You Can be a Saint

I heard these words in my head the other day in the Chapel. I had finished writing in my spiritual journal a flurry of words that I tried not to analyze because it was supposed to be Jesus talking to me. I was on autopilot. When I finished writing I felt directed to read Ezekiel 37. So, that I did. Then I heard those words in my head "You can be a Saint."

Even though I was on autopilot and "deep in the spirit," I immediately brushed that off as my own ego or pride or even the devil. I just couldn't fathom such delusions of grandeur. But the next day I heard it being said on  some You Tube videos that I stumbled upon in my research. One of the videos ended with the young man pointing his finger to the camera and declaring,

"You could be a Saint. You just don't want to be!"

It finally hit me. Yes, duh! Of course I could be a Saint. This is part of Catholic teaching that we are all called to be Saints.  But we have to want it. When we try to deepen our faith and go deeper into our relationship with God, this is what will be asked of us. We can be Saints. We must make that our endeavor because being a Saint means you have completely surrendered yourself to God and you have completely submitted to His will and you have died to yourself and the things of this world.

People outside the Church,(and even inside the Church,) make the mistake of thinking that we worship Saints. But we don't and we're not supposed to and if we did that would be heretical. Worship is for God alone.

What we do is venerate Saints. Why? Because we aspire to be like them and it's actually obtainable for us. What does being a Saint entail exactly?

These are the consistent qualities of Saints throughout history.

1.Extremely deep faith and love of God.
If you read St. Faustina's diary, you will see it is a love story between her and God. She lived, breathed, ate, and slept Jesus. Her constant thoughts were on Jesus. The more communication she had with Him the more she wanted an even deeper communion and the less she wanted to be in this world. She desired whatever Jesus desires and that was to bring souls to Him. But most of all she was desperately in love with Him. It was only in Him that she felt fulfilled and at peace.

2.Obedience.
This is most important with the faithful. This is a continuing theme that is hard for us humans to swallow. This is why we were kicked out of the Garden of Eden. This is why Satan was kicked out of heaven. Many times this obedience manifests itself as being obedient to your superiors. St. Faustina was instructed by Jesus that above all she must follow her spiritual director and Mother superiors. He promised He would work through them but that she must obey them because she needed her superiors to discern what she was experiencing as being something from God and not of the devil. Jesus would tell her,

My daughter, I desire that even in the smallest things, you rely on your confessor. Your greatest sacrifices do not please Me if you practice them without the confessor’s permission; on the other hand, the smallest sacrifice finds great value in My eyes, if it is done with his permission. The greatest works are worthless in My eyes if they are done out of self will and often they are not in accord with My will and merit punishment rather than reward. And on the other hand, even the smallest of your acts, done with the confessor’s permission is pleasing in My eyes and very dear to Me, hold firmly to this always. Be constantly on the watch, for many souls will turn back from the gates of hell and worship My mercy. But fear nothing, as I am with you. Know that of yourself you can do nothing.


St. Padre Pio followed this also. For a time he was forbidden to hear confessions or do Mass. He was shut away for many years. He could have gone off and started his own religion but he didn't because he understood that first and foremost he must be obedient to the Church. Even when the hierarchy was wrong and obstinate, he understood these to be trials that he had to submit to and leave it all to the will of God. He received so many graces and would have probably lost them if he was disobedient.

3. Dying to this world.
Saints have no interest in this world other than to fulfill the will of God. They will suffer and die for Him and they can see beyond worldly attachments. They have a clear vision of what's in store for them if they completely submit themselves to God. They are focused on the prize and that prize is union with God.

4.Constant Prayer life.
Saints pray A LOT. They develop new ways to pray and make everything into a prayer. Cleaning and doing menial task can be a form of prayer. It's where your focus is and their focus is always on God.

5.Humility
Saints are very humble. I'm not talking of a false humility either. They understand that they are nothing without God. The slightest venial sins on their part causes much distress and they are constantly in confession. St. Faustina referred to herself as a wretched soul. They have no desire for fame or admiration of this world. They only desire to please God and will berate themselves when they think they have failed to please Him. They will gladly suffer humiliation and a lowly station in life because it brings them closer to Jesus' suffering. 

6. Human.
Saints are human so they are not perfect. They falter on any of the above virtues. They desire perfection so they can please God but they are not perfect. They sin and sometimes they started off as even as murderers or philanderers. St. Paul and St. Augustine for instance. But they show us through their sins that God forgives us no matter what we do. His Mercy is infinite. As long as we come to Him and surrender ourselves to Him, He can transform us and give us sanctifying grace to show that anyone can become a Saint no matter what our past sins were.

So there are the some of the steps to becoming a Saint. You can be a Saint.