YOU ARE CALLED TO BE A SAINT!
REALLY?
YES, YOU ARE…
You are called to be a saint… really? Yes, you are; we all are. On Friday, November 1, we celebrate All Saints Day, a holy day of obligation for Catholics. It is a day to remember all saints and martyrs.
As Catholics, we recognize their contribution to the Catholic faith. It’s a day to remember that we are called as well to sainthood. (All Saints Day 2024 - Catholic). On this day, we recognize not just the contributions of all the men and women who have lived lives of example, enduring trials and tribulations, but overall striving to love and serve God through others.
These saints accepted their cross through redemptional suffering, paving a road to the cross of Jesus. After a long process, usually years, these men and women were deemed holy saints and achieved the title of having lived according to God’s will.
I personally believe that when we realize this calling is not just for women and men of past years but for every living person, we understand that this calling is for each of us. The issue with the word “saint” is that we find it hard to believe that we each have this calling and that it’s a daily choice. I believe it is only when we acknowledge that, through God’s grace, we can have the strength to endure our individual cross and calling. Like St. Therese of Lisieux once stated, “You can’t be half a saint. You must be a whole saint or not a saint at all.” To me, she meant that we have to strive not partially, but wholeheartedly, every day in all that we do.
I have experienced a spiritual closeness to a few saints, one being our ministry patron saint – St. Padre Pio, who was a priest and endured his calling of sainthood with great suffering but with extraordinary love for God and others through daily acts of service. St. Padre Pio, through his ministry and vocation of priesthood, lived out his calling of sainthood. Once, current Pope Francis said, “We are all called to sainthood wherever we are in life: in the office, in the kitchen, teenagers with jeans on skateboards, women in heels.” Therefore, as ordinary people, we are called to live our daily lives with a conviction and awareness of our individual calling to be a saint. We must not be afraid of our calling to sainthood because, when we surrender our lives to our merciful God, we realize he will give us the strength necessary to live a happy, fruitful life of sainthood. A saint strives daily to love God through others, forgiving and loving them as children of God. You are called to be a saint!
-ESME
