A Poem in Honor of St. Alphonsus Liguori

Every now and then I write poetry, not especially good poetry, mind you, just flights of fancy. It happens a lot when I'm on five-day silent retreats. Perhaps I'm a bit stir crazy by the fourth day, but I have lots of poems in the back of my retreat journals.

What We Can Learn from the Bees.

Bees have been the subject of countless meditations from the saints over the generations. They are mentioned so often I believe they must have a special place in God's kingdom. And what a privilege to serve as a beekeeper for these tiny creatures of God. They teach me so much.

Yesterday my husband and I inspected our hives to make sure they all have enough room to expand. This time of year we try to prevent swarming.

 Three hives had so many bees and the boxes were so full of nectar and pollen we added a new box to each one. It made me think of the posts I've seen lately about how many people have come into the Church this year. Praise God for all the newbies (and newbees)! 

Need a friend for the year? There's a whole heaven full from which to choose!

I recently read that a Catholic tradition for Valentine's Day is to choose a saint for the year to be your special friend. What a great idea! I've been pondering the question. So many saints deserve a better acquaintance. Who would bring me to a closer walk with Jesus this year if I beg their intercession every day? Padre Pio? St. Gemma? St. Alphonsus Liguori? St. Philomena? St. Joseph? St. Francis de Sales? St. Jacinta? What a wealth of friendship there is in the Communion of Saints.

An Epilogue to Aqua's Conversion Story

As members of the Communion of Saints,
we all have stories to tell of God's grace working in our lives!

If you haven't read the original posts about Aqua's conversion, I highly recommend them. They point to the amazing way God works in the lives of his children. I would happily publish other conversion stories from our readers. Maybe Susan will share hers.