When Saints Stalk…

… Did I ever tell you how I was stalked by St. Anthony once? Well, it least it seemed that way to me. Tony just kept popping up everywhere. I feel like I can call him that. Tony. You know, since we go so far back.

Saints just have their ways. Coming and going and making their presence known when you need them most. Sometimes you don’t even know you need them till they show up. Heavenly party crashers.

So I was cleaning out my closet this evening and found some old purses. Digging through them I found an ancient looking copy of The Way by Josemaria Escriva. Now my knowledge of Opus Dei doesn’t extend farther than a few Dan Brown references and I don’t remember having ever seen this book before, so how it came into my possession is a mystery.

But as Kathy Schiffer pointed out to me, tomorrow is Escriva’s feast day so that makes duty bound by Catholic law to read this book. Even more strange about this book is that it had Kathy’s business card in it and another card for this place in Rome. So I obviously acquired it while visiting in Rome but I never took this particular purse on that trip. And I don’t remember having seen it before when I unpacked. Did I some how unknowingly steal a book from the Vatican? And what are the eternal implications for that? Maybe the statute of limitations on Vatican theft expires with each new pope. In which case, I should be OK. Right?

Anyway…. now I feel bad and junk because I really wanted to finish this other book I’ve been reading but due to it’s mysterious appearance and even more mysterious timing I feel like Jose ( I can call him that) is guilting me into reading his book instead – what with his feast day coming up and all. I don’t even like books written like this – The Way is made up of short ‘counsels’. It’s like reading snippets taken out of context from something larger and more meaningful… Like when protestants quote Bible verses at you.

I’ll just have to suck it up. Jose (I can call him that) obviously thinks I need this book and is trying to help my heathen soul.

No albino monks where harmed in the making of this post.