A Little Sign of God's Faithfulness

In the general liturgical calendar of the Church today is the optional memorial of St. Robert Bellarmine. For Franciscans, however, it happens to be the feast of the Stigmata of St. Francis, the day when we remember the event in St. Francis' life when the wounds of Christ were impressed on his own body as a result of a mystical experience of the Crucified Lord.

As we were preparing to celebrate morning Mass here at Regina Pacis House in Nairobi, Fr. Martin Vuni, director of development of the Diocese of Torit, asked if I would like to be the main celebrant. I was happy to be able to include the Stigmata in the celebration. After Mass, without any apparent reason but probably nudged by the Holy Spirit, he happened to ask me if there was any particular day of the year that I celebrated as a special feast day. As it turns out, today, September 17th, is that day. In addition to being the feast of the Stigmata, it's also my birthday. I was apparently marked at birth to be a friar. It also happens to be the birthday of my brother Bill, two years younger than me.

Fr. Martin shared the news with the rest of the staff and guests, and in the afternoon they threw me a really wonderful African birthday party, complete with a cake. It also turned out to be the sunniest and warmest day yet since I arrived in Nairobi (which can be overcast and cool) last week.

These events together became a sign to me of the presence, love and faithfulness of Jesus, especially at this new juncture in my life.