Saints

Today is an important day. A day to celebrate a certain saint. In my case, I celebrate two.

It is our villages Patron Saint day, Santa Caterina di Siena. Normally, under non-quarantine circumstances, people gather, in pomp and circumstance, to cart our beautiful Caterina (statue) out of the church and walk her in procession through the village and back into the church. Flowers, candles and other gifts are offered to her as well.

Saint Catherine of Siena is revered here, not just in the city and province of Siena, but, along with St Francis of Assisi, she is Patron Saint of Italy. She was the first female to be proclaimed a ‘Doctor of the Church’ and Pope John Paul II declared her Patron Saint of Europe. So I guess you could say, as saints go, she’s a pretty big deal. We are not Catholic, yet thrown into this Catholic world around us, and we are learning. We are especially curious about Santa Caterina and press on in our understanding of her life, her purpose and her journey to sainthood.

Her saint day is today, April 29, as it was the day of her death in 1380.

I already mentioned, I am not Catholic. I subscribe to a less formal definition of ‘saint’. Perhaps the same way you may consider the term ‘saint’. The one that you may toss around, “You are a SAINT for bringing me wine during this quarantine” or “Now that I am homeschooling, she must be a SAINT to put up with all this daily craziness in her class” or, well, you get the picture.

Saints are pretty close to perfect. They are patient and kind. They are virtuous and smart. They are healers and fixers and make the world a perfect place just with their embrace. They are selfless and caring beyond measure. They do a lot of emotional heavy lifting and have unyielding stamina. They radiate goodness like sunbeams. They flash a smile your direction and you are overcome with happiness. Their eyes winkle and light up when they see you. Even when they are mad, they come from a place of love.

I have another saint to celebrate this day. My mom. Like Santa Caterina, she passed away on this day in 1989.

I don’t have a statue to parade around. But I always take some time on this day to unpack her from where she is tucked away in my heart and take a walk with her memory. She is ever-present in my life. And I often aspire to act and be like her. Pretty sure anyone who knew my mom, knew she was special. To me, she was everything and remains saintly.

Normally, since my mom loved the ocean, I try to venture to water - a beach, a seaside or even a lakeshore. However, today, this year, like our village Caterina, I am prevented from worshipping as per tradition.

But you know what? That’s the cool thing about saints…you don’t have to formally celebrate them. You just have to believe they are larger than life, divine and ALWAYS with you always.

Sheila, the best mom saint ever.