Pope Francis announced recently that Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II were to be canonised saints of the Catholic Church later on this year. During the year we also were informed that Archbishop Oscar Romero's cause for canonisation had been 'unblocked' and was on track again.
Mother Teresa of Calcutta is on the path to canonisation too but she is not there yet. They are already considered to be saints by popular acclamation, but the powerful 'call' from God to be a saint or to be a 'light of faith' can fall on anyone, of any status in life. The apostles remain as excellent examples of how God can work through ordinary people.
When I was a boy reading the lives of the saints it left me with mixed feelings. Many of the stories I thought were woeful and dreadfully pious; they disappointed me because the saints as children did not seem 'normal'. Since I wasn't like them I knew I wasn't saint material. This did not disappoint me because becoming a saint seemed a serious challenge and still does. Generally a saint has to practice 'heroic virtue' and like Mother Mary of the Cross (St Mary MacKillop), saints seemed to have to suffer and put up with a lot.
However, I have had to revise that opinion as I have grown older; perhaps some of these saintly children were deeply pious because a deep gift of invitation was planted in their hearts by God?
To use a secular simile, I think of them as being like 'big gun' surfers who ride waves that are 40 to 60 feet high. Not everybody wants to ride big waves but there are some people who do. Some people have a vocation to become like big gun surfers in their relationship with God.
Like the surfers, it will be a demanding way to live, it will take everything they have. There are risks involved, the anonymous author of 'The Cloud of Unknowing' calls God a jealous lover.
This type of vocation is not about becoming a priest or a religious unless the Holy Spirit directs their lives in that direction. It belongs to anyone whom God chooses to call into a profound relationship. The Church has the need of priests and religious, it also has a need right now for people of profound faith.
I remember the late Fr Tom Boland, a priest of the Brisbane Archdiocese reflecting on the papacy of Blessed John Paul II. The Pope had visited the United States where large crowds had turned out to see him.
Fr Boland asked the audience, why was that? because many of the people who turned out did not agree with what he said or stood for? Fr Boland's answer was that Pope John Paul II was a man of faith and people sensed it. They were attracted to, or were intrigued by him because of his deep Catholic faith. In the western world, not only Europe, which seems to have diminishing faith, he was like a rock of assurance for many people who needed it.
People of deep faith don't have much to show for the treasure, God's presence that dwells in them, but they give us hope because God is almost tangible in them.
Fr Gary Walker
director@columban.org.au
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LISTEN TO: From the Director - Deep faith is a gift from God (Duration: 4.44mins, MP3, 2.16MB) |