Feast of All Saints

In the Roman Catholic Church, today is the Feast of All Saints. The day is observed to remember all of the Saints (and no I don't mean the team members of the New Orleans Saints). As will all things human, some saints are more popular than others so this day is sort of the catch-all day because there are just to many Saints to have an indvidual feast day.

Feast of All Saints is also a holy day of obligation. This means that Roman Catholics are obliged to attend Mass today. However, since today is Saturday and tomorrow is Sunday and we're obliged to be at Sunday Mass anyway...members of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston received a special dispensation and we don't have to go to Mass today.

So, as a public service to readers of Str Up With A Twist I have decided to provide a sample of some of the Saints who are recognized within the Roman Catholic Church.

Patron Saint of the mentally ill: St. Dymphna
Patron Saint of athletes: St. Sebastian
Patron Saint of alcoholics: St. Monica
Patron Saint of addicts: St. Maximillian Mary Kolbe
Patron Saint of the United States: Blessed Virgin Mary (Feast of the Immaculate Conception)
Patron Saint of the wine trade: St. Amand & St. Vincent of Saragossa
Patron Saint of venereal disease: St. Fiacre
Patron Saint of perfumers: St. Mary Magdalene
Patron Saint of knee problems: St. Roch
Patron Saint of lost items: St. Anthony of Padua
Patron Saint of impossible causes: St. Frances Xavier Cabrini
Patron Saint of the internet: St. Isidore of Seville

Even though there are over 3,000 Saints, don't think just anyone can become one. I found the following information on an unidentified website:
The word "saint" derives from the Latin word sanctus, a holy or consecrated person. A person so designated and canonized by the church is considered to be in heaven, and, accordingly, capable of interceding with Christ for persons here on earth. The actual process is based on evidence of a miracle (from the Latin miraculum : "an event or action that apparently contradicts known scientific laws and is thought to be due to supernatural causes"). The church considers evidence of a miracle as proof that the individual is of exceptional holiness. One certified miracle -- usually the restoration to health of someone incurably ill, after praying to the saint, or contact with something belonging to the saint -- must be documented, for the first stage, which is called beatification. A second such documented event is required for sainthood.

Roaches and poop. What else for today?

Today has been an odd day that didn't get off to a good start. The Calvinator was up all night barking at something. If it only lasted a few seconds, I wouldn't get up. If it continued for more than a few seconds, I got up to look out. Never saw anything.

At one point, I could feel something tickling the back of my neck. Then it was the side of my face. Minutes passed and it started up again. I finally decide to wake up. I look at the clock (530A) and turn on the light. It was a huge @ss, frickin' Palmetto Bug (which is the nice name for a Wood Roach!) WTF? So of course I screamed like a girl and it disappeared.

Well there was no way I was going back to sleep knowing that this thing was in the bedroom. (The Calvinator was trying wake up and figure out why I was making noises. He was in the bathroom just staring at me.)

So I see the bug again but I don't have anything to smush it with and it disappears. The next time I see it it is back on the bed and I grab a shoe and knock it to the floor and smush it. So now I'm wide awake. Screaming like a girl will do that.

Fast forward through the morning ritual. I get to Memorial Park for a 3 mile run. I did 3 yesterday at lunch time and even did weights in the evening. I'm really proud of myself. This morning's run felt like 6 miles. My quads were hurtin'.

I finish the run, get to The Cal Mobile, look down and f_ck! I had fresh poop on my right shoe! And it was everywhere. UGH!

Fast forward through the details, cleaning up and finally getting to read the paper. The first thing that I notice is a story about Chau Nguyen leaving Channel 11. First Lisa Foronda and now Chau? Hmmm.

Then I see a huge @ss write up about the party this past Friday night. Of course I'm not in any of the photos in the hard copy OR the electronic version. Then I get to the HOroscopes and mine is a 2-star day. I knew I should have stayed in bed today...but there was that thing about the Palmetto Bug.

So with all this going on people are working my nerves and they don't know what I have been through. And yes, in the big scheme of things, roaches and poop don't really matter.

Today is All Saints Day which for us Roman Catholics is a Holy Day of Obligation. At the last minute I decide to run over to St. Anne's for the 1200p Mass and it was crowded. If I had thought about it I would have made a list of patron saints to pray to so instead I said a prayer for everyone that I know who has lost a close friend or relative in the past year and for all of my friends and relatives who have passed away.

I figure going to Mass in the middle of the day might calm me down and it did. However, I guess I wasn't listening very well because during the intentions, I thought I heard the priest say, "For all those who are trying to live a life of sanity." when he actually said, "For all those who are trying to live a life of sanctity."

Maybe I should go back to bed!