The Danger of Fantasizing the Lives of the Saints

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As Catholics, we look up to the saint. They are our older brothers and sisters in the faith. Many of them are the reason the faith has endured and/or been passed to us. We ask for their prayers and expertise in our lives. We can read their works and admire them. Above all, we want what they have with God; we want to be like them. The same is true of the great people we encounter in our daily lives. However, this can be dangerous if we think too heavily on the subject. Saints are (because they are people like us) mysterious, we can misread their lives and/or compare ourselves too heavily.

Saints are people just like us whether you find them in the Bible or history. Nobody can ever truly know another person, and often we don't know ourselves. We can know God only in His relationship to us, maybe by the end of our lives. When we read the saints, we can easily those sight of their human nature because they are so transformed by God (which they would prefer). Without realizing it, we can easily lose sight of who they truly are. Even after reading their diaries, there is so much we miss. If we spend our time trying to know they that we may imitate we are both wasting our time and being inauthentic with ourselves. They would not want us to get to know them, but God. Possibly through them but not to stop with them. Phillip Neri recognized if there is something good about himself, it was God, not himself. Likewise, if we are amazed about the saints, it is only because they were free and willing to let God act through them.

Typically a result of misreading them, we can look at them and wonder why we aren't as good. It is important to realize that they are different people than we are. We are not called to be them. Much of the reason they would prefer that we only see God in their life is that they are a reflection of God for a purpose. Live is about being amazing. Life is about living with God. Why does God situate Himself all around us? Because communion with Him is what we are made for. There is no other reason that we ourselves exist other than to share in not only His divine life but also His image and likeness. It does not matter that Catherine of Siena ate only the Eucharist for a time in her life to anyone but her and God. It is tempting to respond by wondering what we are doing wrong to not encounter such a symbol of holiness. This is the wrong way to think. We are only made holy by welcoming God into our lives and letting Him transform them. We cannot do this ourselves.

In conclusion, let us stop star gazing and start living. "The glory of God is a human being fully alive"[Gloria Dei homo vivens]. Let us not look to the lives of others to find God, but let us seek Him in our own lives. If we look to the lives of saints and feel there is something missing, it may be because there is, God. What are we waiting for? Are we content with the world telling us what success means? Have we finally realized that the gates of heaven are not accessible if we don't live with God? "The kingdom of heaven is at hand", it is here! If only we are willing to let ourselves be free to take part in it. We only have today. The feeling that the Church today is inadequate, is because you are busy reading about greatness and not letting Christ lead you to it.

O saints how great thy love, which has shown radiant.

Teach me to be free, that I may accept the same bright raiment

God's grace be upon me, to aim my love rightly.

Let me reflect thee, Lord, show through my life brightly.

I am a Theology major attending Holy Apostles College and Seminary. I am a Knight of Columbus and a Newman Ambassador for Pius XII Newman Center.

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