For your reading, reflection, faith-sharing, comments, questions, discussion.

KEYWORDS: catholic; easter; jn16; prayer; saints;

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Good heavens, woman, don't you EVER sleep?
I took a nap this afternoon and now can't get to sleep. Boy, are those afternoon naps WONDERFUL.

Oh, I 6ook a nap, too.

From: Acts 18:1-8

Paul in Corinth, with Aquila and Priscilla

[1] After this he left Athens and went to Corinth. [2] And he found a Jew named Aquila, a native of Pontus, lately come from Italy with his wife Priscilla because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to leave Rome. And he went to see them; [3] and because he was of the same trade he stayed with them, and they worked, for by trade they were tentmakers. [4] And he argued in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks.

Preaching to Jews and Gentiles

[5] When Silas and Timothy arrived from Macedonia, Paul was occupied with preaching, testifying to the Jews that the Christ was Jesus. [6] And when they opposed and reviled him, he shook out his garments and said to them, “Your blood be upon your heads! I am innocent. From now on I will go to the Gentiles.” [7] And he left there and went to the house of a man named Titius Justus, a worshipper of God; his house was next door to the synagogue. [8] Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed in the Lord, together with all his household; and many of the Corinthians hearing Paul believed and were baptized.

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Commentary:

1-11. St Paul must have arrived in Corinth very discouraged by what happened in Athens, and very short of money. Some time later he wrote: “And I was with you in weakness and in much fear and trembling; and my speech and my message were not in plausible words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and power, that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men but in the power of God...” (1 Cor 2:3-4). He would never forget his experience in the Areopagus before the Athenians, who “were friends of new speeches yet who paid no heed to them or what they said; all they wanted was to have something new to talk about” (Chrysostom, “Hom. on Acts”, 39).

Corinth was a very commercial, cosmopolitan city located on an isthmus between two gulfs (which are now joined). Ships came to Corinth from all over the world. Low moral standards, concentration on money-making and voluptuous worship of Aphrodite meant that Corinth did not seem the best ground for sowing the word of God; but the Lord can change people’s hearts, especially if he has people as obedient and zealous as Paul, Silvanus, Timothy and the early Christians in general. The Athenians’ intellectual pride proved to be a more formidable obstacle than the Corinthians’ libertarian lifestyle.

Christians should not soft-pedal if they find themselves in situations where paganism and loose living seem to be the order of the day:
indeed this should only spur them on. When addressing his Father at the Last Supper Jesus prayed: “I do not pray that thou shouldst
take them out of the world, but that thou shouldst keep them from the evil one” (Jn 17:15).

2. This married couple were probably already Christians when they arrived in Corinth. Since they came from Rome, the indications are that there was a community of Christians in the capital from very early on. Aquila and Priscilla (the diminutive of Prisca) proved to be of great help to Paul from the very beginning of his work in Corinth.

Later on they both must have returned to Rome (cf. Rom 16:3); and it may well be that apostolic considerations dictated their movements, as would be the case with countless Christians after them. “The Christian family’s faith and evangelizing mission also possesses this Catholic missionary inspiration. The sacrament of marriage takes up and reproposes the task of defending and spreading the faith, a task which has its roots in Baptism and Confirmation and makes Christian married couples and parents witnesses of Christ ‘to the ends of the earth’ (Acts 1:8) [...].

“Just as at the dawn of Christianity Aquila and Priscilla were presented as a missionary couple (cf. Acts 18; Rom 16:3f), so today
the Church shows forth her perennial newness and fruitfulness by the presence of Christian couples who [...] work in missionary
territories, proclaiming the Gospel and doing service to their fellowman for the love of Jesus Christ” (John Paul II, “Familiaris
Consortio”, 54).

The edict of Claudius (41-54 A.D.) expelling the Jews from Rome was issued before the year 50. It is referred to by Suetonius, the Roman historian, but the details of the decree are not known. We do know that Claudius had protected the Jews on a number of occasions. He gave them the right to appoint the high priest and to have charge of the temple. Apparently, conflict between Jews and Christians in Rome led him to expel some Jews from the city, on a temporary basis, or at least to advise them to leave.

3. St Paul earns his living and manages to combine this with all his preaching of the Gospel. “This teaching of Christ on work,” John Paul II writes, “based on the example of his life during his years in Nazareth, finds a particularly lively echo in the teaching of the
Apostle Paul. Paul boasts of working at his trade (he was probably a tent-maker: cf. Acts 18:3), and thanks to that work he was able even as an Apostle to earn his own bread” (”Laborem Exercens”, 26).

During this stay of a year and a half in Corinth St Paul wrote some rather severe letters to the Thessalonians, pointing out to them the
need to work: “If any one will not work, let him not eat. [...] we command and exhort [idlers] in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work
in quietness and to earn their own living” (2 Thess 3:10, 12). St John Chrysostom, commenting on this passage of Acts, says that “Work is man’s natural state. Idleness is against his nature. God has placed man in this world to work, and the natural thing for the soul is to be active and not passive” (”Hom. on Acts”, 35).

Taking Christ’s own example, Monsignor Escriva points out that “Work is one of the highest human values and a way in which men contribute to the progress of society. But even more, it is a way to holiness” (”Conversations”, 24). In Jesus’ hands, “a professional occupation, similar to that carried out by millions of people in the world, was turned into a divine task. It became a part of our redemption, a way to salvation” (”ibid”., 55).

In fact, it is in work, in the middle of ordinary activity, that most people can and should find Christ. God “is calling you to serve him in and from the ordinary, material and secular activities of human life. He waits for us everyday [...] in all the immense panorama of work” (”ibid”., 114). Man thereby finds God in the most visible, material things, and Christians can avoid the danger of what might be called “a double life: on one side, an interior life, a life of relation with God; and on the other, a separate and distinct professional, social and family life, full of small earthly realities” (”ibid”.).

Like most people Paul spent part of his day working to earn his living. When engaged in work he was still the Apostle of the Gentiles
chosen by God, and his very work spoke to his companions and friends. We should not think that there was any split between his on-going personal relationship with God, and his apostolic activity or his work—or that he did not work in a concentrated or exemplary manner.

4. It is easy to imagine the hope and eagerness Paul felt when preaching the Gospel to his fellow Jews. He knew from experience the
difficulties they had about recognizing Jesus as the Messiah and accepting the Good News. Paul feels both joy and sorrow: he is happy
because the moment has arrived for the sons of Abraham to receive the Gospel as is their right by inheritance; but he also realizes that
although it brings salvation to some, it spells rejection for those who refuse to accept it.

Origen spoke in similar terms: “I experience anxiety to speak and anxiety not to speak. I wish to speak for the benefit of those who are
worthy, so that I may not be taken to task for refusing the word of truth to those who have the ability to grasp it. But I am afraid to
speak in case I address those who are unworthy, because it means I am giving holy things to dogs and casting pearls before swine. Only Jesus was capable of distinguishing, among his listeners, those who were without from those who were within: he spoke in parables to the outsiders and explained the parables to those who entered with him into the house” (”Dialogue with Heraclides”, 15).

6. The blindness of the Jews once again causes Paul great sadness; here is further evidence of the mysterious resistance to faith of so
many of the chosen people. As he did in Pisidian Antioch (cf. 13:51), the Apostle shakes the dust from his clothes to show his break from the Jews of Corinth: their apparent fidelity to the religion of their forefathers disguises their proud rejection of God’s promises.

He finds himself confronted by the great enigma of salvation history, in which God dialogues with human freedom. As St Justin writes, “The Jews, in truth, who had the prophecies and always looked for the coming of Christ, not only did not recognize him, but, far beyond that, even mistreated him. But the Gentiles, who had never even heard anything of Christ until his Apostles went from Jerusalem and preached about him and gave them the prophecies, were filled with joy and faith, and turned away from their idols, and dedicated themselves to the Unbegotten God through Christ” (”First Apology”, 49, 5).

Paul’s words on this occasion are addressed to the Jews of Corinth, not to Jews elsewhere. For a long time past he has directed his
preaching to Gentiles as well as Jews. The phrase “From now on I will go to the Gentiles” does not mean that he will no longer address Jews, for in the course of his apostolic work he continues to evangelize Jews as well as Gentiles (cf. Acts 18:19; 28:17).

7. Titus Justus had a Roman name and was a Gentile, but the fact that he lived next door to the synagogue and, in particular, the Greek term used to identify him as a “worshipper” of God, indicates that he was a convert to Judaism. Cf. note on Acts 2:5-11.

From: John 16:16-20

Fullness of Joy

(Jesus said to His disciples,) [16] “A little while, and you will see Me no more; again a little while, and you will see Me.” [17] Some of His disciples said to one another, “What is this that He says to us, `A little while, and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’; and, `because I go to the Father’?” [18] They said, “What does He mean by `a little while’? We do not know what He means.” [19] Jesus knew they wanted to ask Him; so He said to them, “Is this what you are asking yourselves, what I meant by saying, `A little while and you will not see Me, and again a little while, and you will see Me’? [20] Truly, truly, I say to you, you will weep and lament, but the world will rejoice; you will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.”

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Commentary:

16-20. Earlier our Lord consoled the disciples by assuring them that He would send them the Holy Spirit after He went away (verse 7). Now He gives them further consolation: He is not leaving them permanently, He will come back to stay with them. However, the Apostles fail to grasp what He means, and they ask each other what they make of it. Our Lord does not give them a direct explanation, perhaps because they would not understand what He meant (as happened before: cf. Matthew 16:21-23 and paragraph). But He does emphasize that though they are sad now they will soon be rejoicing: after suffering tribulation they will be filled with a joy they will never lose (cf. John 17:13). This is a reference primarily to the Resurrection (cf. Luke 24:41), but also to their definitive encounter with Christ in Heaven.

Oh, I 6ook a nap, too

I don't know why an afternoon nap is so good. I never took them before. My husband LOVED them. I think he enjoyed them better than the regular long sleep time.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

These readings are for the Vigil Mass on the evening before the feast:

First reading	Acts 1:1-11 ©

Jesus was lifted up while they looked on

In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. ‘It is’ he had said ‘what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’

Now having met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth.’

As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky when suddenly two men in white were standing near them and they said, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there.’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 46(47):2-3,6-9 ©

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

or

Alleluia!

All peoples, clap your hands,

cry to God with shouts of joy!

For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,

great king over all the earth.

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

or

Alleluia!

God goes up with shouts of joy;

the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

Sing praise for God, sing praise,

sing praise to our king, sing praise.

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

or

Alleluia!

God is king of all the earth,

sing praise with all your skill.

God is king over the nations;

God reigns on his holy throne.

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

or

Alleluia!

Second reading
Ephesians 1:17-23 ©

God made him sit at his right hand in heaven

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers. This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation.

Gospel Acclamation	Mt28:19,20

Alleluia, alleluia!

Go, make disciples of all the nations.

I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.

Alleluia!

Gospel
Matthew 28:16-20 ©

Go and make disciples of all nations

The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’

These readings are for the day of the feast itself:

First reading	Acts 1:1-11 ©

Jesus was lifted up while they looked on

In my earlier work, Theophilus, I dealt with everything Jesus had done and taught from the beginning until the day he gave his instructions to the apostles he had chosen through the Holy Spirit, and was taken up to heaven. He had shown himself alive to them after his Passion by many demonstrations: for forty days he had continued to appear to them and tell them about the kingdom of God. When he had been at table with them, he had told them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait there for what the Father had promised. ‘It is’ he had said ‘what you have heard me speak about: John baptised with water but you, not many days from now, will be baptised with the Holy Spirit.’

Now having met together, they asked him, ‘Lord, has the time come? Are you going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’ He replied, ‘It is not for you to know times or dates that the Father has decided by his own authority, but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you, and then you will be my witnesses not only in Jerusalem but throughout Judaea and Samaria, and indeed to the ends of the earth.’

As he said this he was lifted up while they looked on, and a cloud took him from their sight. They were still staring into the sky when suddenly two men in white were standing near them and they said, ‘Why are you men from Galilee standing here looking into the sky? Jesus who has been taken up from you into heaven, this same Jesus will come back in the same way as you have seen him go there.’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 46(47):2-3,6-9 ©

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

or

Alleluia!

All peoples, clap your hands,

cry to God with shouts of joy!

For the Lord, the Most High, we must fear,

great king over all the earth.

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

or

Alleluia!

God goes up with shouts of joy;

the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

Sing praise for God, sing praise,

sing praise to our king, sing praise.

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

or

Alleluia!

God is king of all the earth,

sing praise with all your skill.

God is king over the nations;

God reigns on his holy throne.

God goes up with shouts of joy; the Lord goes up with trumpet blast.

or

Alleluia!

Second reading
Ephesians 1:17-23 ©

God made him sit at his right hand in heaven

May the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, give you a spirit of wisdom and perception of what is revealed, to bring you to full knowledge of him. May he enlighten the eyes of your mind so that you can see what hope his call holds for you, what rich glories he has promised the saints will inherit and how infinitely great is the power that he has exercised for us believers. This you can tell from the strength of his power at work in Christ, when he used it to raise him from the dead and to make him sit at his right hand, in heaven, far above every Sovereignty, Authority, Power, or Domination, or any other name that can be named not only in this age but also in the age to come. He has put all things under his feet and made him, as the ruler of everything, the head of the Church; which is his body, the fullness of him who fills the whole creation.

Gospel Acclamation	Mt28:19,20

Alleluia, alleluia!

Go, make disciples of all the nations.

I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.

Alleluia!

Gospel
Matthew 28:16-20 ©

Go and make disciples of all nations

The eleven disciples set out for Galilee, to the mountain where Jesus had arranged to meet them. When they saw him they fell down before him, though some hesitated. Jesus came up and spoke to them. He said, ‘All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptise them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commands I gave you. And know that I am with you always; yes, to the end of time.’

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 16
16.	A little while, and now you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me: because I go to the Father.	Modicum, et jam non videbitis me ; et iterum modicum, et videbitis me : quia vado ad Patrem.	μικρον και ου θεωρειτε με και παλιν μικρον και οψεσθε με οτι υπαγω προς τον πατερα
17.	Then some of the disciples said one to another: What is this that he saith to us: A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me, and, because I go to the Father?	Dixerunt ergo ex discipulis ejus ad invicem : Quid est hoc quod dicit nobis : Modicum, et non videbitis me ; et iterum modicum, et videbitis me, et quia vado ad Patrem ?	ειπον ουν εκ των μαθητων αυτου προς αλληλους τι εστιν τουτο ο λεγει ημιν μικρον και ου θεωρειτε με και παλιν μικρον και οψεσθε με και οτι εγω υπαγω προς τον πατερα
18.	They said therefore: What is this that he saith, A little while? we know not what he speaketh.	Dicebant ergo : Quid est hoc quod dicit : Modicum ? nescimus quid loquitur.	ελεγον ουν τουτο τι εστιν ο λεγει το μικρον ουκ οιδαμεν τι λαλει
19.	And Jesus knew that they had a mind to ask him; and he said to them: Of this do you inquire among yourselves, because I said: A little while, and you shall not see me; and again a little while, and you shall see me?	Cognovit autem Jesus, quia volebant eum interrogare, et dixit eis : De hoc quæritis inter vos quia dixi : Modicum, et non videbitis me ; et iterum modicum, et videbitis me.	εγνω ουν ο ιησους οτι ηθελον αυτον ερωταν και ειπεν αυτοις περι τουτου ζητειτε μετ αλληλων οτι ειπον μικρον και ου θεωρειτε με και παλιν μικρον και οψεσθε με
20.	Amen, amen I say to you, that you shall lament and weep, but the world shall rejoice; and you shall be made sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.	Amen, amen dico vobis : quia plorabitis, et flebitis vos, mundus autem gaudebit ; vos autem contristabimini, sed tristitia vestra vertetur in gaudium.	αμην αμην λεγω υμιν οτι κλαυσετε και θρηνησετε υμεις ο δε κοσμος χαρησεται υμεις δε λυπηθησεσθε αλλ η λυπη υμων εις χαραν γενησεται

Catena Aurea by St. Thomas Aguinas

16:16–22

16. A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me, because I go to the Father.

17. Then said some of his disciples among themselves, What is this that he saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me: and, Because I go to the Father?

18. They said therefore, What is this that he saith, A little while? we cannot tell what he saith.

19. Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see me?

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxix) Our Lord after having relieved the spirits of the disciples by the promise of the Holy Spirit, again depresses them: A little while, and ye shall not see Me. He does this to accustom them to the mention of His departure, in order that they may bear it well, when it does come. For nothing so quiets the troubled mind, as the continued recurrence to the subject of its grief.

BEDE. (Hom. 1. Dom. See. Par. Oct. Pasch.) He saith, A little while, and ye shall not see Me, alluding to His going to be taken that night by the Jews, His crucifixion the next morning, and burial in the evening, which withdrew Him from all human sight.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxix. 1) But then, if one examines, these are words of consolation: Because I go to the Father. For they shew that His death was only a translation: and more consolation follows: And again, a little while, and ye shall see Me: an intimation this that He would return, and after a short separation, come and live with them for ever.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. c. 1) The meaning of these words however was obscure, before their fulfilment; Then said some of His disciples among themselves, What is this that He saith unto us, A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me: and, Because I go to the Father.

CHRYSOSTOM. (Hom. lxxix. 1) Either sorrow had confused their minds, or the obscurity of the words themselves prevented their understanding them, and made them appear contradictory. If we shall see Thee, they say, how goest Thou? If Thou goest, how shall we see Thee? What is this that He saith unto us, A little while? We cannot tell what He saith.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. ci. 1) For above, because He did not say, A little while, but simply, I go to the Father, He seemed to speak plainly. But what to them was obscure at the time, but by and by manifested, is manifest to us. For in a little while He suffered, and they did not see Him; and again, in a little while He rose again, and they saw Him. He says, And ye shall see Me no more; for the mortal Christ they saw no more.

ALCUIN. Or thus, It will be a little time during which ye will not see Me, i. e. the three days that He rested in the grave; and again, it will be a little time during which ye shall see Me, i. e. the forty days of His appearance amongst them, from His Passion to His ascension. And ye shall see Me for that little time only, Because I go to the Father; for I am not going to stay always in the body here, but, by that humanity which I have assumed to ascend to heaven. It follows; Now Jesus knew that they were desirous to ask Him, and said unto them, Do ye enquire among yourselves of that I said, A little while, and ye shall not see Me: and again, a little while, and ye shall see Me? Verily, verily, I say unto you, That ye shall weep and lament. Their merciful Master, understanding their ignorance and doubts, replied so as to explain what He had said.

AUGUSTINE. (Tr. ci) Which must be understood thus, viz. that the disciples sorrowed at their Lord’s death, and then immediately rejoiced at His resurrection. The world (i. e. the enemies of Christ, who put Him to death) rejoiced just when the disciples sorrowed, i. e. at His death: Ye shall weep and lament, but the world shall rejoice; and ye shall be sorrowful, but your sorrow shall be turned into joy.

ALCUIN. But this speech of our Lord’s is applicable to all believers who strive through present tears and afflictions to attain to the joys eternal. While the righteous weep, the world rejoiceth; for having no hope of the joys to come, all its delight is in the present.

Catena Aurea John 16

Ascension of Christ

Andrea di Vanni d'Andrea

1355-60
Tempera on wood, 68 x 28 cm
The Hermitage, St. Petersburg

May 21 - Memorial of Saint Christopher Magallanes, priest, and Companions, martyrs

Saint Cristóbal Magallanes and Companions’ Story

Like Blessed Miguel Agustín Pro, SJ, Cristóbal and his 24 companion martyrs lived under a very anti-Catholic government in Mexico, one determined to weaken the Catholic faith of its people. Churches, schools, and seminaries were closed; foreign clergy were expelled. Cristóbal established a clandestine seminary at Totatiche, Jalisco. He and the other priests were forced to minister secretly to Catholics during the presidency of Plutarco Calles (1924-28).

All of these martyrs, except three, were diocesan priests. David, Manuel and Salvador were laymen who died with their parish priest, Luis Batis. They all belonged to the Cristero movement, pledging their allegiance to Christ and to the Church that he established, to spread the Good News in society—even if Mexico’s leaders had made it a crime to receive baptism or celebrate the Mass.

These martyrs did not die as a single group but over 22 years time in eight Mexican states, with Jalisco and Zacatecas having the largest number. They were beatified in 1992 and canonized eight years later.

Reflection

Every martyr realizes how to avoid execution, but refuses to pay the high price of doing so. A clear conscience was more valuable than a long life. We may be tempted to compromise our faith while telling ourselves that we are simply being realistic, dealing with situations as we find them. Is survival really the ultimate value? Do our concrete, daily choices reflect our deepest values, the ones that allow us to “tick” the way we do? Anyone can imagine situations in which being a follower of Jesus is easier than the present situation. Saints remind us that our daily choices, especially in adverse circumstances, form the pattern of our lives.

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