Notes on the Memorial of Bl. Francisco Garate.

If you're lucky, at some point in your life you've encountered someone like Francisco Garate, the saintly Jesuit brother we commemorate in today's liturgy. The longtime porter at a Jesuit college in Spain, Brother Garate is remembered for the kind and patient way he dealt with people - students, visitors and Jesuits alike. The title of his biography - Garate the Gentle - reflects the universal esteem in which this Jesuit was held. There are many people like Francisco Garate in the world, ordinary saints who live lives of quiet service to others. Most of these saints never achieve wide renown, memorialized instead in the hearts of the people whose lives they touched. I've encountered some of these ordinary saints, and perhaps you have as well. Few if any of them will ever be recognized in the Church calendar as Francisco Garate now is, but that fact does nothing to diminish their role in bringing God's love to others. As we remember Garate today, let us also take time to remember the ordinary saints who have touched our lives the way this gentle Jesuit brother touched the lives of his friends. AMDG.