# May My Soul Be a Little Paradise – Reflections on St. Charles of Sezze
*2016-01-18*

> Bill Young celebrates the feast of St. Charles of Sezze, recalling the humble Franciscan’s life of service, and leads listeners in the prayer “May My Soul Be a Little Paradise.”

## Feast of St. Charles of Sezze

Today, January 18, is the feast day of St. Charles of Sezze (1613‑1670). He was a 17th‑century Franciscan from the town of Sezze, southeast of Rome. Though he never became a missionary in India as he once hoped, God gave him a different mission: a life of simple, hidden service. Charles worked as a doorkeeper, washer, cook, and performed countless menial tasks for the love of the Lord. Even on his deathbed, the Pope asked to be near him, recognizing his holiness.

## A Model of Humble Service

St. Charles reminds us that sanctity often lives in the ordinary. He gave his whole self to the little duties that most people overlook, offering them to God as acts of love. In reflecting on his example, I ask God to make me a better “arm’s‑giver”—someone who reaches out in service, no matter how small the task.

## Prayer: May My Soul Be a Little Paradise

Lord, grant that I may live with You as a friend. Help me keep my faith alive and unite myself to You in all things. May my soul become a little paradise where You may rest in delight. Remove from me everything that could spoil my divine gaze. Let me live in this little heaven, remaining with You forever.

Whatever I am, whatever I do, You never leave me. Grant that I may always remain with You in every hour of day and night, in every joy and sorrow, in every deed and action, that You may be found within me. Holy Trinity, be my dwelling place, my nest, the Father’s house that I must never leave.

May I be united with You not only for a few moments, but in a permanent, habitual way. Grant that I may always pray, adore, love, suffer, work, and act in You. May I apply myself to every duty, venturing ever further into the depths of Your divine love. Lord, let me advance along the path that guides me to You each day, trusting wholly in Your love. Amen.

## Closing Blessing

May God bless you all as we strive to follow St. Charles’s example of humble service and to live each day as a little paradise for the Lord.

*True holiness is found in offering even the smallest tasks to God, turning our everyday lives into a little paradise.*