Feast day of St. Anthony Mary Claret

The Holy Spirit works in crazy ways, and today is such an example of His influence in my affairs. My work schedule is wacky, with some days that start at 7, and others that start much later, and consequently end late. You can imagine that it impacts my family, not in a negative way, but that schedules must be carefully arranged. Daily Mass is not something that I fit into that schedule. Let's just say that my attendance is totally random, or motivated by some feast day or special intention.

Last Sunday, John, a.k.a. the lead usher, put away the collection, sealed it, and went home. Then he discovered our contribution still in his pocket. Ooops. It fell to me to take it to the church, and so I attended morning Mass today. Truly, it was a case of coincidences, and I had no motive other than leaving early so I could attend Mass since I was going to the office.

Our pastor, a quirky (how 'bout that generous description?) but kind man, assumed that I had attended Mass for a specific reason. You see, today is the feast day of the Bishop of Santiago, Cuba--St. Anthony Mary Claret. You can read about his life here. He was a very interesting man, one that I knew some, but not much about.

But back to the pastor--he assumed I was there for the feast of this fascinating saint, and indeed, FJ's homily was about St. Anthony Mary Claret's life. In his own weird way, FJ spoke to me, literally, by acknowledging me in the congregation (he does that--it's always a surprise to the victim), but spoke to me more clearly through his interpretation of Claret's life and message. In short, he used, practically, the same words I used at the end of my weekly post at Rosary Army's blog. Among other things, Claret was devoted to the rosary. Hmmm, cue the creepy music.

Anyway, FJ kindly offered the day's intention for the clergy in Cuba, acknowledging my uncle, whom he has never met. I might shake my head at his quirkiness, but he is a good guy.