Finding Christ in the Saints
By Mathieu Dacquay
November often feels to me like the beginning of the end of the year. Trees lose their leaves, the garden dies back, and the fruits of the land are harvested and stored for the winter to come. Liturgically, this feeling is taken up in both the feasts and readings that begin to look ahead to the end of all things when Christ will come again.
This month begins with the solemnity of All Saints, when we celebrate those who have made it to heaven, those known and recognised by the Church and those we don’t know. All these saints have in common a deep desire to know, love and serve God and their lives become examples for us to follow. The feast of Christ the King, the last Sunday of the year, ends the liturgical year before the season of Advent begins the new one. It celebrates the reign of Christ in our world and looks forward to His second and glorious coming at the end of times. These two feasts represent our call as Christians to bear Christ in our hearts, allowing Him to transform us and enabling us to bring Him into the lives of those around us. The saints give endless examples of this in their lives and we can be inspired through their unique experiences in order to become the saints that God desires us to be.
I’ll bring up some lives of saints that have inspired me. Blessed Nicolas Postgate is a great example of someone whose life was dedicated to bringing Christ to the Church here in North Yorkshire. He ministered to the Catholics of the area, in spite of the risk of persecution and execution, in bringing the sacraments to them. Blessed Nicholas was captured while baptising a baby and accepted his fate with peace. At an advanced age he accomplished his calling through martyrdom.
Another example is Marie Marguerite d’Youville from my native Canada. She was a widow who founded the Sisters of Charity of Montreal, commonly known as “the Grey Nuns” to serve the poor and the sick. She faced the derision and suspicion of those around her because her deceased husband had been a bootlegger and also because it wasn’t common for religious sisters to engage in charitable activities at that time (the end of the 18th century). But she persevered, finding Christ in the poor and the sick and bringing them all her loving concern and care.
Lastly, I would like to tell you about St. Anthony of the Desert. He was an Egyptian in the 3rd to 4th century who heard Christ calling him to live in poverty and contemplative prayer. He sought the silence and isolation of the desert to deepen his connection with God. Eventually others were drawn to follow him and they lived in separate huts and came together on Sundays for communal prayers. He led the early monks through his many teachings on prayer.
These are just some of the saints that have inspired me. Who are yours?
Previous Months Letters from Madonna House
October 2024: The Feast Day of St. Francis of Assisi By Jeanne Guillemette
September 2024: The Triumph of the Cross By Rev. Kieran Kilcommons
August 2024: Jesus and the Little Girl By Carol Ann Gieske
July 2024: Dont Forget to take Jesus Home By Jeanne Guillemette
June 2024: Living Under Mary’s Mantle By Fr. Michael Weitl
May 2024: Vocation & Journey in Christ’ By Mathieu Dacquay
April 2024: Christ Lives! By Carol Ann Gieske
March 2024: Putting everything ‘on the altar’ By Jeanne Guillemette
February 2024: Finding Peace in Surrender to Christ By Mathieu Dacquay
January 2024: Celebrating Epiphany with the Christian east By Fr. Michael Weitl
December 2023: Journeying through Advent with Joseph By Carol Ann Gieske
November 2023: The Saints Are Alive By Jeanne Guillemette
October 2023: Ordinary Miracles By Mathieu Dacquay