Ran across this quote scribbled on a piece of paper as I cleaned my desk:
We find rest in those we love, and we provide a resting place in ourselves for those who love us. — Saint Bernard Of Clairvaux
Isn’t that beautiful? Doesn’t that make you want to gather up all the people you love and hold them close to your heart?
Yes.
I have recently developed a special devotion to St. Rose of Lima. I feel like she picked me, instead of the other way around.
At the recent Edel Gathering in Charleston, I happened to have her assigned to me as my hall pass and conference patron. There’s a more complicated story about that. I’ll share it another time, but suffice to say, she’s my girl now.
Coincidentally, or God-incidentally, she’s also featured in my very favorite chapter of My Badass Book of Saints.
Because I grew up Catholic and attended Catholic schools, I knew of St. Rose in that way that most kids get to know saints — there was probably a statue of her somewhere, most likely in the convent or a classroom, and if she wasn’t a martyr with some fantastic tale of a beheading, then that’s about where the story ended for me.
I’m desperately trying to make up for lost time when it comes to familiarizing myself with the lives of extraordinary men and especially women whose holy lives inspire me to grow in sanctity — one story at a time.
St. Rose, the story goes, was so beautiful that she cut off her hair and rubbed pepper all over her face in order to repel suitors.
That got my attention.
She consecrated her virginity to Christ, in spite of her father’s opposition. He wanted her to marry and blocked her from becoming a nun. He finally gave in to her, and allowed her to pursue an ascetic life, retired to her rooms.
Although she never became a nun, she did enter The Third Order St. Dominic and served the poor and sick in her community. I liked her for serving the poor, something that pulls at my heart, too.
“The gift of grace increases as the struggle increases.” -St. Rose of Lima
But her care for the sick drew me in. I started reading about St. Rose at about the same time my father’s cancer took a bad turn, and the more I read about her, the more I began to see the beauty in his caregivers, starting first with my mother but also in the loving selflessness of nurses and other health professionals.
As I learn to accept and go with the flow in my own husband’s illness, I take great solace in knowing I have in St. Rose a companion and prayer partner. That I continue to encounter her in odd moments, whether in a chapel, or like at Edel, in a medal picked out for me by someone else, tells me she has taken an interest in me.
Blows my mind a little, but why not? You can’t beat having a Saint want to befriend you, now, can you? Takes spiritual friendship to a new level. And grace.
One of the great things about working in an academic setting is the opportunity for intellectual engagement with colleagues across the various disciplines. This opportunity came up earlier this week at our faculty forum. A colleague presented a project on which we’ve collaborated, and we’re excited to implement during the fall semester.
The basic premise was developed in my composition class, where I’ve worked with students to develop a process essay based upon their dreams and turning those dreams into achievable goals. The students write their academic goals, including the steps they need to complete, in order to accomplish their goals. The handwritten part is essential — a process I insist upon based on research. A quick search will lead you here…here…here…and here.
The project requires students to carry a small print book with their handwritten notes and analysis of their academic progress.
A question about developing an online version led to a spirited discussion that started in the business division and ended in the early childhood education division. The consensus: handwritten analysis has a place in the modern college classroom as a complement to the technology we are all so inclined to prefer.
This TED Talk by Jake Weidmann addresses the issue beautifully and eloquently. Just like his lovely penmanship.
