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Writer's pictureSarah Raad

Saints

“To be Saints is not a privilege for the few, but a vocation for everyone.” (Pope Francis).

Mary Queen of Heaven (Unknown)

Have you ever stopped to consider the lives of the Saints…?


I have been thinking about these lives over the last few days.


The Saints are a wonderful gift to miserable weak souls like mine, because they are an example of what I should aspire to be. While my self-control and discipline are terribly poor, the Saints are able to demonstrate the lengths to which a human soul can go to for love of God.


While the Blessed Virgin is considered the Queen of all Saints, as she is the perfect Saint, she is not the only one. And yet, she is the Immaculate Virgin. She is the Mother of God, the Daughter of God and the Handmaid of God. And she follows God’s Will flawlessly in complete submission to His Will, deferential – she who is Queen of Heaven…


Pope Francis said, “To be Saints is not a privilege for the few, but a vocation for everyone.”


And I have been thinking of other Saints as well…


There is Saint Padre Pio – one of my special protectors. He was persecuted during his lifetime by those in power within the Church. People who simply misunderstood the Saint in much the same way that Saint John Vianney was misunderstood by so many others within the Church. Because these Saints practised such a great and refined state of holiness that it was basically unbelieved by those other flawed souls who were unable to replicate the same level of holiness…

And then there are other Saints, like Saint Faustina, who were basically misunderstood their whole lives. Saint Faustina was dying slowly and painfully from tuberculosis of the intestines, and sadly, the nuns in her convent believed that she was merely pretending to be ill so as to receive special treatment. This distressed Saint Faustina so much that she asked permission of her confessor (of whom she asked permission in all things as a way to remain humble) to be able to continue to eat from the unmodified diet of the other sisters in the convent so as not to cause further rumour or scandal through her special treatment.


Her confessor denied her request – for her own good. This was because the Saint would writhe in pain for the entire night if her food had been salted or seasoned, as the salt and seasoning would affect the internal wounds of her intestines, which had been caused by her illness, and this would cause her excruciating pain. But still the Saint suffered greatly at being singled out to receive special food or treatment and being doubted as a pretender…


And then there was Saint Bernadette Soubirous of Lourdes, who despite having severe tuberculosis of the bone, which was so advanced by the point of discovery that she was unable to move, was doubted as an imposter by some of her fellow sisters in the convent…


And I have been thinking about that today – that example of the Saints. For they did great things with great courage. And if I am called to be a Saint, it means that I must be able to do small things with great courage, because small things are what I have been given…


For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.


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