This has been a crazy, beautiful amazing month. Thank you St. Joseph for your powerful intercession, you seem to be following me around even if I don't ask you to pray for me. I finally discovered where on earth my father got the idea that my name, Fabiola, means "offering to God". For the life of me throughout the years I've gone on all the "meanings of names" websites and the definition is always the same: bean, bean picker, fava bean... just beans. I always thought my dad was just trying to make me feel better, you know beans could be offered up to God or something.
So yesterday, I was looking up the feast of St. Joseph, which is March 19 and I know this well because it is my sister's birthday, but I wanted to see if I could find another day when he might be celebrated. There weren't any other feast days dedicated to him so I just scrolled down the Wiki page and I came upon how his feast day is celebrated in different countries. The first and most prominent party for good old St. Joseph happens in Sicily.
St. Joseph is considered by many to be the Patron Saint of Sicily for preventing a famine during the middle ages. "According to legend, there was a severe drought at the time, and the people prayed for their patron saint to bring them rain. They promised that if he answered their prayers, they would prepare a large feast in his honor. The rain did come, and the people of Sicily prepared a large banquet."
Now for the weird part people.
"The fava bean was the crop which saved the population from starvation, it grows well even in poor, rocky soil, and is a traditional part of St. Joseph altars and traditions."
So yes, the story is slightly idolatrous but still pretty cool.
And just to take the point home.
"In Roman times, the fava bean was considered food for the poor, used mainly as an offering to commemorate the dead on the first day of November. The name of an ancient Roman family the Fabi, comes from fava bean, as do the common names Fabio, Fabia and Fabiola." (source)
Pretty cool right?
So thank you St. Joseph for your prayers. Thank you for being there for me when Disney said no, so I could work on Lolek, and for the brilliant young man working at one of the schools under your patronage. I like him very much too. So I really do hope I get to glorify God with my life and offer myself completely to him, in thanksgiving for everything that he has done for me.
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I drew this wee picture of Mary last week. Enjoy!
