June 30--Venerable Pierre Toussaint, Holy Man

 

Venerable Pierre Toussaint by Franck Louissant

The following is a sketch of Venerable Pierre Toussaint by the Archdiocese of New York Cultural Diversity Apostolate:

“Venerable Pierre Toussaint (1766-1853) was born a slave in Haiti and died a freeman in New York City. He is credited by many with being the father of Catholic Charities in New York. Pierre was instrumental in raising funds for the first Catholic orphanage and began the city’s first school for black children. He also helped to provide funds for the Oblate Sisters of Providence, a religious community of black nuns founded in Baltimore and played a vital role in providing resources to erect Old Saint Patrick’s Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. During a Yellow Fever epidemic when many of the city’s political leaders fled the city in search of healthier rural climates, Pierre Toussaint cared for the sick and the dying. He was a successful entrepreneur, who did not hesitate to share the fruits of his labor with others.

“In recognition of Pierre Toussaint’s virtuous life, the late Cardinal Cooke introduced Pierre’s cause for canonization at the Vatican in 1968. In December 1989, the late Cardinal O’Connor had the remains of Pierre Toussaint transferred from Lower Manhattan to St. Patrick’s Cathedral in midtown Manhattan where he is buried as the only lay person, alongside the former Cardinal-Archbishops of New York City. On December 17, 1997, Pope John Paul II declared Pierre Toussaint, Venerable, thus placing him firmly on the road to becoming North America’s first black saint. Venerable Pierre Toussaint was a man who was proud of his faith, proud of his culture and committed to serving others.”

We need saints to remind us that God is calling us to sainthood in our own time and in our own situation. We pray for Venerable Pierre Toussaint so he may pray for us.

June 19—Venerable Matt Talbot, Holy Man and Third Order Franciscan

“Hi, my name is Matt and I am an alcoholic.” That may be the greeting today’s saint would give if he were to go to a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous. Ven. Matt Talbot was an Irishman born in 1856 and died in 1925. He was a laborer and a man of modest means. He started drinking at about the age of 15 when he was a messenger for liquor merchants and, for almost 15 years he was an active alcoholic. Finally, he decided to “take the pledge” to give up drinking for three months, and then six months, and then for his whole life, which he did, albeit with great difficulty at times. He went to daily Mass, read religious books, and repaid debts incurred when he was drinking. He became a Third Order Franciscan, which means that he followed the example of St. Francis of Assisi as a layman, and modeled himself on the sixth century Irish monks. He died of heart failure on his way to Mass on Trinity Sunday.

Venerable Matt Talbot is the patron of alcoholics and those seeking sobriety. Alcoholism can ensnare anyone and render life miserable to the point of poverty, homelessness, abandonment by family, and despair of God. Talbot received God’s grace to overcome his alcoholism. We all need God’s grace to overcome our own “addictions”, those habits that pull us away from God and into our own selfishness. Sin itself is the ultimate addiction, whereby we turn in on ourselves in self-hatred and reject God’s love and mercy. Mercy requires repentance so we may turn back to God, who receives us as a forgiving prodigal father.