My youngest granddaughter, Madison, chose Dorothy for her confirmation name. Am I pleased? You bet! She picked that name because of her great-grandmother. My mother -- Dorothy.
Mother died December 19, 2011. Madison and her sister, Meagan associated my mother with Dorothy in the "Wizard of Oz." The few times they visited with Mother, she wore red shoes. My the girls grinned in delight! So when Mother died my granddaughters were there to support me.
The question popped in my head ... just who is St. Dorothy? Here's what I found.
Dorothy, which means "Gift of God," is patron saint of brides, florists and gardeners. Her feast day is February 6. Dorothy suffered a martyr's death for her love of God. Her parents also were martyred before her in the Diocletian persecution.
She was from Cappodeocia, now Turkey. Fabritius, govenor of Caesarena, sent her to her death. Roman soldiers treated her cruelly in an effort to break her faith. She was put to death in mid-winter, on February 6, 311 A.D. in the city of Caesarea, now Cappadocia, during the persecution of Christians by the Roman Emperor Diocletion.
Dorothy reused to marry or worship idols. The Roman soldier who escorted her to death laughed at her suggesting she send him some fruits and flowers from the garden she spoke of where she said she was going to meet her groom. At the executioners block where she knelt, Dorothy prayed that the soldier's request be fulfilled.
After she died, a basket was delivered to the soldier by an angel. The soldier recognized the apples and roses were not native to the arid steppes of Turkey. He then believed Dorothy!
Thank you, Madison. I am proud to call you St. Dorothy!
Tuesday, May 1, 2012
Monday, July 12, 2010
Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
If for no other reason Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha became special to me became her feast day is celebrated on my birthday. Then in her honor I named our beautiful apricot, miniature poodle Kateri because I found her on July 14, Kateri's feast day.
Daily I call upon Kateri in love and kindness as I playfully share life with the mother of a litter of puppies all named after saints. Kateri, my pet, has been a joyful part of my life.
The one who waits sainthood seems to have a longer wait now that the Church has turned even further from the American Indian. Kateri died at the age of 24 as a martyer for her faith from a terrible disease.
When she became a Catholic at a young age, her tribe disowned her. Not only her tribe but her immediate family. Modern day converts have had to deal with such happenings, but not in such remote situations as Kateri. She was alone in a white man's world. All she knew is that she loved Jesus, his cross, and the Eucharist. So she chose to suffer for what she believed in and loved. Heaven would be her reward.
Prayer for the Canonization of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
O God, Who, among the many marvels of Your Grace in the New World, did cause to blossom on the banks of the Mohawk and of the St. Lawrence, the pure and tender Lily, Kateri Tekekwitha, grant we beseech You, the favor we beg through her intercession; that this Young Lover of Jesus and of His Cross May soon be counted among her Saints by Holy Mother Church, and that our hearts may be enkindled with a stronger desire to imitate her innocence and faith. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Born: Auriesville, New York 1656
Baptized: Ronda, New York 1676
Died: Caughnawaga, P.Q.,Canada. 1680
Declared Venerable by Pope Pius XII, Jan. 3, 1943
Beatified by Pope John PaulII, June 22 1980
Daily I call upon Kateri in love and kindness as I playfully share life with the mother of a litter of puppies all named after saints. Kateri, my pet, has been a joyful part of my life.
The one who waits sainthood seems to have a longer wait now that the Church has turned even further from the American Indian. Kateri died at the age of 24 as a martyer for her faith from a terrible disease.
When she became a Catholic at a young age, her tribe disowned her. Not only her tribe but her immediate family. Modern day converts have had to deal with such happenings, but not in such remote situations as Kateri. She was alone in a white man's world. All she knew is that she loved Jesus, his cross, and the Eucharist. So she chose to suffer for what she believed in and loved. Heaven would be her reward.
Prayer for the Canonization of Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha
O God, Who, among the many marvels of Your Grace in the New World, did cause to blossom on the banks of the Mohawk and of the St. Lawrence, the pure and tender Lily, Kateri Tekekwitha, grant we beseech You, the favor we beg through her intercession; that this Young Lover of Jesus and of His Cross May soon be counted among her Saints by Holy Mother Church, and that our hearts may be enkindled with a stronger desire to imitate her innocence and faith. Through the same Christ Our Lord. Amen.
Born: Auriesville, New York 1656
Baptized: Ronda, New York 1676
Died: Caughnawaga, P.Q.,Canada. 1680
Declared Venerable by Pope Pius XII, Jan. 3, 1943
Beatified by Pope John PaulII, June 22 1980
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