Be Saints

Have you ever noticed that most children seem to go through a phase of wanting to be famous? They dream and long for the day when they’ll be president or on T.V., thinking “Sure, most people who want to be president fail, but not me! I’ll prove everyone wrong… I can do anything I dream of!” Yet, though kids can be so sure of their success, these dreams are soon forgotten. As a child, I was no exception. I’ve always loved to sing and I knew for sure that I’d be a successful singer one day. Of course as I grew up, my dream faded and became ever changing, but more realistic.

Around the age of fourteen, during an attempt to find a new desire, a thought crossed my mind: What if I became a saint? That would be the best! I quickly brushed this thought away and categorized it with all the other silly dreams of fame I’ve believed in. For four years I was able to keep this idea nicely suppressed because, although I went to church every Sunday and spent quite a bit of time at my local parish, I did not know or care much about my faith. I didn’t even understand sainthood fully for what it is- clearly, as sainthood is quite the opposite of a desire for fame. But after five years, I’ve finally given the contemplation that is deserved by what I now consider to be my first flickering moment of clarity.

In the past few months as I’ve began studying and falling in love with Catholicism, I’ve learned a few key things about sainthood which have really surprised me:

1. What sainthood is. I’m not entirely sure what I used to believe sainthood was, but I do know that I didn’t understand it. If I had understood sainthood, I would have been working towards it my whole life. To be a saint is to love God and desire Heaven so much as to live your whole life for His glory. A saint is not somehow more special than anyone else. A saint is not magical. When Saint Faustina applied to her convent, she was deemed to be “no one special.” Yet Jesus personally appeared to her many times, and through her we have been given the divine mercy chaplet. A saint places all of their trust in God and allows Him to work through their life completely as He wills, without holding back.

2. The desire for sainthood is not silly or unrealistic. Everyone should desire to be a saint! By knowing what it means to be a saint, it is easy to see that this is God’s plan for each of us. God made us for Heaven. He made us to be saints. When someone is truly a saint, they will be free from all attachments to sin by the end of their life and be able to go to Heaven with no stops in purgatory beforehand. This is what we should want; this is what God does want; and this, sainthood, is exactly what we were created to attain. If you have ever wondered what the meaning of life is, this is it. Love and serve God perfectly. Be a saint.

3. To live a saintly life will be extremely difficult, but it is the easiest thing you can do. While looking on the lives of the saints, you will see much suffering. Their lives are full of struggles, unimaginable losses, failure, and humiliation. All of these hardships are gifts from God to sanctify and strengthen us, as a saint will understand, but nevertheless, they are difficult to endure. Part of being a saint is denying the world which we live in and refusing to participate in all of the “normal,” sinful acts which we are surrounded and bombarded with constantly. This alone is very difficult without adding on the hate Jesus told us we would receive from proclaiming His Truth. No doubt, the life of sainthood is painful and difficult, but it is the easiest and best way you can ever live. You will face pain and hardships no matter what kind of life you live, but if you are not enduring these things with and for God, it is all useless.To suffer without Jesus will only bring you more suffering which does not help you to grow and bear fruit. A life with God, though it brings suffering, will also be filled with love, compassion, mercy, grace, and eventually eternal life. A life without God is filled only with suffering.

To strive for sainthood is the only true and full way to live a Christian life, focused on Him only, not spent worshiping yourself or worldly ideas and objects. So, brothers and sisters, you must give your life over to Christ today and every day. Place your trust in Him and let Him control and care for your life. Christ deserves all of your love, all of your adoration, attention, and time. As a Christian you must accept and understand this, and you must prove that you do by the way you live your life. Be saints, brothers and sisters, and remember what Pope Francis has said: “To be saints is not a privilege for the few, but a vocation for everyone.”