Feastday of Blessed Damien of Molokai

Okay, I know it's only the 9th but I don't have time tomorrow to post this.

I read the book Father Damien and the Bells by Arthur and Elizabeth Sheehan and learned many interesting things about him. But I'm only going to post about the things he did when he was younger. He was named after his godfather, Joseph Goovaerts, but he was usually called Jef by his family. And, like many saints, he was often caught running away from his family so that he could at least spend a few minutes praying in the Saint John the Baptist Church nearby his house. He also was caught sleeping on a hard board that was hidden in his bed somewhere. His most favorite chore he liked to do was tending the sheep that which he earned the nickname from his family: Little sheperd. He always wanted to be a hermit when he was a young boy, that he and some other friends of his ran from home to a forest just to be like one! Oh, and did I mention that he was a champion boxer of Ninde?