Saint Nicholas

One of the things I would love for Alma to learn about is the saints.  They are all so dynamic and interesting.  It is great to have certain ones to look to for guidance and as examples.

Joshua and I grew up with certain saints who were part of our daily's vocabulary.  Silly rhymes added a sense of the spiritual to the everyday.  For example, "Tony Tony turn around, something is lost and can't be found" = praying to St. Anthony, the patron saint of lost things or "Mother Cabrini Mother Cabrini, find a spot for my little machiney" = praying to St. Frances Cabrini for a parking space.  Moreover, we knew the basics of a variety of other saints.

Alma's middle name is Kateri after Blessed Kateri Tekakwitha.  Joshua and I loved Kateri's story of hardship, dedication, resolution and faith.  Just as Kateri left her tribe to follow the Jesuits, we hope that Alma can find her passion in life and be fully present to where life leads her.  Idealistic babble in some ways, but that is the beauty of saints.  They can be there as examples and support. 

We already have a large figure of Saint Francis in our dining room.  When she was a year old, Alma would wave to it when she was going up for a nap or bedtime.  This inclusion into her daily routine felt natural and inclusive.  During quiet times of our day, I try to tell her stories of the saints.  I'm excited to hear her thoughts about them in the coming years.

One of the saints who I would like to have a large part in defining is Saint Nicholas (Santa Clause).  I read this great description of him a while back and I think it is how I would like to spin his tale in our household.

Nicholas loved the Christ Child and wanted to give him gifts. But he lived long after the Christ Child did. Nicholas wondered if maybe there was something of the Christ Child in every child. So he began to give gifts to children on Christmas Eve. He was shy, and so he gave his gifts in secret, leaving only the present and the delight of receiving it behind. When Nicholas was old and full of years he died, but somehow the gifts kept coming. Sometimes they were left on the front porch, or came through a window or even down the chimney!

How great to focus on his generosity rather than his judgement, all his cool stuff (reindeer, flying sled, home on the North Pole, elves, etc) or all the stuff he gives you.  Maybe I'm also seeking this guidance of the saints as I begin my own Christmas wish list and realize how it simply consists of wanting to be surrounded by loving, positive energy.  And being tempted to give everyone on our list a nice pair of cozy socks that can be our way of loving them in the everyday instead of trying to impress them for a fleeting moment.