St Stan Illustrated Story

T homas – the father of the Saint – had had no further education than that given by the primary grades. The fact that he had been able to attain the position of head man of the village and admin- istrator of parish property was undoubtedly due to his native intelli- gence, sound judgment, and upright character, rather than to any formal schooling. Thomas was a blacksmith by trade and apparently a very good one, for he was well-known in this capacity throughout the country- side. He employed hired labor to till the soil and herd the sheep on his own plot of land, while he devoted himself entirely to his trade. In these early years, Thomas looked forward to the day when his son would follow in his footsteps. Little did he know how entirely dif- ferent the boy’s future was to be. For the time being, his hopes seemed well founded. As the child grew, he often, with the natural inquisitiveness of youth, would wander into his father’s forge. Thomas, delighted to think that one day his son might help him at his work and eventually take over from him alto- gether, would permit the boy to “play blacksmith” in some corner of the forge. T he child was born between Saturday night and Sunday morn- ing, which was May 18. He was baptized on the same day in the parish church of Podegrodzie and given the name of John the Bap- tist. The proud and happy mother was attentive to her son’s every need, eagerly watching the signs of his developing consciousness. As she cradled him to sleep, she would pray fervently for his health and well- being, and, gazing into his eyes, would try to pierce the future and see what the years ahead held in store for him. She frequently renewed the offering of John’s entire life to Jesus and Mary, promising to spare no effort that could lead her son to ap- preciate and use to the full the supernatural grace infused into his soul at the moment of baptism. 18