A Saint for Bloggers

By Nancy Shuman -
St. Francis de Sales is patron of Catholic writers.  As a blogger, therefore, I happily claim him as a patron of "me." As the Church celebrates his feast on January 24th, I can imagine him sitting in the world of today with a laptop, clicking out the good news that indeed Jesus lives. 

Francis wrote voluminously.  Not only is he known for his books, but for his (numerous) letters.  He also composed short pamphlets for wide distribution, to help clarify the faith in a time when confusion abounded.  I like to imagine him patting today's Catholic bloggers on the back, encouraging us to "keep it up" as we distribute our witness to the Truth in THIS age of the Church and in our turbulent world.     

St. Francis was a bishop and founder of the Order of the Visitation of Holy Mary; he was a busy man in France in the early 1600s. Still, he found time to take up his quill pen and spread the good news of Christ. As we clack away at our keyboards, often in the wee hours of the morning or while a baby naps, I'd like to think our patron is praying for us.     

I have a feeling he is doing just that. 

Comments

  1. Fr Seán Coyle2:04 am, January 24, 2012

    Yes, I think we can claim him as our patron. He is also patron of the Deaf, because of his deaf servant Martin. Some theologians thought that the Deaf couldn't receive the Gospel since they couldn't hear it. St Francis de Sales changed that perception.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nancy Shuman7:50 am, January 24, 2012

      Thank you, Father, for calling our attention to another very important area of St. Francis de Sales' patronage.

      Delete
  2. Fr Seán Coyle7:59 am, January 24, 2012

    I've just been looking at my post on this day three years ago and found I had written, 'Maybe he would be a blogger if he were around today'. http://bangortobobbio.blogspot.com/2009/01/patron-of-journalists-and-of-deaf.html

    However, my post was more about his involvement with the profoundly deaf Martin and how he instructed him in the faith and enabled him to develop his potential at a time when the Deaf were considered to be mentally disabled. As I write this I think of Jean Vanier and his great desire to enable each person with a learning disability to develop his or her full potential within the community. St Francis brought about a change in perception by his practical love for one person, Martin. Jean Vanier's L'Arche movement began with his inviting two men, Raphael Simi and Philippe Seux, who lived in an institution to come to his home.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Nancy Shuman8:30 am, January 24, 2012

      I went to your 2009 post and am so glad to have this information. I'd known St. Francis was patron of the deaf, but had previously found only an outline of the reason. This is excellent - thank you. I hope others will go to your link above.

      Delete
  3. Anonymous9:02 am, January 24, 2012

    I have just read your post of 01/2009, it was enlightening. I had never heard of Martin before. St Francis is a wonderful example of charity, truly heartwarming post Father.
    Blessings and prayers,
    Ann.

    ReplyDelete

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Memorare

By Helen Gonsalves -
Image
This popular prayer, a favorite of many Catholics, dates back to the 15th century and takes its name from the first Latin word of the prayer, "memorare," which means "remember." The Memorare is of unknown authorship, although it has been attributed to St. Augustine (354-430), St. John Chrysostom (c. 347-407) and, with more reason, to St. Bernard of Clairvaux (c. 1090-1153). St. Bernard's sermons on Mary were famous, and it was his Cistercian monks in the monastery of Citeaux in the 12th century who popularized the name "Our Lady" for Mary. The Memorare has also been attributed to the French cleric Claude Bernard (1588-1641), known as the "poor priest" of Paris, whose homilies contain passages that echo its words. No matter who wrote this prayer, it was Father Bernard who did much to popularize it, teaching it in hospitals and prisons, where Mary's intercession was effective in working miracles of grace. The first manuscript of the Mem
Read more

'Greater Love: Richie Fernando SJ', a joy-filled Filipino missionary

By -
Image
 I haven't been able to post for more than a week as I was giving an eight-day directed retreat to eight sisters of the Missionaries of Charity near Manila. While I had some access to the internet it was rather slow. I had intended to make a post here on the murder of Fr Fausto Tentorio PIME , a 59-year-old Italian priest, in the Diocese of Kidapawan, Mindanao, on Monday 17 October. I will save that post for a later date. As I was looking for a video about Father Fausto I came across one about Brother Richard Michael 'Richie' Fernando SJ, a Filipino Jesuit scholastic who died while trying to prevent a troubled and disabled young man in Cambodia from throwing a grenade. That was in 1996 - on 17 October. Father Fausto gave his life exactly 15 years later. I remember the mixture of sorrow and pride I felt when I read of the death of Brother Richie, pride as a missionary in the Philippines that a young Filipino seminarian had given his life so spontaneously in order to sav
Read more

Why Modesty Is Not Subjective

By -
Image
Hi there, ya'll!  The modest fashion world is one very diverse place.  Even among Catholics, the definition of "modest apparel" can vary greatly from person to person.  Recently I joined a Facebook group that advertised itself as a haven for Catholic women of all ages to share ideas for modest style and makeup and was hoping to learn more about modesty from my fellow Catholic sisters.  After a few days of being a member, though, I sadly left the group feeling a bit discouraged.  No two members seemed to agree on ANY aspect of modesty whatsoever, and the prevailing theme of the whole group was that modesty is subjective, it means something different for each woman and each woman gets to decide what she considers is "modest".  One woman very emphatically declared that she wears bikinis every summer to the beach and doesn't feel that this violates the virtue of modesty in the least.  The same woman also announced that she was never going to caution her d
Read more