Gems from Laura's life

 

Today is the feast of Blessed Laura Vicuña, an amazing adolescent who, at such a tender age, had understood the meaning of true love. To remember Laura is a reminder for us FMAs:

1. to create educational environments where young people feel that they are truly loved and accompanied to undertake a journey to holiness;

2. to not be afraid of proposing high ideals to young people because they have a great heart capable of aiming high;

3. to appreciate the simple elements of our Salesian spirituality: joy and service in everyday life; friendship with Jesus, nourished by His Word and by the Eucharist; the sacrament of Reconciliation; the living presence of Mother Mary;

4. to believe in the young. With them, we are called to be missionaries of hope and of joy.

Saints let God's light pass through them

Whenever I enter a church, big or small, I am always fascinated by stained glass windows. When there is good light outside, the stained glass windows make whatever figure or design etched on them come alive. The stronger the light, the clearer the image.
I remember one anecdote. In one catechism class, the teacher asked this question: Who are the saints? One child answered: Saints are those who let the light pass through them.
Holiness is more than just doing something good or heroic. It is, first of all, allowing God to be present in us, to pass through us.

Holy and Blameless

Yesterday's feast of the Immaculate Conception gives us a picture of what we are all called to be: holy and blameless.
Holy, because God, our Father is holy. It's about having a life that is holistic, that is integrated in all its different aspects.
Blameless, because we are saved by the love of God poured out on us in Jesus Christ.

Laura's lesson

January 22 is the commemoration day of Blessed Laura Vicuña, but since this year January 22 is a Sunday, we celebrate it today. Laura was a pupil at one of our schools in Argentina in the early 1900s.
By all standards, Laura didn't have an easy life. Some might even say that, as a young girl, she had a lot on her plate. The factors for a "successful" life weren't "in her cards". So why is she remembered and held as a model for adolescents and youth?
As I remember this amazing adolescent who, at such a tender age, had understood that to love is to offer one's life so that the beloved may have true life, I cannot help but ask myself, what does Laura's life teach me as a Salesian educator?
What lessons do I learn from Laura Vicuña's life?
Lesson number 1: I do not educate alone. Education is more efficacious when done in synergy and when the environment itself offers a space where education is possible. Our educational settings must be places where young people feel that they matter, that they are accepted with their limits and possibilities, but with trust in the presence of good in each one.
Lesson number 2: I should have the guts to show them to strive for something more. Young people have great hearts capable of aiming high. We don't do them justice when what we offer is mediocre.
Lesson number 3: Simple and ordinary are exciting, too. We have practices and traditions that some might think outdated, but in reality, they help to form convictions and habits. Our Salesian spirituality offers a view of life that is positive and full of hope. We do not need big events to have an exciting life. What makes us happy is not when we are focused on ourselves but when we share and when we serve others. Looking at Jesus, listening to His Word and being nourished by the Eucharist will help me become a "person for other", and this is the secret of joy. We need idols, people whose lives show us that yes, aiming high is possible, being good is cool, because, in the end, it lasts. Mother Mary is for us not only a mother, but an all-time-model.
Laura Vicuña reminds me to believe in the young. They have good hearts. They desire to have meaningful lives.
With young people, we are called to be missionaries of hope and of joy.

Maria's message

And one of them, a doctor of the law, questioned him, to test him: "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him: "You shall love the Lord your God from all your heart, and with all your soul and with allyour mind. This is the greatest and first commandment. But the second is similar to it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments the entire law depends, and also the prophets." (Mt 22:35-40)

Today we celebrate the holiness of Maria Goretti, an Italian girl who, at twelve years of age, chose to die rather than to compromise her purity. Perhaps in our present context this doesn't make sense to a lot of people. She could have just allowed "it", so she could save her life. Some people might even resort to ridiculing her choice, saying that she was such a prude.
For me it goes beyond protecting something that was a part of her. Maria defended, upholded a choice, the choice of her life. Her martyrdom was an expression that her choice for God was non-negotiable. It was the most significant choice of her life and she was not willing to compromise, even if it meant losing her life. Indeed, hers was the beatitude of the single-hearted. That is what purity means. Jesus said that the pure of heart will see God.
But what makes Maria Goretti's life more incredible was that she died forgiving the person who did her harm.
Yes, she really put Jesus' words into practice.
To love God is not something that is only between God and me. Loving God is verified by our love of neighbor. The more difficult it is to do that, the more we need the help of God. And when we are able to do so, we are truly daughters and sons of God.

Holiness

To do the right thing, at the right time, and in the right place is not rigidity. It is discipline. It is responsibility.
But when we do it for love of God, well, that is holiness.

Made for the heights

Yesterday I read an article on how to resist temptation. It gave several practical tips culled from two biblical figures: Joseph (he of the technicolor robe) and Job. What has struck me most was one tip that says that we must remember our dignity as God's children, His image and likeness.
Of course, in life falling into sin is something normal. That is why Jesus exhorts us to be merciful. That is why Jesus talks to us about sick people needing doctors. That is why Jesus narrated the stories of the lost sheep, the lost coin, the lost son. That is why we have the sacrament of Confession.
But I believe that it would do us well to focus on this positive thing: We are not chicken meant to pick on food that we find on the ground. We are eagles. We are meant for the heights. I guess this is one secret the saints have discovered and have staked their lives on.
We are meant for the stars, not the heights of fame, success and fortune.
We are meant for God, all the rest are passing. After all, holiness is not about our perfection. It's all about turning my life towards God.