When the saints go marching in!Anna Muttathupadathu is said to have been a "generous and loving" person. She lived a short life, from 1910 to 1946, and she was ill much of that time, but despite her health problems, she remained committed to her religious vocation.
Anna was a nun. Her religious name was Sister Alphonsa. When a young girl, in order to avoid an unwanted marriage, she "burnt and disfigured herself."
After her death, people in Kerala, where she lived and worked, said she had worked miracles. One of these involved a young paralyzed boy who was cured by her prayers.
On a visit to India in 1986, the late Pope John Paul II beautified Sister Alphonsa, that beautification being the first step toward sainthood in the Roman Church. Sister Alphonsa will be canonized this October and will become India's first woman saint (before Sister Theresa!).
This canonization is expected to be a source of pride to India's Catholics and hopefully will offer support to Christians "who are often subject to persecution and violence by some Hindu groups, for political motives," said Marco Tosatti, Vatican correspondent for the Italian daily, La Stampa.
I'm willing to grant that Sister Alphonsa was a fine person, although the self-mutilation stuff is bothersome. But other than her winning ways, her smile, her commitment to her vocation, and her one miracle, there doesn't seem to much else that would qualify her to be a "saint."
And I can't help wonder why the Papacy keeps fooling around with this "saintly" nonsense when there are so many other, serious and pressing issues facing the Church and the world?
1 comment:
Pardon my ignorance, but what do Saints do? Do they wander the earth in some guise or disguise, doing good works? What are good works and can we all agree on whatever definition is given? Do they float around Heaven and do good works from there? Not too long ago, some saints were demoted. What happened to them after they were demoted? Were there perks and were they taken away? Do saints get wings? Once one gets wings, does one have to undergo flight training and be accredited as suitable to fly? I somehow never learned these important things. Has there ever been a verified accident where a winged saint or angel collided with a plane or space missal or wherever the flight paths are?
I am curious and hope someone can enlighten me.
Bob Poris
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