Our Patron Saints

Our slices of Daily Bread seem to be a day old, recently...this one will be for sure, since in leaving my morning agenda in God's hands, a house guest occupied the time I usually take to write a slice.  Bear with me. (and blogspot).

Today (Saturday) we celebrate the memorials of Sts. Isaac Jogues, Jean de Brebeuf and Companions.  My patron saint, St. Rene Goupil is "lost" among the "Companions."  It is only by further reading (or googling) that anything can be learned about the others, who for the most part remain anonymous.  What we know about St. Rene is enough to continue to inspire me:  he was an aspirant to the Jesuits, and apparently as he was facing death, St. Isaac Jogues allowed him to pronounce his vows as a Jesuit.  He had something of a medical background but also burned with a desire to "make Jesus known and loved", as do we Marists.  He was tomahawked for teaching children how to make the sign of the cross.  Little did my parents know when they gave me his name (my father's as well) that I would spend 14 years teaching Oglala Lakota children about Jesus and even more specifically, how to make the sign of the cross...following in the footsteps of my patron saint.
When I hear the names of some children today, "saintless names", I lament the absence of a model for them to emulate.  Some will choose a confirmation name, which, thankfully, will become their model:  a conscious choice which might have even greater value.  Others won't even make confirmation, and so be left further adrift on the seas of our ever-increasing secular society.  For these we certainly must pray.
And, today, as well as every day, it would be helpful to invoke our patron saint for the grace to walk in his or her footsteps.  We need companions on the journey, and they are most willing to be there for us.
Bro. Rene