A miracle of littleness

Everything about her is a miracle.  This slip of a girl only ever once travelled any distance outside her home territory of Normandy to go on a pilgrimage, her short life consisted of just her youth at home and in school and then a period of a few years hidden away in a convent – how did it come about that she is probably the most universally beloved saint in the worldwide church of modern times?  I am not going to attempt to answer the question, because at the end of the day it is a mystery and indeed a miracle – and by definition one does not explain miracles.  But one ingredient of this spiritual ‘success’ is surely her stress on littleness before God, which makes her appealing to so many souls who find the radical call of the Gospel and the fearsome lives of the martyrs intimidating.  And that littleness is embodied in the baby in the manger for whose coming we shall be preparing shortly as we begin Advent.  In making Himself a dependent infant, God gave us a picture of how we in turn should be before Him.

Intercessions:

Elara – in Children’s Hospital

Marie – cancer

Bernard – cancer, and wife Angela

Rosemarie – multiple afflictions

Inga RIP