Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio (Jan. 20, 1502 to Feb. 25, 1600)

    "Give, and it will be given to you... For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
                                                                                                        (Luke 6:38)

   In October, when I was on Block Island helping unload my friend's car for a crafts guild show, another participant, "Emma," opened her vehicle door against it.  Then, she walked away leaving her car unattended. Next thing I knew, my friend drove away and, in the process, ended up scraping Emma's car.
   Obviously, she was at fault and also admitted her vehicle door was previously damaged in another accident and her mother hoped that she would get it fixed. My friend offered to help Emma bang out the dent, which he did. In a couple of days, she would be driving home to Los Angeles and told him not to worry about it. Funny thing is, it should have been the other way around.
  Now, two months later, Emma's insurance company contacted my friend saying that she was making a claim against him. She failed to tell what really happened, so my friend did.
  The point being, there are a lot of deceitful people in this world. They say one thing and turn around and do another. Yet, there are just as many honest people.
  I would say, if you're not going to file a police report for any kind of accident, make sure the other person puts what they say in writing.
  And I wouldn't want to be Emma because whether you do something kind or evil, it's guaranteed, you'll get the same in return.
  Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio is a patron saint of automobile drivers. He was born in Orense, Spain on Jan. 20, 1502. He moved to Mexico to work in the fields and subsequently began to build roads to help agricultural trade and commerce.
  It took Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio a decade, but he built a 466-mile road from Mexico City to Zacatecas. He went from being a peasant to an extremely wealthy rancher.
  When he was in his sixties, Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio married for the first time to a young virgin. Some people thought she married him for his money, while he wanted to provide for his wife because she had no savings. It ends up, she died.
  So, Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio married another young virgin and she died, too. This prompted him to give away all his riches to the poor and become a Franciscan at age 72. He lived to be 98-years-old and because of his dedication to charity he was nicknamed "Angel of Mexico."
  He died on Feb. 25, 1600. Blessed Sebastian of Aparicio is responsible for hundreds of miracles and he was beatified in 1789. His feast day is Feb. 25 and he remains incorrupt.

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