You
can be a saint.
Really.
You can be a saint. That may be a little hard to believe (it’s hard for me to
believe about myself, honestly), but it is true. You can be a saint.
I
think my problem is that I think of saints as statues on pedestals: great men
and women who did great things long ago. But I’m not great. I’m so very … ordinary. I’m not a missionary in a
foreign land; I haven’t established a religious order; I haven’t been imprisoned;
I haven’t performed any miraculous healings. I’m just a priest in his forties
who sins and who has a past, just like anyone else. Nothing great; nothing that
distinguishes me from others.
But
here’s the thing: being a saint isn’t about being great; it isn’t about being on
a pedestal; it isn’t even about being canonized. Yes, greatness and pedestals
and canonization are all important – and we need that; those things are for our
benefit, a Hall of Fame of sorts to inspire you, airport runway lights to help
you land in the fog.
But
being a saint isn’t really about all that. It is about one thing and one thing
only. It is about being holy. And being holy is not about your successes or
your achievements. In fact, it’s often about your failures.
That
sounds odd. Greatness in failure? Yes. It is something that even the secular
world understands. So let me explain.
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There
was a young man who loved football. Wanted to play in high school as a
quarterback, but couldn’t make it as a starter even on a team that was 0-8. He
improved and made it to college ball, but there he was seventh on the depth
chart. When he finally got playing time, his first pass was intercepted for a
pick-six. He could have crumbled, but he believed he could be great. He entered
the NFL draft and was passed over by every team – thirty-two teams, five times
each. He was nothing to look at, kind of flabby, and profoundly …ordinary. He was chosen in the sixth
round, almost last, round. And for all that, he eventually started and became
the winningest QB in NFL history, retiring with six Super Bowl championships. That’s
Tom Brady’s story.
Or
the young high school freshman that was cut from his basketball team. Wasn’t a
good ball handler. Ordinary shooting. Ordinary speed. That was Michael Jordan.
Or,
the young boy who grew up in Appalachia to a narcotics-addicted mother; physically
and emotionally abused; had a 1.2 GPA in the first three semesters of high
school; on track to be just another blip in a trailer park. Vice President JD
Vance.
So,
the world knows that your history doesn’t preclude greatness. On the contrary,
it can highlight it.
Sure,
in the cases of Brady and Jordan and Vance, we could talk about perseverance,
drive, commitment, getting back up again, and so on. But if greatness can be
arrived at through these human means, imagine what almighty God can do!
Mary
Magdalene was possessed by seven demons. By all accounts, she lived a very
unholy life until she met Jesus. Paul, for his part, was a murderer – he killed
Christians. Isaiah lamented the words that came out of his mouth. And Peter
always seemed to put his foot in his.
And
for all of that, each of these are acknowledged as saints. Holy men and women –
our family in heaven.
Listen
to the words of our faith: “All Christians in any state or walk of life are
called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity” (CCC
2013, LG 40.2).
All.
Whether
you are smart or dumb; whether you can change the oil on your car or not;
whether you are healthy or unable to get out bed; whether you are great or profoundly
ordinary – you can be a saint. In fact, you are “called to the fullness”!
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When
we start off Lent – which will be in just a few weeks – we will hear Jesus’
words, His very first words of His public ministry, in fact. He says, “Repent
and believe in the Gospel.”
That’s
how Jesus started. Important words.
Now,
I think we got the repent part down. We know that we are to be sorry and go to
confession and so on. What I don’t think many Catholics understand is the “believe
in the Gospel” part.
Do
you know what that means? It means that God wants to transform you. Not just
save you, not just love you. He wants to transform
you. Mary Magdalene was transformed. Paul was transformed. Peter was
transformed.
Notice
Peter’s reaction when he meets Jesus, “Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful
man.” Peter is telling Jesus: Don’t you
know my history? Don’t you know who I am? I am a failure. I can’t even fish. I’m
not great. In fact, I’m less than ordinary. I’m a sinful man.
And
yet. … Jesus chooses him and tells him: “Do not be afraid.”
Paul
once wrote “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil 4:13). He
was echoing the famous phrase: “With God, all things are possible.”
I
am convinced that when Paul wrote that, he wasn’t giving some pie-in-the-sky cliché
or some pious aphorism. Paul was speaking from experience. Don’t you know where I came from? Don’t you know who I was? Jesus
really changed me! With God all things are truly possible!
So,
Peter, don’t you see? You who are reading this—don’t you see? Jesus is more
confident that you will be a saint than you are! And Jesus will see to it!
If
He can transform water and turn it into wine; if He can take ordinary bread and
change it into God – imagine the transformation He can do in you!
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This
doesn’t mean that you won’t fall along the way. You will. It doesn’t mean that
you will do great things in the eyes of the world – most of you won’t. St.
Andre Bessett was just a man who opened the door.
But
what it does mean is that, if you believe, you will be surprised.
There
will come a day, along the winding road of humility and cross-carrying that you
have been on, when you who believe will see where you have come from and where
you are now.
And
why do you think the saints in heaven always praise God up there? Because they
see. They are surprised. And they are so dang grateful that “He who is mighty
has done great things for me.” He has truly lifted up the lowly!
For
me, I am asking the Holy Spirit to come into my body and my mind and my soul. I
am praying that more. I am also praying that He would increase my capacity to
receive Him – enlarge my heart!
And
I truly believe that if I am open to this, if I believe in the Gospel, God will
be faithful. He will transform me. And I will be a saint.
And
if you believe and are open, He will do the same for you!
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In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
