Last night during Adoration I started reading a book about what it means to be a saint. Then I opened another book that I tend to read while in Adoration and when I opened it to the chapter I was on it was titled, “What do we want from the Saints?” What are the chances? I love when these God moments happen!
Both authors (one non-Catholic and one Trad-Catholic) came to the same conclusion, but were coming at it from different perspectives.
The first author mentions how the rich young man who asks Jesus what he must do to gain eternal life wanted to be the hero of his own story. Saints, however, desire Jesus to be the hero in their life’s story. I love this!
The second author notes that “The Protestant reformers worried that the celebration of the Saints diminished the work of God, and believed that the Saints were the rivals of Jesus. The opposite is the case: Saints are the expression of our deep conviction of the inexhaustible greatness and the accessibility to all of that which was achieved in Christ.”
Matt Maher has a song titled, “Lord, I Need You” and in it there is a line that really speaks to the life of a saint.
Lord, I need You, oh, I need You
Every hour, I need You
My one defense, my righteousness
Oh God, how I need You
Where sin runs deep, Your grace is more
Where grace is found is where You are
And where You are, Lord, I am free
Holiness is Christ in me
We sometimes think Saints were perfect people, but they had struggles just like you and I. The rich young man was seeking perfection in himself (verse 21), but what Jesus offered him was a life greater than—a relationship with The perfect Savior.
The Scriptures tell us that the young man did not accept Christ’s invitation and turned away discouraged, because he was not willing to give up on his endeavor for human success. For this young man, life became about self-worship. He could only see what he would be giving up, rather than what he would gain.
Both authors of these two books that I am reading agree that becoming a saint is not about giving up who we are, but discovering the person God created us to be.
As the second author points out, there is a sense of familiarity in the lives of the Saints, but also a sense of otherness or as he says, “possibilities both within and beyond the range of [ourselves].” We can relate to the Saints, because they were human like us; and like them, we are also spiritual souls called to intimacy with God.
In the Sacraments, we find this intimacy with God, through Christ, The hero of our lives. And the love, mercy & graces that He gifts those who humble themselves, enables them, you, and me to become saints.