Who is a Saint?

Beloved: See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God.  Yet so we are.  The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him.  Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.  We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.  Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.

First Letter of St. John 3:1-3

November 1st is All Saints Day on the Church calendar.  It's a day for celebrating and contemplating the lives of the Saints.

The Denial of St. Peter, by Caravaggio

Who is a saint?  I've read many descriptions, some rather long and complicated and some short.  Here are some good (short) ones:

A saint is always someone through whose life we learn what God is like - and what we are called to be.  Only God 'makes' saints.  The Church merely identifies from time to time a few of these for imitation.

Anyone who is in Heaven, whether recognized here on earth, or not.

A person who kept on trying when everybody else gave up.

I'm not sure how theologically correct that last one is, but I like it.

There are two things I want to stress about saints.  First of all, the Church (Catholic or Orthodox) doesn't 'make' saints.  She merely recognizes, after much discernment and guidance by the Holy Spirit, certain individuals who led lives of 'heroic virtue'; that is, individuals who dedicated their lives to loving and serving God and who now live eternally in heaven with God.  It's kind of like the Church's 'Hall of Fame.'

This leads me to my second point.  The saints aren't those who walked the earth in a dreamy rapture all the time, carrying a prayer book or rosary beads, and who never lost their temper or said a bad word.  The heroic virtue these individuals practiced meant they struggled with and overcame their own personal shortcomings through God's grace.  They surrendered their lives - warts and all - to God.  They understood that they could do nothing, absolutely NOTHING, without God's grace and strength.

The Temptation of Saint Anthony, by Jacques Antoine Vallin

 

The saints had their share of human weaknesses while they lived on earth.  We should all know about Saint Peter's shortcomings as a man from the New Testament.  He appeared to have a short temper and he denied our Lord three times the night before his crucifixion.  Saint Ambrose (4th century) had a quick and sharp tongue.  Saint Therese of Lisieux (19th century) admitted to being tempted by blasphemous thoughts.  Saint Padre Pio (20th century) struggled with a short temper.  Those are just a few that come immediately to my mind.

God's will is that all be saved (1 Timothy 2:4; 2 Peter 3:9).  We are all meant to spend eternity with God.  Whatever our personal shortcomings, we are all called to be saints.  We must choose every single day to love God and give him our entire selves, body and soul, thoughts, words and actions.  Only then can God make us saints.

Eternity

The big news here in Poland lately is the announced canonization of Pope John Paul II next spring, April 27th to be exact.  John Paul II was Polish, born Karol Wojtyła, and the Poles are very proud of him.

Regarding sainthood and canonization, that's a topic I'll deal with next week as we approach All Saints' Day on November 1st.

Blessed John Paul II's feast day is October 22nd and that and the announcement of his canonization has led me to read some of the things he said and wrote.

I came across the following in this month's Magnificat:

We are now standing in the face of the greatest historical confrontation humanity has ever experienced.  I do not think the wide circle of the American society, or the wide circle of the Christian community realize this fully.  We are now facing the final confrontation between the Church and the anti-church, between the Gospel and the anti-gospel, between Christ and the antichrist.  This confrontation lies within the plans of Divine Providence.  It is, therefore, in God's Plan, and it must be a trial which the Church must take up, and face courageously.

Then Cardinal Karol Wojtyła spoke those words in an address at the Eucharistic Congress in Philadelphia in 1976.  If some people thought he was exaggerating then, I think subsequent events should clarify the truth of his words. 

When Cardinal Wojtyła was elected pope two years later, he would begin his pontificat with the words of Christ, Be not afraid!  He would repeat those words often over the following quarter century.

What is it that we are not to be afraid of?  Death?  Satan and the powers of darkness?  Illness, failure and pain?

The Gospel reading for mass last Friday, October 11th, was from Luke 11:15-26.  I'll cite the first few verses:

When Jesus had driven out a demon, some of the crowd said: "By the power of Beelzebul, the prince of demons, he drives out demons."  Others, to test him, asked him for a sign from heaven.  But he knew their thoughts and said to them, "Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste and house will fall against house.  And if Satan is divided against himself, how will his kingdom stand?  For you say that it is by Beelzebul that I drive out demons.  If I, then, drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your own people drive them out?  Therefore they will be your judges.  But if it is by the finger of God that I drive out demons, then the Kingdom of God has come upon you . . ."

We often hear the line that Satan's greatest accomplishment in this later age is to have convinced people that he doesn't exist.  Those who dabble in the occult or Satanism are fools to the nth degree.  But I think that those who have comfortably come to the conclusion that the devil is just silly old superstition are the bigger fools. 

Jesus said, "I have observed Satan fall

like lightning from the sky."  Luke 10:18

Those who grope through the dark forest of Satan's kingdom are at least aware of the realities of the supernatural.  They play a fool's game by adoring That which hates them passionately and wishes to deface the image of God in which they were created and works tirelessly to snatch them eternally from the love of God.  But I think that those aware of the existence of Satan are also very aware of the existence of God.  And therein lies hope for them.

It's those who sleepily deny the existence of Satan and evil who tend to have a dim awareness of God.  If they think about God at all, he's simply a vague 'goodness' who is OK with whatever I do since I'm just following my conscience anyway and I'm basically a good person who never hurt anybody, and well cutting corners at work or taking home office supplies isn't so bad since my company's rich and I hate my freak'n boss, and ogling that hot woman in the next cubicle isn't so bad, it's not like my wife knows about it, and though I would never agree to an abortion myself it's no problem to vote for a politician who supports a woman's right to choose, so we don't need to trouble ourselves too much with God.  It's all cool . . .

Eternity is now.  The Kingdom of God upon us.  And so is Satan's kingdom.  Our biological death, whether it's in the distant future or today, is but a transition from this time on earth with it's constant hardships and fleeting moments of joy, to the beatific vision of God, or to the full realization of our eternal separation from God.  That is Heaven and Hell.

The Marriage Feast at Cana, by Bartolomé Esteban Murillo

An anticipation of Heaven

But it begins here and now in our hearts.  Either God reigns there, or Satan does, whether we believe in either of them or not.  And whether we have heaven or hell in our hearts, we bring heaven or hell into our immediate surroundings, into our daily lives.  Cheating and theft, lust and adultery, anger and murder are all signs of the kingdom of Satan.  Love, peace, joy, respect for life and good humor are signs of the Kingdom of God. 

In which kingdom do we live?  Who do we serve?

Classics

The definition of classic varies depending on what you're talking about.  For the purposes of this posting, I'll define it as something that you can partake of - watching, reading, listening to, or even drinking - again and again without getting tired of it.

Coke is a good item to start with.  I don't drink soft drinks very often as a rule, but when I do I drink Coca-Cola.  There I sound like that guy on the Dos Equis commercials!  I suppose that series of commercials could be described as classic by some people.

In the realm of music there's classical music, the genre, and classic music, with of course a lot of overlap between them.  I enjoy pretty much anything by Mozart.  His music is always fresh and full of life and light.  Fortunately for us, the man wrote a whole lot of it.

There are a lot of songs and albums I can listen to over and over again.  I could fill this entire posting with the titles.  But one album in particular I never get tired of hearing is Dire Straits' untitled debut album issued in 1978.  Their album Brothers in Arms is their best seller and I love that album too, but I have a soft spot especially for that first one.  With songs like Down to the Waterline, Water of Love, Sultans of Swing, and Wild West End this album is a classic for me.

Regarding books, again there are many for me.  But if I had to choose one, well, it'd actually be three.  I'd choose the three Jesus of Nazareth books by Joseph Ratzinger (Pope Benedict XVI).  The first in the series logically (though published last of the three) is subtitled The Infancy Narratives and deals with the birth of Jesus.  The second book in the series (published first) deals with Jesus' life from his baptism in the Jordan to his Transfiguration.  The third book is subtitled Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem to the Resurrection.

Ratzinger is a born teacher and he lays out a lifetime of reading, studying, thinking about and - most importantly - personally encountering Jesus in an engaging and thought-provoking way for the lay reader.  Ratzinger's deep love and respect for our Lord are evident on every page.

As with music, I could cram this posting full with titles of novels, stories and poems that I consider classics.

Every year around Christmas time I watch the film It's a Wonderful Life.  It is surely my all time favorite movie.  A lesser known movie that I have also watched countless times is Return to Me, starring David Duchovny and Minnie Driver with supporting roles played by Carroll O'Connor and Jim Belushi.  In this film, Duchovny's character's wife dies in a car accident.  She's an organ donor and her heart goes to a young woman in need of a new heart - Driver's character.  These two main characters eventually meet, not aware of the connection they have, and . . . well, you need to watch the film.

My idea of a classic film star is Audrey Hepburn.  I never get tired of her face in all its expressions.  I wouldn't say that each of her films is a great work of art, but she brings a spark to the screen that few other actors can.

Other classics for me are the Peanuts comic strip and some of the TV specials, the Vince Guaraldi soundtracks on those Peanuts TV specials, the Green Bay Packer and New York Yankee uniforms and logos, certain steam locomotives and many other things.  Such things as I've mentioned in this post add beauty and grace to our lives.  These are the things that separate high civilization from barbarism.

Jan Vermeer's Girl with a Pearl Earring

 

Renovation

Everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will like a wise man who built his house on rock.  The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.  But it did not collapse; it had been set solidly on rock.  And everyone who listens to these words of mine but does not act on them will be like a fool who built his house on sand.  The rain fell, the floods came, and the winds blew and buffeted the house.  And it collapsed and was completely ruined.
Jesus Christ, Matthew 7:24-27

 

Two of my brothers-in-law have been at our house this week completely replacing our central heating system - furnace, pipes and radiators.  My wife and I have been helping them a little, trying to keep the house reasonably clean, getting our two kids ready for school in the mornings and feeding and entertaining them, and preparing lessons for our teaching jobs.  It's been dusty and noisy and a little bit stressful.  OK, a lot stressful.

By the time this post goes live Friday night, all should be finished save for some repainting where they had to knock out some wall for the new pipes. 

Renovation can be painful (emotionally AND physically - those furnaces are heavy!) but the final result is worth it.

Confession of our sins can be likened to a renovation of our souls.  I've also heard it described as like a house cleaning for the soul.  It can be uncomfortable, even painful, but the sweet relief afterwards is beyond words.  Our sins are forgiven and our right relationship with God is renewed.

Catholics and Orthodox go to a priest for confession.  We believe that after we make a full confession of our grievous sins to a priest, Jesus grants us absolution through that priest.  The priest is a vessel for God's graces.  Even if he's a terrible scoundrel, as an ordained priest he is a channel for Jesus' absolution.

Another good thing about auricular confession to a priest is just that - it's auricular.  We have to physically speak our sins to another person.  That can be really uncomfortable, believe me.  But speaking our sins aloud can bring home to us just how ugly our sins are.  Also, a good priest can counsel us to help us deal with our weaknesses that lead us to sin.

Catholics are encouraged to examine their consciences before confession.  One effective way to do this is to reflect on the Ten Commandments and ask ourselves how we have sinned against God and our fellow man by breaking any of these commandments.  I think Protestant Christians will find this useful too when examining their consciences before Christ. 

It's been a long while since I've been to confession and I really need to go.  It's difficult for me to confess in Polish, which is the reason it's been so long.  However, I recently learned through one of my students that there's a priest in Jędrzejów who speaks English.  I dropped by that church the other day and discovered that he hears confessions on Saturday evenings.  I intend to go to him soon.  My soul needs some serious renovation.

A useful guide to examination of conscience

I am the Lord your God.  You shall not have strange gods before me.  Did I willfully or seriously doubt my faith?  Did I worship idols in my life by putting false gods over my duties to God and other people - idols such as my own free time, money, sports, music, etc.?

You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain.  Did I curse using our Lord's name?

Remember to keep holy the Sabbath day.  Did I miss church on any Sunday?  Did I keep the Lord in mind on Sundays?  Did I keep that day in His honor? 

Honor your father and your mother.  Did I disobey my parents or lawful superiors in important matters?  Did I respect and honor my parents as I ought to?

You shall not kill.  Did I hatefully quarrel with anybody, or desire revenge?  Did I consent to, advise, encourage, or actively take part in an abortion?

You shall not commit adultery.  Did I willfully look at indecent pictures or watch immoral movies?  Did I engage in impure jokes or conversations?  Did I commit impure acts? 

You shall not steal.  Did I steal or damage another person's property?  Have I been honest at work or in my business relations?

You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.  Did I tell lies.  Did I slander anyone?  Did I judge others rashly in serious matters?

You shall not covet your neighbor's wife (or husband).  Did I lust after another's wife or husband.  Did I dishonor my wife or husband by comparing them negatively with another's wife or husband?

You shall not covet your neighbor's goods.  Was I envious of other people's possessions?  Was I dissatisfied with the things that God has blessed me with?