Tonight I went to the church to hear a guest speaker –Fr. Leo Patalinghug–  who is leading a mission for the parish. He was very dynamic and kept everyone laughing and learning. Tonight’s focus was about how to become a saint – after all, all saints go to Heaven! He brought several teenagers to the front and asked them to think about what a saint looks like. Then, they were asked to pose like a saint. There were some praying hands, one was “resting in the Spirit”, one was pointing to picture of Mother Teresa on his t-shirt, one looked like a warrior, and a couple weren’t quite sure what to do. Then he asked them to think about what mean or bad people look like and strike another pose. They were attacking one another, ready to fight, turning their backs, crossing their arms, and making mad faces. Fr. Leo talked about how it seems to be easier to replicate bad than good. The images of the saints we have are doing very holy things and seemed awkward to try to depict. He had the youth all link arms and make a long line. The were symbolic of the people in our lives that influence us to make bad decisions. Then he portrayed God and was calling the person on the end to be a saint. The person could not go anywhere because he was attached to all the negative things in his life. He had to fight and struggle, and finally call out to God for help to become detached. We can do this when we avail ourselves to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. God heard his cry and helped him out of the situation. Now he was attached to God. And now, he was to go to those who were in a bad way and bring them to God too. And that is how you become a saint. His whole talk was very engaging and inspirational. I hope I am able to attend another one!

I Found God today in a demonstration of God’s grace and mercy.