To date, I have only seen up close one canonized saint of the Catholic Church. To the best of my knowledge, he never boasted he was one. From everything I have read or seen in videos, all are humble and avoid anything that would deter them from doing God’s work. This includes saints who lived a sinful life before committing fully to God’s ways. Remember, except for Jesus and Mary who were born without sin and John the Baptist who had his original sin removed in the womb, all are sinners.
Given that definition, how can we believe that baptized Catholics who practice their faith and have a sin nature are considered saints? I, myself, sin daily in thought, word or deed at times. That being the case, I am certainly less than perfect, despite what my mind or sense of humor may lead me to believe.
Saints are not perfect. They made and currently make mistakes. The difference is that they realize what happened was wrong and they work to overcome their sin nature and temptations. In falling out of grace, they admit their error, seek forgiveness and continually convert from living a sinful life.
Conversion is the most difficult part of keeping steadfast toward a path of holiness. If we are honest with ourselves, we struggle with what we “think” is a sin versus what is a sin. We classify sins between mortal and venial and begin to ignore the latter because they will not condemn us to hell, we do not need to go to Confession and/or are minor in comparison to terrible decisions others make based upon what the media reports.
What people seem to forget is that all sin separates us from God. They may not condemn us to be separated from God for eternity, but we are not one with God in any way, shape or form. Sinless means just that: Without Sin. God is sinless! He cannot even be in the same room with someone who has sin, no matter what it is.
And yet, we can still be saints. To do so, we need to be continually active committing ourselves to God’s ways in thought, word, and deed and in faith, hope and love. Our daily bread is to concentrate on the reason God created us. What is our purpose in life? And, when we discover that aspect, we can focus everything we are into living a life of love for God and all He created just as Jesus loves us.
To do this we need to pray, read scripture and be present to all in need. Be a servant as was Jesus. Serve with every fiber of our body, soul, mind and strength. Though we may not be canonized by the church, God will recognize us as the good and faithful stewards He created us to be and will reward us with sainthood in His heavenly Kingdom forever.
Then you will know how your trip was and is going!
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