“Saints In Our Midst”

I am blessed to know many holy priests. Growing up I hardly knew any priests, except when I went to confession where I did my best to disguise my voice so the priest didn’t know it was me with these terrible sins. I still remember my first confession. I was about 8 years old and pretty nervous, but happy that my confession would be anonymous. I walked in and Fr. Slay opened with , “oh hello David”…… auuuugh, he knows it’s me. I think that was when I began to try and make my sins sound like virtues…. “Why yes Father, as you know from St. Augustine, there is some question about the age of reason…is it 7 years old, or 10 years old, or even 70 years old….which makes me innocent of sin…..yes, I’m sinless, so I’ll see you in a few years, adios amoeba ….” 

Well, I’m getting a bit distracted with this BLOG. Where was I…. Oh yes. As I’ve put on a few years since my first confession (and a few pounds), I’ve gotten a little more balance. For example, I used to put the saints on such a lofty pedestal that they were essentially unrelatable…..”they were perfect, they never sinned, they were mainly martyrs, they never laughed, and they seemed to be ticked off much of the time. Well, if you only read through “Butler’s Lives of the Saints”, you may come up with some imbalances. 

As we are able to read some of the actual writings of the saints, we can see that they were real people. They had their ups & downs. They actually sinned at times and fell on their faces. They point to the goodness of God as opposed to their own goodness. We can actually relate to them …. to some degree.

I first heard of St. Jane Frances deChantal when we joined a parish in Easton, Pa. dedicated to her. Recently I read a letter from her.( The Jewels of St. Jane Frances de Chantal, Magnificat, 8-12-23). Believe it or not, I can relate to a few things she says. 

• First of all she mentions some keys to having a  Confident Faith: “Trust entirely in the goodness of God for all things….. Here you have it in three points: first, because he is all wise. Secondly, because he is all good. Thirdly, because he is all powerful. He knows all that we have need of for soul and body. He is all good, and goodness itself…. He is all powerful to give us what he sees to be necessary for us. See then on what we are to establish our confidence; it is in God and not in oneself.”
• Next she speaks of When we are fallen:  “let us do as children who go with everything to the mother who nurses them. If they fall, they look to her. If they are frightened, if they are thwarted, they run to her arms. Let us do the same, let us run with everything to God with humility. If we are tried by any difficulties and temptations, let us take ourselves promptly to him, let us  throw ourselves into his arms and he will comfort us….. We should say to our Lord that at his word we will begin doing our very best to discharge our office, considering that of ourselves we can do nothing.”

There is more, but this is some of the wonderful wisdom that I believe we can gain from the great saints. So, let’s look to draw wisdom and encouragement from the “saints of old”, and the “saints in progress” who may live in our very home or community or parish. Remember, you don’t have to be perfect to be a saint; you have to be holy and growing in holiness. 

Let’s pay attention and ask questions and share our lives with the “saints in progress” that we rub elbows with every day. God can use them to help us… and use us to help them. And that is very good news.