor was trying to offer an alternative to the regular Halloween nonsense. He succeeded. Kudos to him.

“If one dream should fall and break into a thousand pieces… pick one of those pieces up and begin again.” — St. Bernadette

How often do we make projects on others and ourselves thinking that this idea is the one that will work. Those are our ideas; our Lord has His. I think often of the saints and the great or small things that they have done.  I visit the shrine of Solanus Casey in Detroit whenever I am in the area. I have my reasons. He was a Simplex priest because he was not thought to have what it took to live the life. He proved everyone wrong – or maybe God did that. In any case, it is so important that we live an awareness of what God has planned for us. Right now, Carlo Acutis is popular. Without taking away from him, there are many unknown saints that God has called. Hence, All Saints Day. In Brazil, in the movement, Communion and Liberation, Luigi Giussani often spoke of Edimar. He was a young 17-year-old who was involved with many shady characters. He met someone at his school years ago and he was impressed by this teacher. He told his ‘associates’ that he would leave that dark life. He had met something greater - Christ! His gang told him, you do not leave us, and they killed him. Edimar might not be a saint yet, but there are many stories such as these. We need to be aware. Are we living with an awareness?

“God loves man with an infinite love and when he punishes, he does so with reverence, almost fearing to hurt.” St. Padre Pio

It is easy to get discouraged in this life. There is so much against us and the Church. We could question our faith often. I know I do. But I follow those who have a certainty; I follow those people who are wounded by beauty as Luigi Giussani says. I want to live an awareness, and I do not want to live a mediocrity. It is easy to navel-gaze but that will not take us anywhere. Giussani would remind us in the movement that we take the position of the beggar. We continue to ask even when it is difficult. God loves us.

“The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being.” Pope John Paul II