Many of my family and friends have constantly asked me if I will be joining the priesthood; as if the only way to be holy and to follow Christ is to be a priest. This mentality has affected many minds both in Lebanon and in Canada BUT this is not truly the case.
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| Abouna Yaacoub |
Does that mean that us, lay people, will not be saints?
Well, I guess the first thing is to define saint... the Merriam-Webster's dictionary has many definitions for it but I will use only two for my case:
1: one officially recognized especially through canonization as preeminent for holiness
2: one of the spirits of the departed in heaven
The first defines the St. Rafqa's and the St. Charbel's of the world and the second is and should be US!
A saint is a spirit that has departed to heaven... so the question to us is, do we want to be in heaven?
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| Heaven! |
I certainly want to be that soul on the left that is hugging our Lord.
Pope Benedict XVI says,
"Saintliness, the fullness of Christian life, does not consist in the achievement of extraordinary feats, but in uniting oneself with Christ… in making His disposition … His behaviour … our own.
Not infrequently we tend to think that holiness is a goal reserved for a select few but it's not as the Second Vatican council reminds us.
We are all called to follow this path which is rooted in the baptismal grace and being imparted in the Paschal mystery of Christ.
God always respects our freedom and asks to accept this gift and to live with the demands it brings and Christian Holiness is none other than charity fully experienced, a seed that must be cultivated by participating frequently in the sacraments, especially the Eucharist and the Holy Liturgy.
Christians must constantly apply themselves in prayer and in the act of service to their brothers and the exercise of every virtue."
The Pope continues... "For my personal faith, it is not just some of the great saints that I know and love who show the way but also simple saints, that is good people who I see in my life and who will never be canonized. They are ordinary people without visible heroism but in their goodness of every day, I see the truth of the faith."
Personally, Opus Dei has helped me grow closer to God by serving others, frequenting the sacraments and improving society. Here is a link to their site: Opus Dei or feel free to talk to me at church before or after the Divine Liturgy.
So, the question is, do you want to be a saint?
God Bless,
Elie
St. Charbel, pray for us
