The lives of the saints are beautiful testimonies to the Catholic Faith. In fact, Pope Benedict XVI said that along with evangelizing power of beauty, the lives of the saints are the “true apology of Christian faith, the most convincing demonstration of its truth.” Immersing ourselves in the stories of our predecessors should remind us that holiness is possible and the Christian life is worth living.
Some of the saint stories, however, might cause you to wonder if you really can do this whole saint thing. Wolves don’t listen to me, like St. Francis of Assisi. I don’t levitate in prayer or bear the wounds of Christ on my flesh. I don’t have the power to lecture the Pope like Catherine of Siena or bilocate like Padre Pio.
To be a saint, do I have to throw off all my personal possessions, renounce my family, and run around the countryside preaching the Gospel? We have the saints as examples, but what if I don’t want to emulate St. Rose of Lima to disfigure my beauty and chop off my hair? What if I don’t want to live as a beggar under the steps of my parents’ home like St. Alexis? How does holiness work if I have a job, family, and other responsibilities?
In short, is holiness always so… weird?
