I needed inspiration for this reflection, so I searched online and found that the Saint of the Day for today, March 22, is Saint Nicholas Owen.

Never having heard of St. Nicholas Owen, and being a librarian, I did some research. I love learning about new topics and researching them. That is one of the benefits of being a school librarian. When students come in asking for help with a project, I learn along with them. If I hadn’t worked as a school librarian, I might never have read Pride and Prejudice, or any of Austen's works, or Shakespeare's, or John Green and Tahereh Mafi's, etc.

Many topics have sparked my interest over the last three decades, and that curiosity has carried me through some dark and difficult times.

Back to St. Nicholas Owen, who lived in England from 1562-1606. He was a carpenter and architect who used his talents to save lives. St. Nicholas Owen was the creator of “priest holes,” hiding places built into homes of hidden Catholics during the time of persecution for their religion. There is no way to know the number of lives that St. Nicholas Owen saved, but he put his God-given talents to use in the best possible way he could.

We all have hidden talents–to be a good listener, to play the piano, to write wonderful stories, or plant a beautiful garden, cook amazing food–we just have to seek out what those talents are and learn to use them for good, just like St. Nicholas Owen

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Miss Touet is working her fifth year as the librarian at Malden Catholic High School. She has worked in Catholic and public-school libraries in Malden, Everett, and Wakefield, as well as in public and museum libraries. Maria lives in Stoneham and earned her Master’s degree in Library and Information Science at Simmons College.