The Bishop's Perspective - How to be a saint

One of my favorite experiences is attending events in any of our parishes where the CCD or Catholic school children make presentations about the lives of the saints. Some of those events sponsor “living museums” about the saints in which children have been invited to adopt a saint, learn about his/her/their lives and then present themselves as that saint in appropriate dress. Others have quizzes and contests, celebrating their own patron saint. Whatever the method, whether it’s creative costumes or joyful celebrations, the genuine interest in the lives of those saints who inspire us with their examples of faith is a great practice, not only for students, but for all of us.

The term “saint”, a very precise ecclesiological term officially bestowed by the Church after a long process with exhaustive examinations upon a person who has lived an inspiring life of faith, works its way into the common parlance of our everyday vocabulary more often than not. If we know of persons, such as tireless volunteers who give of their time and service selflessly or the person who faces their own personal challenges heroically and without complaint, we might say “What a saint!”

While some might think those types of comments might water down the meaning of saint, it’s actually a very good reminder of what all of us are called to be, and how we are called to live, by virtue of our baptism. As Pope Francis tweeted some time ago, “To be saints is not a privilege for the few, but a vocation for everyone.”

Since the first official canonization, it is estimated that more than 10,000 individuals have been officially declared Saints by the Church. Just in our own lifetime it is interesting to note that Pope St. John Paul II canonized 483 Saints and beatified 1,340 additional persons, during his 27-year Pontificate. This month we are privileged as Michiganders to be “hosting” in Detroit the Beatification Mass of Father Solanus Casey, a Capuchin monk who ministered to the poor and sick in Detroit for more than twenty years.. Like so many other holy people, Fr. Solanus came from humble beginnings. He was born on November 25, 1870, on a farm to Irish immigrants and is said to have suffered diphtheria as a child leaving his voice affected. His deep devotion to the Blessed Mother led him to the Capuchin Friary in Detroit. He was truly an ordinary Midwestern child, just like so many of us, who grew up to be a saint. Fr. Solanus died on July 31, 1957.

So as thousands flock this month to Ford Field in Detroit to participate in the beautiful Beatification Mass for Father Solanus Casey, and while our school children study about the saints and dress up like them, it would be helpful for us to ask ourselves: how can we, having been baptized into the Body of Christ and called to be disciples of Jesus on our path of missionary discipleship, learn to be saints?

The first, and most important, thing we need to understand is that on the day of our baptism, we were each called to be “saints”; in other words, the “call” from God to holiness is a universal call and vocation to everyone: “Be holy because I [am] holy” (see 1 Pt 1:14-16).

St. Paul sometimes addressed his Letters to “the saints” in a particular city (see Eph 1:1; Col 1:2). In this case, St. Paul was speaking of all Christians as the “holy ones,” because he wanted them to understand that they had been made holy because of their baptism and their relationship with Jesus Christ and His Body, the Church. Second, we need to realize that we are already a part of the “communion of saints” as we say each time we pray the Apostles Creed: “I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy Catholic Church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and life everlasting. Amen.”

What does that belief mean to us? The “Communion of Saints” is not just an exclusive club for the 10,000 plus members the Church has officially canonized. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church states: “The communion of saints is the Church” (CCC #946). The Catechism further explains that there are three states or divisions: 1) the communion of saints of the living, all of us who are still on our pilgrim journey on earth; 2) the communion of saints of the deceased, or the faithful departed, some of whom are being purified (those in Purgatory); and 3) the communion of saints in Heaven, those who are enjoying eternal glory in the presence of God. (CCC #954)

That’s why this month of November is a wonderful opportunity to remember who we are in the “big picture”. As we celebrate All Saints Day as a Holy Day of Obligation on Wednesday, the first day of November, followed immediately by The Commemoration of all the Faithful Departed (All Soul’s Day) on Thursday, November 2nd, we are also encouraged to focus on prayerfully remembering all those who have died throughout the entire month of November. It is due to our belief in the communion of saints that we can assist by our prayers our brothers and sisters “saints” - prayers for those in Purgatory to help move them forward to the fullness of life with God, and for those in Heaven, praying for their intercession on our behalf before the Heavenly Throne of God. Conversely, the Saints in Heaven watch over all of us who continue our pilgrimage of faith here on earth by their constant watchfulness and prayers of intercession for us, the Church on Earth.

Late last month I was privileged to attend a powerful presentation by Immaculee Ilibagiza on faith, hope, forgiveness and perseverance in the face of enormous pain, suffering and persecution. Immaculee along with her brother, were the only members of her family to survive the Rwandan Genocide that took place in 1994. Before her powerful presentation I had the great pleasure to meet her and to pray with her. She is truly a beautiful and faith-filled person and her story is a powerful testament to four virtues that each of us should be working on our road to sanctity: pray, forgive, be thankful, serve others. First, we should immerse ourselves in prayer, each day, spending time in conversation with God, studying His Word, praying the Rosary — all are ways to become more personally connected to our Lord Jesus. Secondly, when we realize that each child of God has a rightful place in the communion of saints we know that we must forgive the wrongs done to us — this forgiveness frees us to love more freely. Next, we should be thankful for everything given to us. It is by living in gratitude that we stay focused on our blessings, and not on our “wants”. And finally, we must answer the call to serve others, especially those on the margins of society, as our Holy Father calls us to do, as Jesus so clearly calls us all to do in the Parable of the Final Judgment (Matthew 25) Those beautiful insights from a truly holy person, such as Immaculee who put those virtues into practice amidst horrific conditions, illustrate that those steps in virtue will help us to grow in holiness. And we must do them every day, and then repeat them again and again and again.

Whatever our individual life circumstances are, or however ordinary we may feel our lives are, we are called to stay focused on our own path to sainthood and our participation in the Communion of Saints.

May God bless you, now and always!