The final phrase of the first sentence of our diocesan and parish mission statement is likely the most important in the entire statement. After committing ourselves to being “dedicated missionary disciples of the Risen Lord” and “steadfast stewards of God’s creation”, we express that we are a people “who seek to become saints.”
When considering this call to become a saint, I am reminded of a famous quote by the French Catholic author, Leon Bloy, who wrote: “The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is not to become a saint.” I do not know about you, but when I read that quote I am both encouraged and discouraged. First of all, I am encouraged by reading this, as it kindles something that is within each and every one of us, that desire to be holy, to be close to God, to one day be among His elect in Heaven. This desire was planted in our hearts on the day of our Baptism, and that desire is always at work in us.
At the same time, I cannot help feeling somewhat discouraged. If you are like me, then there is the glaring reality that I am far from becoming a saint, at least as I consider who the saints are. When we think of the saints, we think of the many saintly examples that the Church provides for us, sort of the Hall of Fame of Sanctity. We look at figures like St. Paul, St. Catherine of Siena, St. Maximilan Kolbe, St. Teresa of Kolkata, just to name a few. In them, we see heroic examples of courage, we see dedication to the poorest of the poor, we see holy souls who lived totally united to God. Then, when we look at ourselves, we realize that we usually do not measure up, and we experience that discouragement.
About ten years ago, I had a chance encounter with a fairly new Catholic musician named Danielle Rose. I looked up her music and was struck in particular with a song that she wrote, titled The Saint that is Just Me. The song begins like this:
O I thought I’d be heroic and inspiring.
I wanted to offer you the greatest sacrifice.
Like all the saints who’d gone before me,
I tried to prove my love for you, and so to gain the prize.
After singing about how she tried to imitate a variety of saints, she sings these words that speak hope into that feeling of discouragement:
When you hung upon the cross looking at me,
You didn’t die so I would try to be somebody else.
You died so I could be the saint that is just me.
This is the saint that the Lord is calling us to be – not another St. Francis or St. Clare, not another St. Therese of St. John Paul II. He is calling you and me to be “the saint that is just me.” This means that whatever our circumstances may be in our lives, God is calling us to be a saint through our fidelity to where He has called us. He will never deprive us of all of the graces we need, for He desires that “all be saved” (1 Tm 2:4), which means that He desires all to become saints.
Therefore, as we proclaim that the ultimate goal of our mission as a diocese, as a parish, and as individuals is to become saints, let us be filled with hope and joy, never falling into discouragement, thinking the road to holiness impossible, even when faced with our weaknesses. Let us be encouraged by Jesus’s response to St. Peter when he asked the Lord about who could be saved. Jesus said: “For human beings this is impossible, but for God all things are possible.” (Mt 19:26)
Father Alford