Kathy Coffey

St. Augustine got a few things right, others spectacularly wrong. But his mother, St. Monica, never gave up on him.

People found Jesus scandalously ordinary. Why couldn’t he muster some pyrotechnics, or at least a last-minute save from the crucifix?

How respectfully St. Paul speaks with Athenians, “looking carefully” at their shrines. He credits their poets for expressing that we too are God’s offspring.

“God has a dream for you,” St. Ignatius of Loyola said. And best of all it accords with our own deepest desires.

In her writings St. Julian of Norwich never mentions the war, plague, and papal schism she lived through. Instead, she focuses on God’s peace and power.

The communion of saints is marked by huge variety, personalities different as the seasons. Future generations will celebrate us because God never loses sight of one beloved daughter or son.