July 31, 2005
This week on EWTN, I am going to discuss understanding very saintly people. When I was a young fellow, I always hoped that I would know at least one person who might become a canonized saint. My wish came true when I went to the novitiate and there encountered the great servant of God, Fr. Solanus Casey. In the course of time I met a number of others, including Blessed Mother Teresa, Cardinal Cooke, Fr. Patrick Payton, Fr. Walter Ciszek, and some other people like Dorothy Day and Catherine Doherty, who have been mentioned as possible candidates for beatification. In fact, I even worked for a long time as postulator of the cause of Cardinal Cooke.
Knowing the saints or potential saints has been an interesting experience. The one thing you notice is their absolute consistency, that they always seek first the Kingdom of God. The other thing you recognize is that each one of them struggles with human weaknesses, if not in the sense of failings, then in the sense that they show that the cross can be heavy to carry. We have a kind of unrealistic magical idea of saints in our minds. On one occasion I had Fr. Solanus and Mother Teresa annoyed at me. Their annoyance was so kind and charitable that it made me feel worse – they got annoyed so sweetly!
Understanding people who are saints gives us some insight into sanctity. It really is about giving ourselves to God and seeking to do God’s will every day as best we can. In fact, if we did this every day, we would soon be saints, but we don’t have the equipment to do it. We only have the ability to take the next good step and move in that direction.
I hope you will think of some saints you may have known in your life. Obviously they don’t have to be well known and on the way to being canonized. Think about a couple of people you know who showed very heroic virtue and loyalty to Christ. That’s what makes a saint.
Fr. Benedict Groeschel, CFR
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