A Gift for St. Valentine's Day

My friend, Kathleen Muldoon, sent this lovely biography of Blessed Little Margaret for St. Valentine's Day.

Kathleen brings Margaret's short life (1287-1320) alive in these pages. When Margaret was born, her mother called her a monster. The child was disfigured, blind, lame, and a dwarf.

Her father denied her existence. She was to be kept hidden, and so imprisoned at the tender age of six. Margaret learned about our Blessed Lord Jesus Christ from the priest at the castle and I was astounded to read about her devotion to Christ. How could such a young child unite her suffering to Christ's on the Cross?

Several years later, Margaret was abandoned at the nearby village of Castello. Here she found a community of beggars who accepted her and cared for her. She, in turn, cheerfully cared for the sick, imprisoned and dying.

Kathleen writes, "The story of Blessed Margaret is great encouragement to people with disabilities and their families. We are all part of God's plan ... As Blessed Margaret proved to the world, every life matters."

In this day and age, where prenatal testing literally means a death sentence for 90% of babies with Down Syndrome or other genetic aberrations, this is a great reminder that all children are a gift from God. Throughout history, unwanted babies have been thrown away, abandoned, left to die, but we live in times where so many are unwanted and killed before they even have a chance to live ... as though death were some sort of a cure. Please pray for the end of abortion.

You can learn more about Kathleen here. She has written a great many books (you'll see how much she loves sharing the lives of the Saints), among them a very instructive book on writing for children: Sowing Seeds. 

Have a very happy and blessed St. Valentine's Day.
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