Today January 30

Today is the feast of Blessed Brother Mucian of Malonne (1841 - 1917). I really like this guy. I am a natural "TLC" person (tender loving care), or, if you will, a pussycat; I feared for years I was less of a person -- and certainly less of a saint -- for having "no backbone." Well, today's saint puts the lie to all that. He was beatified despite his glaring incompetence in matters of discipline. He himself was very disciplined, following the rules of the Christian Brothers, but lacked the commanding presence, booming voice and psychological tricks that mark the successful disciplinarian. The nine-year-olds ran circles around him, and as a former teacher of unruly 3rd graders myself, I can feel his pain.

He was shoved over to the art and music class in the boarding school (as a last resort -- many of the Brothers wanted him simply kicked out of the order), though he had absolutely no talent in either art or music! But being of a mind that obedience trumps talent, he set about learning these "skills" -- much like the philosophy of the Suzuki method in our own day. Indeed, he became adequate on the harmonium, organ, tuba and flute. (Flute was his favorite.) He rose every morning at 4:30 am, attended Mass, helped the students study before breakfast, taught, gave private music lessons, supervised lunch duty (always a thankless task), practiced and prayed, day after day. And he is a saint!

He lived a life of great patience (and there's hardly a job that requires more patience than listening to bad beginning musicians play), he painted, he drew, he read books, he loved Our Lady, he suffered from asthma, and he endured the predations of the First World War in Belgium. His monastery was made into a hospital and he and the other 79 brothers and 1000 students shoved into one small portion of it. But he treated the occupying Germans like brothers, in his own unique and understated way. Perhaps his secret was prayer and poverty -- he prayed every spare minute (he even shared the epithet "the one who is always praying" with St. Philippine Duchesne) and he always asked for anything he needed -- humbly begging from his fellow Brothers.

We don't know his last words, but we know the last words he heard: "Live Jesus in our hearts!" He expired immediately after, to the sound of the rising bells. Blessed Brother Mucian, pray for us.