If you’re like me, you probably never heard of Saint Bernardino of Siena (1380–1444). I learned about him a couple of weeks ago when I read a summary of his life. His feast day is on May 20, the same day as my birthday. This year, when I turned 57, I decided that it was time for me to learn about the saint who is honored by the Catholic Church every year on my birthday.
Last summer while my wife and I were having dinner at a local restaurant, the waitress who was serving our table asked me how everything was going with my law practice. I looked at her, hesitated, and answered, “It’s going pretty well.” Since I didn’t recognize her, I asked, “Do you work for a law firm?” She answered that she had worked at the courthouse for several years before quitting her job.
In a recent Adoration Letter article titled “Too Tired To Care,” I wrote about the importance of making an effort to always keep your mind young, fresh, enthusiastic, and hopeful. In the article, I mentioned a reporter who had followed Mother Teresa around for several days and was completely exhausted by the end of each day. The reporter noticed that Mother Teresa, who was more than twice the age of the reporter, appeared to be as fresh and energetic as she was when she started each day.
Last weekend, Georgette and I attended two First Holy Communion Masses. The first Mass was on Saturday, and the second was on Sunday. One of the most refreshing experiences for me is to witness young, innocent seven-year-old children receiving our Lord for the first time. At that age, children are still bursting with energy, enthusiasm, and hope for the future, and they have not yet been infected with the poisons of cynicism and resentment.
Last month while I was at a party, I ran into a man that I had assisted with some legal problems in the mid-1980s. (For the purpose of this article, I’m going to call him “Mark.”) When I saw Mark at the party he didn’t look very well to me. In addition to being extremely thin, his skin looked dull and pasty.