Alas, I am not in "their number" for the march in.

"Lord, make me an instrument of your peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy."
-St. Francis

I went to the Catholic web site to look up saints tonight. All Saints Day has dawned and I am not Catholic, and I don't know very much about saints. I was kind of interested in female saints because I wondered if there were many. Oh my, yes there are!!!

At the site,there is a very long list of female saints, so rather vainly, I looked up Linda. Sorry. There is not ONE female saint named Linda. No Saint Linda. Ha, that's okay. I have a middle name... Diane. Sorry. There is not one female saint named Diane. Yes, there is Diana, but not a Saint Diane.

My sister Margaret Anne is much more fortunate. There is a plethora of St. Margarets and two St. Annes. Even my friend Gladys has a saint name! Then I wondered, if a person has a saint that they are named after, are they required to emulate the qualities of that saint? Perhaps I am lucky that I am not required to emulate saintly deeds.

Oh sure, people have used the expression, "You're a saint, Linda!" when they are appreciative of something I did, but most of what I do never feels particularly saintly to me. I just do things that need done.

Since I love trees and birds so much, I do admire St. Francis of Assisi. He of course was not a female, but he is always referenced as a naturalist. During his life 1181-1226, he took a vow of poverty and apparently died while reading Psalm 141. It would feel strange to think of myself as a "Francis" and not a "Linda". However, I am being vain since I can think of nothing I have done so extraordinary in my life that would qualify me to even be considered for sainthood.

Take some time to enjoy "All Saints Day" today and it is interesting to consider saintly acts that are interesting or acts you may aspire to emulate. The Jazz standard,"When the Saints Go Marching In" is always associated with Louis Armstrong. Louis IS a saint name. There is a St. Louis.... a city in the midwest of America, named after the actual saint, who was kind to the poor and a patron of medieval art. I consider Louis Armstrong to also have saintly qualities and he definitely would be "in their number" when the saints go marching in. The rendition of the song I have posted today includes Danny Kaye and is an upbeat and fun version. Enjoy.