Thought for the Day – 13 November – The Memorial of St Agostina Livia Pietrantoni S.D.C. (1864-1894)
We look to Saint Agostina and contemplate her life and the way that she lived it- always for others, never for herself. First she laboured in the home, taking care of her younger siblings and helping out on the farm. Then, she was a migrant farm worker to earn more money to support her family, while providing love and direction to the many other children in the same situation. When she entered religious life, she dedicated her life to the sick and the poor in the tuberculosis ward- a place of constant suffering and death. Every day she faced the deadly disease and found joy and love in giving care to the people who contracted it. She knew that she was nothing and was prepared to let go of herself entirely every day, in service to the lowest of the low, even after being so brutally attacked, she forgave instantly- she saw the best in the worst of people and knew what she had to do.
I am cowardly and weak and selfish and I hope that one day I can hold in my heart, a tiny fraction of the love and the self-giving of this gentle St Agostina.
We will lie down for such a long time after death that it is worth while to keep standing while we are alive. Let us work now, one day we will rest. – St Agostina
AnaStpaul 