I will be the first to admit that my devotion to the Saints is not as strong as I would like. Sure, I pray novenas before job interviews (Sts. Jude and Joseph have really helped out in this department) and maybe read one or two of their lives every once in a while, but I do not think about them too often. This type of thinking is typical of the modern-day Catholic. We hear the stories of great men and women who gave their lives heroically for the Church yet forget about them when the next edition of Sportscenter comes on in the morning. After all, we think that Saints were “too holy” to play sports, watch TV, drink beer, surf Facebook or do fun things.
Maybe our perception of Saints is just a bit off. It is quite possible that we place Saints on a spiritual level so much higher than ourselves so that we can make excuses for our own mediocre prayer life. Sure they were holy people who accepted God’s grace, but we too have the same option. Too often we become minimalists in regards to our faith and think, well I could never be as holy as that Saint, so why try at all. Instead of being inspired to become like the Saints, we often fall prey to despair and believe sainthood is impossible for us.
But isn’t that selling God short? After all, the despair that we feel when we realize how little we are is really just a manifestation of pride. Many times we think that we are too unholy for God to work in our lives and help us become Saints. However, 2nd Corinthians 9:8 reminds us that “[He] is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work” (NABRE). In other words, the grace is always there for us, we just need to accept it.
To help us learn ways of responding to God’s grace we can look to the lives of the Saints. The more that we delve into their lives, the more we will be able to realize that they were everyday people who cooperated with God’s will for their lives.
The movie, Pope John Paul II, greatly helped me see the pope as a true person. Our recently deceased holy father was not just a holy man but a man who enjoyed life through his participating in acting, writing, skiing, hiking, kayaking, etc. The examination of other Saint’s lives would show us the same thing. Saints are holy people but they are more like us then we think.
May the Saints be examples of God’s will for our lives. Let us remember that they are powerful intercessors who can help us join the elite club of Sainthood. Our world today could certainly use more of them walking around. The question for us then is, do we want to be Saints?
3 thoughts on “A Reflection on the Saints”
Great text ! I also think about the Saints with this high view and end up being discouraged at times. But, as I walk the path that I believe is going to lead me into the Church, I read stories of Saints that were ready to see themselves as sinners, they were always the ones that would hate their sinful nature and manners and fight it no matter what. This is something very encouraging.
Great, great reminder, Bob. 🙂
I don’t think anyone ever told me it was possible to become a saint. That was a revolutionary idea. I previously thought they were born chosen, or had to have something terrible happen to them.
Enness, I agree – it sounds impossible, because Saints are the other-worldly folks who fast for years on nothing but the Eucharist, have the stigmata, and bilocate, and their dead bodies do not corrupt. Right? However, it is true that if we are not Holy, as He is Holy, we shall not enter the Kingdom. So instead of it being an impertinence and a lack of humility to want to be a saint, it becomes an imperative. Be Salt and Light; Be Perfect. Strive to enter by the narrow gate, for few are they that find it…Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength…love your neighbor as yourself. Etc. We must get up every day and say, “Lord, make me to be as I should be! Make me holy, help me to love as I ought.” And that, my friend, on a regular basis, will lead you in the direction of sainthood, even if you don’t make canonization and
the Roman Calendar 🙂