Becoming a Saint by Sr Ann Catherine Swailes
- Oct 18, 2014
- 2 min read
This week, the Church invites us to celebrate one of our newest saints, John Paul II, canonized, along with his predecessor-but-two as Pope, John XXIII, in April of this year. In his Canonization homily, Pope Francis spoke movingly of their example:
John XXIII and John Paul II were not afraid to look upon the wounds of Jesus, to touch his torn hands and his pierced side. They were not ashamed of the flesh of Christ, they were not scandalized by him, by his cross; they did not despise the flesh of their brother because they saw Jesus in every person who suffers and struggles. These were two men of courage, filled with the boldness of the Holy Spirit, and they bore witness before the Church and the world to God’s goodness and mercy. They were priests, bishops and popes of the twentieth century. They lived through the tragic events of that century, but they were not overwhelmed by them. For them, God was more powerful. In these two men, who looked upon the wounds of Christ and bore witness to his mercy, there dwelt a living hope and an indescribable and glorious joy.’
But the canonization of these two men, who are not figures from the dim and distant past, but very much within living memory, also reminds us that saints do not belong safely in stained glass windows or in Mediaeval manuscripts. As Pope Francis pointed out in his homily, it is the saints who give direction and growth to the Church, in all times and all places. And, as the Second Vatican Council, convened by St John XXIII, insists, we are all called to holiness, all called to be saints.
What this means will be different for each one of us, since becoming a saint, becoming holy, means nothing other than becoming whole, wholly the unique beloved son or daughter God intends each of us to be. This may be a daunting thought, but St John Paul assures us it does not have to be a threatening one: “We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures; we are the sum of the Father’s love for us and our real capacity to become the image of his Son.”
Comments