Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

Today's Mass Readings

A very happy feast day of St. Patrick! Today, in our Burkhart family, our little saint was born back in 1965! It was VERY exciting for the Irish family! My grandmother had a baby girl named Mary Joel. She was lively, full of energy and love! On the night of January 4, 1966, when my grandfather came back home from adoration, he checked in Aunt Mary’s crib. She smiled at him and went to sleep. Days later, she passed away on January 8, which would have been the earthly birthday of St. Maximilian Kolbe! Who would have thought years later her oldest nephew would enter Immaculate Conception Abbey, taking the name Maximilian.

St. Patrick once said, “If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God.” Though her short life, my aunt Mary Joel lived this earthly life to the fullest. As my grandmother said to me a year before she passed, “One of the nuns who came to console us said, ‘You don’t know how lucky you are!! You have your own personal saint!’ Maximilian, I never wanted to punch so hard in my life, but seeing everything now, she was right! I know it sounds crazy, but I see Mary on Jesus’ lap with a big smile, watching the whole family guiding us and helping us!” I can testify that this is true! With the help of St. Patrick and my own personal saint, Mary Joel, I can try my best to become a saint!

Do you have your own personal saint that you can celebrate? A little girl showed our family that even though she was called home to Jesus at a very young age, but that’s the point. This isn’t our home. We are still pilgrims on this side of the veil. Celebrate St. Patrick, and celebrate your own personal saint because they have reached the goal that we are all striving to reach!

Reflection by Br. Maximilian Burkhart, OSB