Live Like the Saints

   “Let us never forget that if we wish to die like the saints we must live like them.” St. Theordore Guerin

   We should all want to die as the saints have died; in the friendship of God.  It follows that we should do our best to live as they lived and build a relationship and friendship with our Lord.  Most would think this to be a daunting task, but it’s perhaps not as difficult as we might believe.

   When we look at the saints they, with rare exception, were ordinary men and women just like us.  They were sinners just as we are sinners.  What is the difference between us and the saints?  I believe the difference is attitude and intent.  If we take the view that even though we are sinners we desire sainthood we will seek forgiveness for our sins and dedicate ourselves to avoid sin as much as possible.  If our intention in this effort is to spend eternity in the presence of God that will also help us to make better decisions in life.

   Prior to becoming a Trappist Monk Thomas Merton struggled with what God wanted of him.  While discussing his problem with a friend he found the answer.  His friend asked, “Why would God not want you to be a saint?”  A simple question and a call to action.

   The same applies to each of us.  God wants that we be saints.  If we are to respond to His desire we need to understand that no one starts at the top of the mountain; they begin at the base and climb.  That climb can be difficult and seemingly impossible at times.  To be successful we must turn to God.  We can’t become saints on our own, we need His help.

   We find that even the greatest of saints had difficult times and many started out far from sainthood.  Read about the saints and you will find many went through dark times when they didn’t even know for certain that God was still with them.  St. Teresa of Calcutta spoke of many years of dryness in spirit.  St. John of the Cross wrote of the dark night of the soul.  Some fought sainthood for a while.  St. Augustine asked God to make him a saint but to wait a while.  He knew God was calling but wanted to go on living as he was for a time.  If these saints struggled in their efforts we should expect no less in ours.

   Our path to sainthood lies  on the road that God places us on.  He will guide us and give us the strength to travel that road.  Let God lead and we can follow all the way to heaven.