Here are two consistent facts about saints:
1. They are human beings, as all of us are.
2. They live in a hard and gritty world, as all of us do.
Their saintliness grows out of their engagement with the world as it is. A saint is, first of all, brutally honest—about her own life and about all of life around her. Few saints live out that honesty as well as Dorothy Day, who helped found the Catholic Worker movement. Read about her in Jim Martin’s chapter for the week, posted here.
Some saints are also prophets, and I think this is especially true of those involved in the gritty work of God’s kingdom—those who work with the poor, who confront the injustice of governments and other systems, and who speak the truth regardless of how their listeners respond.
Stop for a moment and think about such prophet-like saints in your own life.
- There was the mother or aunt or grandmother who always made sure the neighbors had food to eat.
- There was the man from your church who never dressed very well and who could always be found helping at the neighborhood homeless shelter or food pantry.
- There was the teacher or professor whose career was sidelined because he or she dared speak up about an issue of justice that was unpopular with the school’s administration.
- There was the group of people from your neighborhood who braved bone-chilling weather to march in protests against war or the unfair treatment of immigrants.
Fr. Martin writes of how people like Dorothy Day inspire the rest of us to get out in the world and do the hands-on work of the kingdom. Who inspires you? Whose example has moved you to take your faith more seriously or to apply your beliefs to more radical action?
Exercise for the Week
Make a list of the people who are watching your life, who are being influenced by what you say, what you do, and the attitudes you voice.
Consider the possibility that, for someone, you might be that saint who inspires them to live their faith more wholeheartedly and honestly. If that’s the case, how will you live this week? What might you do differently? What challenge might you face?
To post a tribute to a loved one who has died click on the All Souls tab.
To take advantage of special savings on My Life with the Saints by Fr. James Martin, use the promo code “SAINTS09”. Only $12.00 each! (paperback edition only).
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