Here I am, flying 10,000 feet in the air, looking down on our world. Since it’s dark out, all I can currently see is darkness and a few lights here and there. There are groups of lights, single lights, and places covered in darkness.
Sainthood. Have you ever thought about it?
“What is a saint?” you might ask. Well to me, the word saint cannot be truly defined. The word alone is so striking. I mean you hear the word and immediately go wow. Saint. That’s amazing. How could I possibly ever become a saint? There’s no way I could, I mean I am not holy enough. Hold on, stop right there. It doesn’t matter what point of life you are at, everyone has the opportunity to strive for sainthood.
Each person is unique in their own way, so that makes no ones story the same, but here are a few examples of my favorite saints.
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha
Saint Teresa of Calcutta
Saint Damien of Molokai
Blessed Pier Giorgio
I encourage you to look up their stories and learn more about them. They are all amazing people and I bet you will be able to relate to at least one of them. I know I do.
This past April, I received the sacrament of Confirmation. It was an amazing experience. I choose Saint Kateri Tekakwitha as my saint. She’s honestly such a cool saint, and out of the thousands and thousands of saints out there, it made it hard to choose. Before making my final decision, I had three saints in mind: Kateri, Benedict, or Mother Teresa. I loved them and of course I still do, but I knew choosing all three wasn’t an option. So, I wrote down there names on separate slips of paper and set them on my bedside table. I said to myself that whichever one was on the ground in the morning was the one I was to choose, and sure enough, Kateri fell and I chose her. I thought that was a pretty cool way to decide considering I didn’t know which one to go with.
Since then, I have strived to pray to her a lot. We now have developed this strong connection with each other and it’s a really cool thing. That’s something else. Find a saint you think is cool, connect with, or feel called to and pray to them. Ask them for guidance and just sit and listen. You may never hear anything or you may, but remember that prayer is part listening too. Never forget that part.
We start the path to sainthood everyday when we wake up. We are in full control of our actions and what we do in a day. Before we act, maybe we should think about if it’s going to lead us closer to the Kingdom or ultimately lead us away. Those are the things we need to be keeping in mind. We show our love for God through not only worship, but also through the way we love, treat, and respect those around us. As he said, we are His hands and feet, and everyone around us is Christ Himself. He is in everyone of us, so why not live this wonderful life for Him, and give Him ultimate praise.
Sainthood is not something to work on by yourself. It’s something we do together. We as people of God need to work together, lift each other up, and lead each other closer to Christ through the way we act. We can work for sainthood in our own lives, but as we do that we need to help others get there too. It’s a team effort. Help your brothers and sisters in Christ reach that Heavenly goal.
As I sit here staring at these lights in the sky tonight, I am reminded of us. We can be the light in the darkness when we strive for sainthood and help those around us. We can be the groups of light when we work with those around us. Although there is so much darkness we need to remember that even in the darkness there is light and it has not been overcome, so we won’t be overcome either. We will stand strong, spreading the faith, and bring His word to all while striving for sainthood in our daily lives. See, even the truth, beauty, and goodness of the world He created continues to teach us amazing things like this. He is amazing.
Dear God,
Thank you for being an incredible creator. Where would we be without you? Thank you for caring for us so much, and calling us to an eternity in Heaven with you. Help us to answer your call and help those around us achieve that call as well. In your name we pray, Amen.
Saint Kateri Tekakwitha, Pray for Us.
-Anna Zacharias
Leave a Reply