Love is so demanding. This is not the truth that our hearts imagine when we picture a lover. As women, our bodies and souls are designed to receive. Thus, our imaginations picture love in this good and beautiful light in which we ourselves are constantly being “poured into.”

Much of the difficulty I face at this point in my life resides in teaching children obedience, but obedience that stems from trust . . . not obligation or fear. It’s far from easy, but I know that obedience and trust are crucial for accomplishing anything in this world, from healthy relationships to thriving businesses.

It was a cold February morning, and I had to drag myself to a mandatory “immersion day” for my newly declared major.

To the world, it may seem counterintuitive that Jesus revealed to the still-a-child Saint Catherine of Siena that she was naught. He prompted this revelation with a question...

Why does God call us to intimacy, away from everything and everyone to a secluded place alone with Him?

On the feast of the Annunciation in 1347, a seasoned mother gave birth to twin girls in Siena, Italy. The eldest was named Catherine.

“The measure of love is to love without measure.”// Francis de Sales   Whenever the opportunity avails itself and I find a young man holding open a door for me, or anyone else, I try to compliment them by saying that they are a “gentleman and a scholar.” Most often I imagine the compliment falls on deaf ears, but I’d like to think that it has stuck with one or two, planting a seed that their helpful gesture is both noticed and appreciated. It says a lot about them.  Model of Meekness As luck would have it, Saint Francis de Sales, the French saint whose feast we celebrate today, was both of these things—not to mention patron of those who are hearing impaired. Pope Francis has called him “the model of meekness” and published an apostolic letter about him at the end of last year, on the 400th anniversary of the death of this Doctor of the Church. Of the many Saints who bear the name Francis, de Sales is often found camouflaged in the wings. His life’s work had tremendously far-reaching ripple effects, but it was done with very little fanfare—thus ‘the model of meekness.’ Call to religious life Being born into a noble family, Francis was expected to take up the life of a gentleman. Educated and poised to do so, he was trained in fencing and horseback riding. One day while riding, he fell from his horse on three different occasions and each time his sword and scabbard landed in the shape of a cross. Francis took this as a sign that the inner prompting he had been feeling toward Holy Orders needed to be heeded. Though his new direction did not please his family, he was ordained in 1593. Patron of Writers and Journalists Early on, after his ordination to the priesthood, Francis was assigned to Geneva, which had become primarily Calvinist. Taking this assignment was dangerous and he was met with a great deal of contempt. He preached publicly against Calvinism and eventually found handing out pamphlets on the Truth of the Catholic Church to be most effective. It is estimated that his writing was connected to some 70,000 Calvinist conversions to Catholicism, thus his role as the patron of writers and journalists. He used his gift of writing with spiritual directees and as he penned his most famous books: An Introduction to the Devout Life and Treatise on the Love of God, each a spiritual classic. His influence on his contemporary, Vincent de Paul, in both of these works was profound. {formbuilder:OTk3ODc=}  Spiritual Director Among his many directees was a widow named Saint Jane Frances de Chantal. Together they started a women’s religious community, the order of the Visitation of Holy Mary, in Annecy in 1610. A widow herself, Chantal found it difficult to join many of the more austere orders. The Visitation order was set apart in several ways, primarily in that they were not strictly cloistered, and unlike other orders, they accepted members who were sick and aged. At the time, it was ground-breaking for women to be taking part in active ministry, and this was met with criticism. Francis supported the ministerial role of the women and wrote The Treatise on the Love of God for their community. Universal Call to Holiness Francis held and instructed that all Christians, no matter their state in life, were called to holiness. His book Instruction to the Devout Life was written for lay people who wished to live lives of holiness, a notion that at the time was met with skepticism by many clergy. In this way, he served as a bridge between early Church fathers and the Second Vatican Council, which recognized and emphasized the universal call to holiness, not reserved for a select few. This “model of meekness” responded to God’s promptings as a French nobleman, a priest, bishop, spiritual director, and advocate for lay people. In so doing, he made religious life accessible to women for whom it had formerly been out of reach. He had tremendous influence on Saints Jane de Chantal and Vincent de Paul, who each went on to start religious orders and become saints themselves. His published works invited people from every walk of life to endeavor for holiness, and in so doing, his thousands of yeses to the Lord, he was named a Doctor of the church.  It begs the question—where might our yeses to the Lord lead us?

Do you have a Saint that is like a golden thread in your life? One that is beautifully woven in throughout the tapestry of your life? A Saint who shows up often in your life—whether through images, stories, or prayers? A Saint who you have a devotion to and that has become like a dear friend? A friend that comes to your aid often?

In my home state of Ohio, winters can be described as wanting. I wish I could romanticize them into ivory winter wonderlands, but the truth is, the sun shines very little from October to April in the buckeye state.

What might have been going through the woman’s mind at this point? She was left alone with Jesus after He had rescued her from those that sought to condemn her for the sin of adultery. Every other man she had been left alone with had used her. 

  The Lord is my light and my salvation. Phone Wallpaper Desktop Wallpaper

We all have hopes and dreams, imaginings of our happily ever afters. So do the Saints. Saint Gemma dreamed and longed to be a nun. There were times in her life she thought that dream was finally coming to be fulfilled, only to be thwarted at the last minute.

My mom claims my favorite sentence when I was little was, “I can do it myself.” Though this attitude is helpful as a child learns new skills, as an adult, it can build walls instead of bridges. This attitude has helped me try new things, but has also spilled over into my prayer life at times. 

As I sat on the couch today reading my daily devotion, I was reflecting on what it’s like to be grateful when you don’t have enough.

“Jesus spoke very strongly to me. ‘What are you doing?’ he said to me. ‘What have you to say? Aren't you ever moved at all?’ Then it was that, not being able to resist any longer, I blurted out: ‘Oh Jesus, how is it that you who are most perfect and all holy choose one so full of coldness and imperfection to love?’”

A good dancer who knows how to lead is art in motion. They have the ability to make even a bad dancer look good, or even a bad dancer feel like they are a good dancer! They can move their partner so subtly—through a gentle touch, a gaze—that the partner willingly follows, trusting their lead. Confident in the other, the partner follows the direction of the lead without even realizing it, just enjoying the process and beauty of the movement.  Perhaps this is why we love to watch the first dance at a wedding. The couple, each confident in the other’s love, can only gaze at each other. Eyelash to eyelash with someone, there is a great deal of intimacy and vulnerability in that gaze. Yet that is the very meaning of the word reconciliation: to be eyelash to eyelash again. When we have an eyelash to eyelash moment with the Lord, perhaps in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, or Adoration, or in the Word, we are changed. We can’t go back to who we were before: the Lord has entered in and we must respond.  Pope Benedict XVI wrote in Deus Caritas Est that, “Being Christian is not the result of an ethical choice or a lofty idea, but the encounter with an event, a person, which gives life a new horizon and a decisive direction.” We can trace the encounter with the person of Jesus in the lives of the Saints, because their lives begin to take a “decisive direction.” St Gemma encountered Jesus at a young age and set her life on the decisive path of following Him to the end—even to accepting and living the wounds of the Crucifixion in her own body. Perhaps when we think about reconciliation and repentance, instead of focusing on what we are leaving behind, we can instead see the dance of the Master Who is ever so gently turning us toward Himself and a new horizon. He is bringing us eyelash to eyelash to see His Heart.  {formbuilder:MTAxMDA1} Closing Prayer //  Lord, help me to trust your movements more in my life. I give you permission, You know best how to move my heart.  I desire to be “eyelash to eyelash” with You, to face new horizons with You.  Reflection Questions // What holds you back from being “eyelash to eyelash” with the Lord?  Plan a time to encounter Jesus in the Sacrament of Reconciliation or the Eucharist. How does the mindset of an encounter foster my experience with Him? 

Saint Gemma Galgani. She had the stigmata. She had piercing eyes.   This was about all I knew about Saint Gemma, and I couldn’t really relate. Then a friend received Saint Gemma’s name at religious profession, and I became intrigued.