Praised be Jesus and Mary, now and forever.
Today's Saint, Saint Hyacinth Mariscotti, lived in the 1600s.
She became a Franciscan Religious, she was a Third Order Regular Franciscan, meaning she professed the rule of the Third Order but lived it in community.
It was not exactly a contemplative way of life and not exactly an observant way of life either, at least not for her.
Unfortunately, she led a very lax life.
She was not observant of the rule that she had committed to following.
She was not faithful to the promises she had made to God.
She lived her life this way until she became sick, a priest had to visit her, she was nearly on the point of death, and the priest in visiting her, spoke a word of correction to her.
And Saint Hyacinth took it with faith.
She realized that it was God speaking to her through this priest.
As our Lord says in the Gospel, to the woman cured of her hemorrhages, daughter your faith has saved you.
So the faith of Hyacinth was essential in accepting this word of correction.
The amazing thing is, and this is so difficult for us to do, the amazing thing is that she didn't become distracted by who was saying it and his defects.
She didn't get distracted by how it was said, nicely or not nicely, politely or not politely, gently or not gently, she didn't get distracted by it.
She didn't get distracted by why it was said, were those priest's intentions pure and upright and holy and holy enough for her?
She didn't get distracted by any of that.
She simply focused on what was said.
And since I'm focusing on receiving correction, not giving it, in parenthesis it must be said when we give it, in those instances when we have to give correction, sure we have to say it gently and charitably and reverentially and cautiously, all of the above, but when we receive it, we won't always hear that word spoken to us gently and kindly and reverentially and for the right reason and by the right person and by the holy person, we should nevertheless not get distracted by who says it, how he says it, or why he says it, but rather focus on the word because if it is true and all truth comes from God, then it is God speaking to us of the truth that we need to hear.
To open our eyes, to move our hearts, and to be transformed.
God's word, no matter through whom it comes, how it comes, can transform us if we focus on that word.
God's word can make us holy even if it comes through an unholy channel.
So we can at least make this resolution, putting it into practice is difficult, maybe even making the resolution is difficult, but at least we can try to make this resolution.
When we hear a word of correction, and this happens all the time in human relations, people point our flaws out to us, thanks be to God they do because often we're blind to them ourselves, but when we hear that, when it happens, we can make the resolution to not succumb immediately to feelings.
Oh my goodness, we want to always hide behind our feelings.
Oh, this hurt me, this stings, this is bad, therefore, and the person who says it is bad.
No, let's not succumb to feelings.
It's difficult, but let's try not to succumb to feelings, not to emotions.
Let's not get distracted by who says it, how he says it, why he says it, but rather what is being said and if it's true about us, my goodness, it's true, I have this defect.
I have this flaw.
I have this fault.
I have this problem.
If it's true and all truth comes from God, my goodness, it's God speaking to us.
And when God speaks, we should listen because his word can transform us and make us holy and turn sinners into saints, take us from the wrong path on the right path, from the wrong direction in the right.
St. Hyacinth Mariscotti, pray for us.