Melinda had the blues. For two days the thirteen-year-old walked
around eyes on the floor, and shoulders hunched. Her mother, Beatrice,
didn’t know what else to say or do. At the end of the third day, Melinda
again shut herself in her room after school.
As Christopher walked in from work, he found a frustrated Beatrice.
He handed his wife a half-dozen roses he had picked up along with the
milk and cheese she had asked, and watched her expression relax; then a
smile; then a sigh.
“I don’t know what to do about Melinda…” and she poured out her worries over fresh coffee.
“Let me have a talk with her,” her husband said after the last sip.
And plucking one of the roses from the bunch, made his way upstairs.
“Good luck…” called Beatrice after him.
Knocking and creaking the door open to a muffled “Come in..” Christopher handed Melinda the rose.
“For me?!” said the teary teenager with a coy smile.
Christopher settled down on the edge of Melinda’s bed and asked about her, how she was feeling, what was bothering her.
As Melinda twirled the rose in her hands, she enumerated the usual
reasons–or lack of them. It had begun with her best friend saying some
nasty thing at school, and then Mom who had little time for her… and the
list went on.
At these moments, he knew how important it was to let his girl talk.
Mom was the same. He also knew this was one of those times when he must
push everything else out of his mind and listen with his ears and his
heart. He did. And she felt it.
After 20 minutes she was feeling better.
Now it was Dad’s turn.
“Sweetie”, he began, “You are a sensible girl and you have reasons to
feel down. But, the thing is that when we are overwhelmed by life’s
negativities, we tend to forget about the good things that are actually
happening to us.”
Dad had listened for a long time, so now she listened. She loved him very much.
Christopher continued,
“Have you ever heard of the
Alphabet of Gratitude?”
Melinda shook her head.
“Here’s how it works. For each of the letters of the Alphabet, we
find a corresponding good thing that is happening to us. Some of the
letters can be challenging but that is what makes this game interesting.
So, how about we give it a try?
“
A – How about the A’s you got at school
this semester. Seems to me you only got a couple of B’s but all the rest
were A’s. Did your whole class have the same result?
“No, Dad! I had the most A’s…”
“Awesome!” commented Christopher. “That is great and makes me proud. I have a smart, diligent daughter.”
B – Beatrice for Mom... She is a good mother isn’t she?
Melinda put her head down…
“Yes…Sometimes she gets on my nerves…But she is caring, and smart and
does cook great meals… all in all she is a really good mom.”
“Did you know”, said Christopher, “that some children don’t even have mothers? ….
“Yes” agreed Melinda, “Mom is the best mom I could wish for…She even puts up with my bad moods.”
“
C – our Creator. Christopher then went on
to describe all the great things our Creator has given us. Not only this
beautiful world with trees, waterfalls, mountains and oceans, but He
also made us and gave us a soul and body, talents and intelligence to
enjoy it all. “
“
D – Dessert. Now, your mother is a great cook but when it comes to her desserts…Wow!
“Yes,” Melinda agreed, “her desserts are the best!”
“She is making Crème Brulee tonight!
Melinda smiled.
“And there, again, how many children go hungry these days. But we have your Mom and Crème Brulee.”
“
E – How would life be without Eliot?
That was the name of their funny dog.
“O, Dad, said Melinda, Eliot is a riot!
“And did you notice, Sweetie, how happy he is every day? I am always
amazed how Eliot greets me when I come back from work. It is as if he
had not seen me for a month. He jumps up and down, wants to lick
me…Attitude is everything, it so helps in life. ”
“
F – Father Finn. I think we are pretty
lucky to have him for our Pastor don’t you agree? Imagine if we still
had Father Brock? He was irritable… and his sermons…But Father Finn is
really good, and so kind in Confession…
By letter “
I” Melinda was joining in, “
I…for…ICE-CREAM! I loooove ice-cream!"
They played for a while, now giggling, laughing and commenting.
By letter “
Q” Melinda put her hand on her father’s arm,
“Okay Dad, I see I’ve been really stupid and I’m sorry. I promise I
will make a better effort and remember all the good things happening to
me and in my life. When you think about it, it is impressive how the
good things actually outdo the bad things.
“Did you enjoy our time together?” Her father asked, “Isn’t the Alphabet of Gratitude a neat trick?”
Melinda was all smiles now.
“It’s a real trick, Dad, I’ll always use it! One correction though,
she said hugging his neck…”D” should have been for “DAD,” I have the
BEST!”
As father and daughter walked into the kitchen, Melinda gave her
mother a big hug from behind. Beatrice looked at her husband, wide-eyed,
as if she was looking at a first-class miracle worker.
Of course, half of the solution to Melinda’s blues was the time her
father spent with her. But the other half was the Alphabet of Gratitude
for it gave Melinda a mind-tool, a concrete formula to help her next
time she felt low.
By Antonio FragelliIllustrations by A.F.Phillips
ALSO READ: Give Thanks and Be Happy
“O
most beautiful Cross that was glorified by carrying the Body of Christ!
Glorious Cross, sweetly desired, ardently loved, always sought, and
finally prepared for my heart that has so long awaited you. Take me, O
Cross! Embrace me. Release me from my life among men. Bring me quickly
and diligently to the Master. Through you He will receive me, He, Who
through you has saved me.”
The
Apostle continued by saying that he had “ardently awaited” the cross.
Today men flee far from any kind of suffering, any kind of fight against
their own passions, any kind of renunciation. For them to live is to
enjoy a good life. Andrew, however, ardently awaited his own cross
because he understood that what counts in life is not the pleasure he
has, but the sacrifice he makes. This is what gives meaning to life.
Therefore, the truly supernatural man is a friend of the cross, as St.
Louis Marie de Montfort said so well.
The
last pagan king of the Frisians was noted for saying that he preferred
to be in Hell with his ancestors than in Heaven without them. However,
his great-grandson and namesake became a saint.
Catherine
was born Zoé Labouré on May 2, 1806, the ninth of eleven children born
to a farm family in Fain-les-Moutiers, France. When only eight years
old, her mother died and Catherine was made responsible for the running
the house and helping her father. Although she would remain illiterate
her whole life, she was allowed to enter the convent of the Sisters of
Charity of St. Vincent de Paul on the Rue du Bac in the French capital
when she was twenty-two and took the name Catherine upon her profession.
This son of the soil became one of the most illustrious preachers in the history of the Franciscan Order.
Widely
regarded in his own lifetime as a second St. Francis of Assisi, he died
in 1742 just as he was beginning the solemn novena for the feast of the
Immaculate Conception. Upon hearing of his death, the poor children of
Lucera ran through the streets, crying "The saint is dead! The saint is
dead!" In this humble Franciscan they had lost a true father and
protector.
During
His life in this world, Our Lord exercised aspects of all professions
fit for man—from the highest to the lowest. To even begin to appreciate
the perfection of His Person, we would have to imagine the archetype of
every licit profession known to man.
Our Lord personified the fulfillment of the Sacrament of Holy Orders. He was Priest and Pontiff
par excellence. The priests of the Old Testament prefigured His
priesthood, and every priest after Him would share His priesthood as an
"alter Christus" - another Christ. On Holy Thursday, Christ was the
Priest and Victim of the first Mass, which prefigured His sacrificial
offering on the altar of the cross.
The
Emperor Maximinus, who was violently persecuting the Christians at the
time, was astounded when the young maiden presented herself to him and
boldly admonished him for his cruelty and persecution, and endeavored to
prove to him by the strength and logic of her arguments how iniquitous
was the worship of false gods. Completely taken aback by Catherine’s
audacity but unable to counteract any of her arguments himself, the
Emperor summoned numerous scholars to the imperial palace to compel the
young girl, by sophistic counter arguments and devious subterfuges, to
apostatize against the Faith. However, not only did Catherine emerge
from the contest victorious, but she conquered several of her
adversaries by the eloquence and resounding veracity of her words.
Declaring themselves won over to the Christian Faith, these new
adherents were immediately put to death by the enraged Emperor and
Catherine was most brutally scourged and imprisoned.
Born
in 1795 in the Tonkinese town of Bac-Nihh in North Vietnam, Tran An
Dung was the son of pagan parents. In search of work for themselves in
1807, his parents moved to the ancient citadel of Hanoi. Here their
twelve-year-old son was taken care of by a catechist and for three years
was instructed in the Catholic faith. Baptized in Vinh-Tri, he received
the Christian name Andrew (Anrê) in baptism and went on to learn both
Chinese and Latin and himself became a catechist. He was selected for
further studies in theology and was ordained to the priesthood on March
15, 1823.
To
avoid further persecution by the authorities, Andrew Dung changed his
name to Lac and relocated to a different region. While visiting a fellow
priest, in order to confess himself, Dung-Lac was arrested with Father
Peter Thi on November 10, 1839. In exchange for a monetary ransom paid
to their captors, the two priests were liberated, but their freedom was
short-lived. Re-arrested not long afterwards, they were taken to Hanoi
and severely tortured. They were beheaded shortly before Christmas Day
on December 21, 1839.
In
the US, Thanksgiving dates back to the first colonists in Plymouth,
M.A. in 1621, who organized a feast in thanks for a good harvest.
Columban
was born about the year 543 in County Meath, in the Irish province of
Leinster, to respectable parents. He was well-educated in grammar,
rhetoric, geometry, and the Holy Scriptures. The young Columban resolved
early to embrace monastic asceticism and dedicate himself to a strict
and disciplined life, abstaining from many of the pleasures of the
world. However, he struggled with purity, and desperate to dedicate
himself wholly to God, asked the advice of a religious woman who had
lived as a hermit for many years.
Cecilia
was a devout Christian maiden of noble Roman birth who lived during the
early part of the third century. At a very young age, she secretly
dedicated herself to God, resolving to remain a virgin to her death. She
fasted and prayed often, and wore a coarse shift under her clothes as a
perpetual penance.
St.
Urban and his deacons buried her among the bishops in the catacomb of
St. Callixtus along the Apian Way. As she had requested, her house was
transformed into a church by the Holy Pontiff and it has remained in the
service of the Church until this day.
Born
in 1814, Alphonse Ratisbonne was from a family of wealthy, well-known
Jewish bankers in Strasbourg, France. In 1827, Alphonse’s older brother,
Thèodore, converted to Catholicism and entered the priesthood, thus
breaking with his anti-Catholic family whose hopes now lay in the young
Alphonse. At 27, Alphonse was
intelligent and well mannered. He had already finished his law degree,
and decided to travel to Italy before marrying and assuming his
responsibilities in the family business. However, God had other plans
for him.
kneeling
close to an altar, weeping. Alphonse himself tells us what happened in
those few minutes he waited for the Baron: “I had only been in the
church a short while when, all of a sudden, I felt totally uneasy for no
apparent reason. I raised my eyes and saw that the whole building had
disappeared. Only one side chapel had, so to say, gathered all the
light. In the midst of this splendor, the Virgin Mary appeared standing
on the altar. She was grandiose,
brilliant, full of majesty and sweetness, just as she is in the
Miraculous Medal. An irresistible force attracted me to her. The Virgin
made a gesture with her hand indicating I was to kneel.”
On
the feast of the Presentation of the Virgin Mary, we celebrate the fact
that Our Lady’s parents brought her to the Temple at the age of three
and handed her over to live there for a long period as a consecrated
virgin where she might exclusively contemplate God.
Opening Prayer:
The Cross will be despised
At
the time of Saint Catherine Labouré’s death, the distribution of the
medal in the world had surpassed the one billion mark. The innumerable
conversions, cures and cases of extraordinary protection, quickly lead
to its being called the “Miraculous Medal.”
Though
only about fifteen years old when crowned in 855, Edmund showed himself
a model ruler from the first, anxious to treat all with equal justice,
and closing his ears to flatterers and untrustworthy informers. In his
eagerness for prayer he retired for a year to his royal tower at
Hunstanton and learned the whole Psalter by heart, in order that he
might afterwards recite it regularly.
Born
of royal descent, Nerses was the son of At'anagenes and his mother was
the sister of King Tigranes VII and a daughter of King Khosrov III. His
paternal grandfather was St. Husik I whose paternal grandfather was St.
Gregory the Illuminator, who converted the Armenian king to Christianity
and became the first Patriarch of Armenia.
Born
on August 29, 1769 in the French city of Grenoble, Rose Philippine was
baptized in the Church of St. Louis. She was educated at the Convent of
the Visitation of Ste. Marie d'en Haut and, against her father’s wishes,
became a novice there when she was eighteen years old. However, the
French Revolution caused much disruption for the nuns, and when the
Sisters of the Visitation were expelled from their convents, Rose
returned home.
