A Saint to Emulate
Posted by Arwen Mosher in Family on Monday, October 19, 2009 9:17 PM
Today is the feast of St. Isaac Jogues and his companions. He’s the patron saint I chose when I got confirmed, so it’s a special day for me.
When I was a child we had a number of books about saints written for children and published by Ignatius Press. My favorite was one entitled St. Isaac and the Indians, all about the life of the early Jesuit missionary to the Americas.
Honestly, I’m not sure why I liked it so much. In general, I preferred books with happy endings. St. Isaac’s eternal reward is certainly a glorious one, but as far as his life on earth… well, he was a martyr. We know how that one goes.
Despite the fact that the book’s hero is killed at the end, I loved St. Isaac and the Indians. I read it many times. Part of the appeal was that much of Isaac’s missionary work took place around the Great Lakes, my own home territory. Mostly, though, I was drawn to St. Isaac’s person.
Today I hopped over to the Catholic Encyclopedia to read again the story of St. Isaac’s life. It was a brutal one: before he was martyred he lived in slavery for a while, and did you know that he once got special permission from the pope to celebrate Mass, because his hands were so mutilated from torture that technically his celebrating Mass was canonically forbidden?
I’ve always been attached to my creature comforts, and I am nothing like St. Isaac. But I think that is why I find him so inspiring, and why he is a good patron for me. I can call on his intercession to help me be more like him: strong, self-sacrificing, a soldier for Christ.
St. Isaac Jogues, pray for us!
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