Not all heroes wear capes

On Monday, as we began this week of two Society feasts, I bought two boxes of chocolates to share with colleagues. The Roses were for Monday's saint, Rose Philippine Duchesne; the Heroes in honour of the small group of brave, generous-hearted women who pledged their lives to God on the 21st November 1800, giving birth to what was to become the Society of the Sacred Heart.

Not all heroes wear capes... I added to the caption, as I posted this image on social media. It's what we sometimes say, in half-joking admiration... and it's true. Some heroes wear long plain skirts and petticoats, knitted shawls and little frilled caps. In fact, not all heroes look even remotely 'heroic'... Some are small of stature, though big of heart; sensitive, shy and self-effacing, but also bold and audacious in the service of God's love and his Heart's desires for humanity. 

Not all heroes have super-human strength or bionic powers... But some have inner strength and steel, determination and conviction, drawing even more through being rooted in deep prayer and faith, and in the certainty of God's fidelity. Some, too, come with the power of a life lived entirely in fidelity to the promptings of the Spirit, deployed through tenderness and love, sacrifice and heart-opening compassion. And not all heroes swoosh through the air or wrestle with evil villains... Some keep their feet on the ground and achieve their ends in more peaceful, though no less powerful ways. They devote themselves to contemplation and service; to opening a school, to creating community, to hoping and dreaming; to playing their part in the rebuilding of a broken society, and to doing whatever they can to glorify the Heart of Jesus and make his love known.  

And not all heroes will ever see themselves as heroic or even exceptional... because some remain humble, despite their achievements... But we who, more than two centuries later, owe the very existence of our Society and our charism to them, feel very differently. And today, throughout the world, we celebrate and give thanks for what they began, in a clandestine Mass in an unstable city, with faith and audacity and quite remarkable heroism.

And finally... not all heroes, linguistically speaking, are heroes. Some are heroines, with names like Marguerite, Marie-Francoise, Octavie and Sophie... most defininitely Sophie...