Saints as Role Models

We have heroes, models, favorite actors, artistes and celebrities. Sports-lovers like to wear clothes and kits that have the autographs of their sport heroes. They feel strongly inspired by these successful sports legends and want to be like them.

We also have distinctive men and women whose lives have inspire us greatly. They are our heroes and role models. Saints were people who lived heroic and exemplary lives in spite of the many challenges around them. The faithful immortalize these saints by adopting their names.

Recently, over 41,000 people gathered in Assisi to celebrate the life of a boy, Carlo Acutis, who died in 2006 of leukemia. He was 15 years old when he died. The Church is in the process of declaring him a saint. He was beatified on 10th October 2020.

Carlos was born in London to Italian parents and grew up like any other child of his age. However, at a tender age he was known to be charitable to the homeless and was keen about receiving Communion daily at Mass. He was passionate about his faith and the Internet, and he spent his time on YouTube to discover the locations where spectacular miracles of the Holy Eucharist had occurred.

His favorite words were: “We are all born original, but many die as photocopies.” Already there are many testimonies of people who have sought his intercession in critical conditions and had their prayers answered. Saints are associated with interceding for different favors in critical situations of people’s lives.

The Bible clearly states in 1 Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus.” However, the importance or role of saintly intercessors (in Heaven or earth) those constantly hold us in prayers. James the Apostle states, “The fervent prayer of a righteous man (in heaven or on earth) is very powerful” (Jas 5:16). According to the book of Revelation, these righteous people (in heaven and earth) ”Stand before the throne of God and offer our prayers to Him.” (Revelation 5:8)

Who are these saints? In his vision in the seventh chapter of the book of Revelation, the Apostle John describes a multitude of saints he saw in a vision,

A huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of the lamb, dressed in white robes.

Their dress in white robes is an indication of their baptism as children of God; the white robe also signifies the purity of heart. They were people who rose against the corrupt influences of this world and remained steadfast in their relationship with God. They were people conscious of the fact that they were creatures made in the image and likeness of God, and so they strove toward Godliness in their lives. For this reason, they were able to stand before the throne of God and see Him face to face.

Sainthood is not reserved for any particular class of people. In fact, everyone is called to be a saint. Scripture refers to all baptized Christians as Hagioi (a Greek word meaning Saints). In short, a saint can simply be described as someone who is godly, or at least constantly making an effort towards holiness. St. Josemaría Escrivá defines a saint as “A sinner who keeps trying.”

Scripture also has a list of some visible qualities that can be found in people who are striving to realize their full potential as children of God: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). The Old Testament describes a saintly person as one who fears God, takes delight in His commandments and one who is righteous, merciful and generous to the poor. (Psalm 112)

In the Beatitudes, the fifth Chapter of the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus elaborates eight spiritual qualities that every person needs to cultivate in order to be happy. These include: humility, meekness, purity, mercy and patience. St. Augustine observes that of all the beatitudes, there is none that promises seeing God except that which says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.”

According to St. Augustine, Jesus challenges those who wish to see God:

“Provide yourself with that by which you may see Him; for to give a physical example, what use will longing to see a sunrise be if you were half blind? If the eye is healthy, that eye will bring joy: if the eye is unhealthy that light will bring torment. You will not be allowed to see with an impure heart what can only be seen with a pure heart. Far from seeing, you will be repelled, driven away.”

It is a privilege that the scripture refers to us as the children of God and reveals to us that we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He really is. (1 John 3:1-3)

The saints did not attain the crown on a platter of gold, but they went through intense struggles all through their lives. The book of Revelations asserts that these people have been through trials (7:14). There are only about three thousand canonized saints in the church, but there are probably millions that God has canonized. The church canonizes saints to publicly declare them as exemplary people whose virtues are worth imitating.

I strongly believe that among our family and friends, and in our neighborhoods, we have had some great and notable people. Their legacy, lives and work continue to inspire many people even long after they have died. The feast of All Saints is a day set aside to celebrate the lives of the official saints canonized by the Church, as well as those unofficial and anonymous saints whose faith and goodness is best known to God. (1 Corinthians 1:2)
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Solemnity of All Saints: Revelation 7:2-4. 9-14; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12.