During Advent and the Christmas season, we hear many Scripture stories about holy encounters. We hear of an angel’s visit to Mary, Mary’s visit with Elizabeth, the shepherds and the wise men visiting the infant, the Holy Family meeting Simeon and Anna in the temple, and finally an angel’s visit to Joseph. If you think about it, the only reason we know of these holy encounters is because those involved shared their stories of these holy encounters.
It seems appropriate, then, to share this entry from the 1954 Chronicle of the friars’ holy encounter. It seems that during the Christmas season 70 years ago, a visitor came from afar to St. Anthony’s with his own interesting story to tell:
Fr. Dominic Visits A very welcome visitor, in the person of Fr. Dominic, arrived at the friary on Tuesday, the 4th of January. Since Fr. Dominic is a personal secretary of Padre Pio, the Capuchin stigmatic, he had many an interesting story to tell the friars. His informal talk to the clerics, centered around a scrapbook of pictures of Padre Pio gathered by Fr. Dominic, was very interesting. Fr. Dominic gave each of the friars a small crucifix which encloses a relic of St. Anthony.
Visitors are the lifeblood of St. Anthony’s. Every year we welcome thousands of guests to our house, and often our visitors share their own stories: stories of their journeys, stories of how they came to find St. Anthony’s, stories of interesting and holy people they have encountered on their journeys.
The closest we have come recently to compare to Fr. Dominic’s visit would be Fr. Dan Crosby sharing his stories of the year he lived in the same friary as Blessed Solanus Casey. Still, there are holy people, little “s” saints, in all of our lives and their visits are also holy encounters. Their stories and their examples can be just as important and interesting as the stories we hear in Scripture or the stories of Padre Pio or Blessed Solanus Casey shared by those who knew them. Stories are shared by retreatants, with individuals or in small groups. Stories are also shared by retreat presenters. Stories of ordinary people living ordinary lives who are touched by not-so-ordinary holy encounters.
For all the holy encounters we experience, for the stories that are shared, and for the insights and lessons we take from the shared stories, we say Deo Gratias!