I think that one of the best things about being a Catholic is the belief in the Communion of Saints. I like the idea of knowing that there are people, who despite their flaws and insecurities, ran the race and fought the battle triumphantly. I especially like reading about saints who, if they had been in high school, would have been voted “least likely to become a saint.” St. Augustine, St. Paul, St. Mary Magdalene, to name a few. I remind myself that if those people could do it, then there is still a chance for me. I also like having patron saints for all sorts of big and little things. There’s St. Anthony for lost items. There’s even a patron saint for mice. For mad dogs. For alcoholics. For the internet and in case one cannot find anything in the list, there is St. Jude for lost causes (he’s one of my favorites).
I’m not sure how it is for other Catholics but I’ve always felt very grateful to have saints to pray to. No matter how distressing circumstances get, I never feel like I’m completely alone. I pray to Jesus of course and that’s always good. But when I’m praying to saints, I always feel like someone’s got my back, like I’m part of a bigger army, and I always end up asking them how they did it. No one wants to go through this life alone. But even when we’re surrounded by friends and family, no matter how wise and well meaning they are, I always think that they still haven’t gotten the bigger picture. They still haven’t been through death and back. But with the saints…I always feel like they could and would tell me, quite honestly, “been there, done that…just keep at it…” And that’s very consoling.
I think that now more than ever, we Catholics ought to enrich our faith life by reclaiming our trust and belief in the Communion of Saints. Not just to say novenas here and there when we need something, although there’s nothing wrong with that. But to actually cultivate our relationships with the saints, to rediscover who they are, to draw inspiration from their relationship with Christ, to beg graces from them, to reflect on the wisdom of their words and to ask them constantly to be beside us, like we would invite our dearest and closest friends to join us for everything.
The world tries to convince us that we ought to flee all forms of suffering and sacrifice, that the mark of a successful person is one who owns much, that the ultimate goal of life is to find happiness in this world and this life. But the presence of saints in our church beckon us to something greater—to a life lived in love, to an existence more meaningful than we could have ever imagined, to purpose more noble than we dreamed. The saints call us to rise to the challenges and become the person we were created to be. They call us to be saints, just like them. (Photo from the wires)