The Importance of Sacrifice at Any Age

Ralph Martin has been speaking at local area Catholic grade schools about Fatima and the importance of making sacrifices, not matter one’s age. We came across this article written by Sr. Mary Martha Becnel, OP who mentions the impact one of these talks had on some of her students.

The following post, “Fr. Solanus’ Unique Breakfast Penance Shows His Childlike Faith”, was originally written by Sr. Mary Martha Becnel, OP for The Michigan Catholic Blog Nov. 14th, 2017.

This weekend, Fr. Solanus Casey will be beatified, a great grace for the entire Church, but in a particular way for the Archdiocese of Detroit. As I was recently reflecting on the life of Fr. Solanus, I remembered one of the extraordinary penances he used to perform for love of God and of souls: in the mornings, Fr. Solanus would put everything — cereal, orange juice, and coffee — into one bowl for his breakfast.  Such a unique penance could cause us today to scratch our heads in confusion, if not even disapproval.

Yet I was reminded of this penitential sacrifice of Fr. Solanus recently after my fifth-grade students heard a talk about the sacrifices that St. Jacinta and St. Francisco of Fatima had made. Later in the day, one of my students chose, voluntarily and discreetly, to sacrifice a special treat for the salvation of souls. And, I learned the next day, he also led his teammates in making a sacrifice during their basketball practice that afternoon. Read more…