May 17 | Saint Pascal Baylon

Welcome, young history buffs and curious minds, to My Daily Saint, the podcast that digs deep into the incredible lives of the saints, those remarkable people who shaped history and continue to inspire us today. Forget dusty old portraits and boring stories. Today, imagine you are standing entirely alone in the rugged, dusty hills of Spain in the mid-1500s. The hot sun is beating down on your shoulders. You are a shepherd, surrounded by a massive, noisy flock of sheep. But you aren't just listening to the wind in the grass or the animals grazing.

You are waiting for something. You are straining your ears to hear a very specific sound rolling across the hills from the distant town. And then, there it is. The church bell. The second you hear it, you drop to your knees right there in the dirt. Why? Because that bell means the most important part of the mass is happening miles away, and even though you are stuck in a field, you want to be part of it. Today, we are talking about St.

Pascal Balin. St. Pascal Bélan was born to a family that didn't have much money. In fact, they were quite poor, but they were incredibly holy. From a very young age, Pascal took the amazing examples of his parents straight to heart.

Imagine being a teenager and spending your entire day just watching sheep. It could be incredibly lonely and boring. But Pascal didn't waste this time. Instead, he used the silence and the isolation to devote long, long hours of his time to prayer. He turned a lonely, tiring job into an ongoing, beautiful conversation with God.

Back in those days, the church bell would ring out over the countryside at the exact moment of the elevation in the mass. That is the sacred moment when the priest holds up the host and the chalice. Whenever that bell rang, Pascal dropped what he was doing and joined in that moment of worship right from the fields. When Pascal turned 24 in the year 1564, he decided to join the Franciscan order. He gave himself completely up to a life of strict penance.

He was so humble that when the Franciscan community offered him the chance to study to become a priest, he actually turned them down. He didn't want the honor or the status of the priesthood. He just wanted to serve his brothers.

So, what did he do instead? He wore his simple Franciscan habit and worked the toughest, most unglamorous jobs the monastery had to offer. He served as the porter, which meant he answered the door. He worked as the cook, whipping up meals for the community. He was the gardener, getting his hands dirty in the soil, and he even worked as one of the community's official beggars, going out to ask for alms so his fellow friars could survive.

Whenever the poor visited the monastery seeking help, he was incredibly generous to them. But all of that hard work isn't even what he is most famous for. His greatest superpower was what he did when he wasn't working. Every single second of his spare time was spent in front of the Blessed Sacrament. He would sit in quiet adoration of his Lord, just soaking in the presence of Jesus.

Saint Pascal died in 1592, and even though he lived a hidden, humble life doing chores, God exalted him after his death. Throngs of pilgrims began traveling from all over to venerate his tomb, and many miracles were reported by those who asked for his intercession.

He was canonized as a saint in 1690, and in 1890, Pope Leo XIII declared him the patron saint of Eucharistic congresses and Eucharistic associations. Saint Pascal was fiercely dedicated to his vow of poverty, taking care to never waste food, and always being radically generous to those in need. Today, be mindful of what you consume. Don't waste your food at lunch or dinner. Take only what you need and actually eat it. Furthermore, Pascal spent all his spare time in quiet adoration.

You might not be able to spend hours in front of the Blessed Sacrament today, but you can find five minutes of total silence. Put away your phone, step away from the noise, and just sit. with God. Think of St. Pascal listening for that distant bell, and see if you can tune in to God's presence in your own life today. Thank you for joining us on My Daily Saint. We look forward to sharing another incredible story of faith and courage with you tomorrow.