At church today I was in the company of saints. A few rows before me, freshly sainted Teresa of Calcutta, St. Thérèse de Lisieux, St. Michael, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Francis, St. Damien Tours. In other pews, St. Juan Diego, St. Brigid, St. Faustina, St. John Vianney and lots of nuns.
At the consecration they were invited to the altar, making for quite the communion feast! As an Episcopalian I don't get to see very many children in church, so it's a pleasure to be able to witness the goings on at the little church around my Brooklyn corner, the Catholic
Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph. It was unexpectedly moving to see them in these costumes. I'm not sure how widespread the practice of dressing up as your favorite saint, nun or priest is (today is World Mission Sunday); I think it'd be a powerful experience for a little person. (I noted that my Thérèse was Afro-Caribbean, my Katheri a mestiza, and my Michael a girl.) I didn't have time to follow them as they processed to another church, but it must have been quite a spectacle: little saints marching!
At church today I was in the company of saints. A few rows before me, freshly sainted Teresa of Calcutta, St. Thérèse de Lisieux, St. Michael, St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Francis, St. Damien Tours. In other pews, St. Juan Diego, St. Brigid, St. Faustina, St. John Vianney and lots of nuns.
