Aug 12 – Memorial for St. Jane Frances de Chantal
St. Jane married Baron de Chantal. She restored order in the household, which was on the brink of ruin, and brought back prosperity. During her husband’s absence at the court, or with the army, when reproached for her extremely sober manner of dressing, her reply was: “The eyes which I must please are a hundred miles from here.” She found, more than once, that God blessed with miracles the care she gave the suffering members of Christ. Baron de Chantal was accidentally killed by a harquebus while out shooting. Left a widow at 28, with four children, the broken-hearted baroness took a vow of chastity.
She founded the Congregation of the Visitation, whose aim was to receive, with a view to their spiritual advancement, young girls and even widows who had not the desire or strength to subject themselves to the austere ascetical practices in force in all the religious orders at that time. The remainder of the saint’s life was spent under the protection of the cloister in the practice of the most admirable virtues. It was firmness and great vigour which prevailed in St. Jane Frances; she did not like to see her daughters giving way to human weakness. Her trials were continuous and borne bravely, and yet she was exceedingly sensitive.
Deu 31:1-8
Mt 18:1-5,10,12-14
“Suppose a man has a hundred sheep and one of them strays; will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hillside and go in search of the stray?…Similarly, it is never the will of your Father in heaven that one of these little ones should be lost.”
Whenever I hear the story of the good shepherd, I am ever encouraged. Jesus is the Good Shepherd; He would leave the 99 and go look for the lost one – that would be you and me at different times in our lives.
I find it incredibly encouraging and reassuring that our Lord does not give up on us easily; that it is never in the Father’s will to lose any of His children. And in the Father’s eyes, every one of us, with our faults, we are His children until the end and still worthy to be saved. There is no blemish that He cannot wash away. Every one of us is precious and loved by our Heavenly Father. We are all one in a million; even though we may number in the millions.
There have been times in my life, where I wandered off the path of faith and got distracted by the bells and whistles of this world. In the proverbial saying, I had lost my way. And I did not recognize that fact and still went merrily on down the path towards destruction. When I recognised that I was lost, I became fearful. As a Catholic from birth, how could I commit sins knowingly and willingly? I felt unworthy of our God, wondering how could He ever forgive and love me? These are all lies and deceptions that the evil one planted and whispered to me, trying to tear me away from our Heavenly Father, and separate us forever.
Why would I ever think that God would turn His back to us, when He gave the world His only Son to die for us, to pay the hefty price of our sins? When I contemplate on this fact and the passage above, I feel comforted and ever thankful, that our Lord does not want to leave anyone behind. We are all loved. No matter how undeserving we feel. God thinks we are special, and we are loved. Haven’t His actions and that of His Son proven His love beyond any doubt?
(Today’s OXYGEN by Winnie Kung)
Prayer: Dear Lord, grant us the wisdom to know when we are lost and to hear Your voice calling us to return to You, to the safety of Your embrace.
Thanksgiving: Heavenly Father, we thank you for loving us, for counting us worthy and for not giving up on us. Despite all our faults and shortcomings, You still want us to be Your children. Help us, in turn, to love You more and more every day.
OXYGEN 
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