How Do You Become A Saint?

[mommas_boy]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' date='14 April 2010 - 09:04 PM' timestamp='1271293491' post='2093627']
Yes and no.

We talk about all those in heaven as saints-- and this is true. But God certainly calls certain people to be, by their very lives, extraordinary signs of sanctity. These are the Saints (upper-case "S"). In certain times and places, for particular reasons, God raises up certain individuals to be outstanding persons of holiness.

Of course, from our perspective, our response is the same-- to seek holiness (and the suggestions listed here are good guidelines). Whether we are called by God to be Saints; we can't really know here below.

But there's a difference between a saint (as all those in heaven) and a Saint, raised up and called for a particular purpose by God.
[/quote]

I disagree. I believe that God is calling each and every one of us to be a Saint. With a capital S.

God desires all of us to not only be in heaven with Him, but also to a beacon of light for Him here on Earth. Each Saint gives ever greater glory to God, after all. It is a matter of our openness to divine grace.

[Slappo]

[quote name='mommas_boy' date='14 April 2010 - 08:38 PM' timestamp='1271302739' post='2093769']
I disagree. I believe that God is calling each and every one of us to be a Saint. With a capital S.

God desires all of us to not only be in heaven with Him, but also to a beacon of light for Him here on Earth. Each Saint gives ever greater glory to God, after all. It is a matter of our openness to divine grace.
[/quote]


I really don't think God is calling all of us to be canonized.

I believe he is calling all of us to live lives worthy of canonization and to attain heavenly glory.


The difference is that the Church administration would have a heck of a time if there were 6 billion causes for canonization open at a time...

[Slappo]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' date='14 April 2010 - 06:04 PM' timestamp='1271293491' post='2093627']
Yes and no.

We talk about all those in heaven as saints-- and this is true. But God certainly calls certain people to be, by their very lives, extraordinary signs of sanctity. These are the Saints (upper-case "S"). In certain times and places, for particular reasons, God raises up certain individuals to be outstanding persons of holiness.

Of course, from our perspective, our response is the same-- to seek holiness (and the suggestions listed here are good guidelines). Whether we are called by God to be Saints; we can't really know here below.

But there's a difference between a saint (as all those in heaven) and a Saint, raised up and called for a particular purpose by God.
[/quote]


TeresaBenedicta,

It is the teachings of the Church and the Saints that all are called to achieve the heights of holiness. That is, all humans are specifically and in a unique way called by God to achieve sanctification and divine union while on earth.

By divine union I refer to what St. Teresa of Avila talked of in her spiritual writings. Fr. Thomas Dubay does a great job explaining the unique calling of every individual to reach the heights of holiness in his book [i]Fire Within[/i].


Surely God calls particular people to be public beacons of holiness and others to be private beacons of holiness (they are still beacons as holiness is in a sense contagious), but none the less everyone is called to be outstanding persons of holiness.

[Innocent]

[quote name='TeresaBenedicta' date='15 April 2010 - 01:38 AM' timestamp='1271272113' post='2093374']

God must call you. You can do your part to grow in sanctity, but unless God has specifically called you to be raised up as a Saint, you will not be one.
[/quote]



But this cannot be true. Perhaps certain people are called to be Saints whose light shines in the public eye, as visible examples to all. But everyone is called to the heights of sanctity, whether that is apparent to an outsider or not.

My understanding of this matter is that through our baptism, all of us are called to be Saints, and whether we are canonised after death or not is another matter.


______________________________________________________

The Church teaches this in [url="http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19641121_lumen-gentium_en.html"][i]Lumen Gentium[/i][/url]:

[quote][b]THE UNIVERSAL CALL TO HOLINESS IN THE CHURCH[/b]

39. The Church, whose mystery is being set forth by this Sacred Synod, is believed to be indefectibly holy. Indeed Christ, the Son of God, who with the Father and the Spirit is praised as "uniquely holy," (1*) loved the Church as His bride, delivering Himself up for her. He did this that He might sanctify her.(214) He united her to Himself as His own body and brought it to perfection by the gift of the Holy Spirit for God's glory. Therefore in the Church, everyone whether belonging to the hierarchy, or being cared for by it, is called to holiness, according to the saying of the Apostle: "For this is the will of God, your sanctification".(215) However, this holiness of the Church is unceasingly manifested, and must be manifested, in the fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful; it is expressed in many ways in individuals, who in their walk of life, tend toward the perfection of charity, thus causing the edification of others; in a very special way this (holiness) appears in the practice of the counsels, customarily called "evangelical." This practice of the counsels, under the impulsion of the Holy Spirit, undertaken by many Christians, either privately or in a Church-approved condition or state of life, gives and must give in the world an outstanding witness and example of this same holiness.[/quote]

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St. Josemaria Escriva, one of my favourite saints, took great pains to point out repeatedly in his books and teaching that everyone is called to the heights of sanctity.



[quote]Not all can become rich, wise, famous... Yet, all of us — yes, all of us — are called to be saints.([url="http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/furrow-chapter-5.htm"]Furrow[/url])

There is no such thing as second-class holiness. Either we put up a constant fight to stay in the grace of God and imitate Christ, our Model, or we desert in that divine battle. God invites everyone; each person can become holy in his own state in life. In Opus Dei this passion for holiness, in spite of individual errors and failings, does not vary from priests to lay people; [url="http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/in_love_with_the_church-point-37.htm"](In Love With The Church)[/url]


Each day be conscious of your duty to be a saint. — A saint! And that doesn’t mean doing strange things. It means a daily struggle in the interior life and in heroically fulfilling your duty right through to the end.

Sanctity does not consist in great concerns. — It consists in struggling to ensure that the flame of your supernatural life is never allowed to go out; it consists in letting yourself be burned down to the last shred, serving God in the lowest place… or in the highest: wherever the Lord may call you.[/quote]([url="http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_forge-chapter-2.htm"]The Forge[/url])

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Another of my favourite Saints, St. Don Bosco, said pretty much the same thing to St. Dominic Savio:

From a Salesian website, [url="http://www.donboscowest.org/saints/savio/savio1.htm"]Don Bosco In USA West[/url]:

[quote][b]Called to Holiness[/b]

A few months later on the second Sunday of Lent, 1855, Don Bosco was preaching to the boys of the Oratory. He exclaimed, "Every one is called to be a saint, and do you know, it is easy to be a saint. Just do this: diligently do the ordinary things of the day in an extra ordinary way." Dominic was profoundly impressed. He began to think most seriously about what it meant to be a saint.

He became quiet and looked worried. Don Bosco stopped him one day and asked him if something was bothering him, "Dominic, do you feel all right?"

"I am fine, Don Bosco! I have been thinking about your sermon last Sunday. From now on, I am going to be very serious about becoming a saint."

"Dominic," explained Don Bosco, "say your prayers devoutly. Perform all your duties exactly, and above all be cheerful. The Lord loves a cheerful giver."

At first Dominic did not really understand what Don Bosco meant. In his eagerness to become holy, Dominic began to do what he understood to be penance. He had heard about saints of the Middle Ages who would go on severe fasts and punish themselves with painful physical penances. Dominic actually put pieces of wood or small stones in his bed so that he could "suffer for Christ." When the dormitory monitor told Don Bosco about this he called Dominic aside.

"The way to be a saint, Dominic, is to be always cheerful, do your duties to the best of your ability, and give your classmates good example. Keep in mind that the Lord, Jesus is always with you and wants your happiness."

The educational method Don Bosco and his Salesians was guiding Dominic and the other youngsters of the Oratory, helping them to develop and grow into maturity. Don Bosco’s approach to ministry was to foster in the young people the skills and talents that would help them to develop into good Christians and upright citizens. In a short booklet entitled, The Preventive System, he described his approach to youth ministry as based on reason, religion and loving-kindness. Volumes have been written about Don Bosco’s method by his Salesians.
[/quote]
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I think that this has been the teaching of the Church even from ancient times, since we have this story of the Desert Father St. Antony the Great:


[quote][b]St. Anthony and the Cobbler (amateur translation)[/b]

St. Anthony the Great once prayed: “Lord, reveal to me how the faithful person in the city among the noise can reach the spiritual level of the ascetic who dwells in the deep desert.”

He had not even finished this request to the All-good God when he heard a voice tell him:

“The Gospel is the same for all men, Anthony. And if you want to confirm this, how one who does the will of God is saved and sanctified wherever he is, go to Alexandria to the small cobbler's store, which is simple and poor. It is there below the last road of the city.”

“To the cobbler's store, Lord? And who there can help shine some light on my thought?” replied the puzzled Saint.

“The cobbler will explain to you.” replied the same voice.

“The cobbler? What does this man know about struggles and temptations? What does the poor toiler know of the heights of faith and of the truth?” He wondered.

His objections however could not be straightened by the divine explanation. Because of this, at dawn he traveled to the city. However, as God had shown him, he stopped at the small cobbler store that he found.

Happily and reverently the simple man welcomed him in and asked him: “In what way could I be of use to you, Abba? I'm an illiterate and uncouth villager, but for the stranger, whoever he is, I will try to help, whatever the need.”

“The Lord sent me for you to teach me.” replied the ascetic humbly.

The poor worker jumped up in wonder. “Me? What could I, the illiterate one, teach your holiness? I don't know if I have done anything good or noteworthy in my life, something which could stand unadulterated before the eyes of God.”

“Tell me what you do, how you pass your day. God knows; He weighs and judges things differently.” replied St. Anthony.

“I, Abba, have never done anything good, I only struggle to keep the holy teachings of the Gospel. And further, I try to never forget to never overlook my shortcomings and my spiritual fruitlessness. Therefore, as I work during the day I think and say to myself: O wretched man, all will be saved and only you will remain fruitless. Because of your sin, you will never be worthy to see His Holy Face.”

“Thank you O Lord.” the ascetic said raising his weeping eyes towards heaven. And as the cobbler remained puzzled at this, the ascetic embraced him with love and bid him farewell saying:
“And thank you, O holy man. Thank you, for you taught me how easy it is with only a humble mind, for someone to live in the grace of Paradise.”

And as the poor cobbler continued to stare uneasily, without at all understanding this, St. Anthony took his staff and departed for the deep desert.

He walked, his only companion being the sound of his staff. He walked and his prayer burned like the the sands of the desert, rising towards heaven.

He traveled all day and prayerfully reflected on the lesson that he received that day from the poor cobbler.

“Humility! This therefore is the quickest path to the gate of Paradise.” he said in his thoughts. “Humility is the robe which God clothed himself with and came to earth as man.” the Saint said, and he struggled to perceive the greatness of this holy virtue.

He walked, praying in his nous, and he brought to mind whatever God had taught him, until immediately before him he saw thrown underfoot a countless number of traps. Traps of every sort, terrible notions, machinations never before seen.

“My God” he exclaimed and turned the frightened eyes of his soul towards heaven. “Who could ever flee, O Lord, from such traps and ruses?

“Humility, Anthony. This can singly deliver from all of these.” He again heard the sweet, beloved voice deep within his heart. And this was the response which instilled light within him and gave him courage for the new battles which he experienced within the deep desert with the eternal enemy of man.
(amateur translation of Greek text from: http://vatopaidi.wordpress.com/2010/01/17/%ce%b4%ce%ac%cf%83%ce%ba%ce%b1%ce%bb%ce%bf%cf%82-%ce%bf-%ce%bc%cf%80%ce%b1%ce%bb%cf%89%ce%bc%ce%b1%cf%84%ce%ae%cf%82-%ce%ba%ce%b1%ce%b9-%ce%bf-%ce%bf%cf%85%cf%81%ce%b1%ce%bd%cf%8c%cf%82-%ce%b1%cf%80/)
[/quote] [url="http://full-of-grace-and-truth.blogspot.com/2010/01/st-anthony-and-cobbler.html"]SOURCE[/url]

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Theologians Germain Grisez and Russel Shaw have written a book on Personal Vocation, titled, [url="http://books.google.com/books?id=fAyzRnt-uyIC&dq=personal+vocation+germain+grisez&printsec=frontcover&source=bn&hl=en&ei=wI_GS93tHsbBrAeft5GVDg&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CBUQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q&f=false"][i]Personal Vocation - God Calls Everyone By Name[/i][/url] (Link to Google Books; much of the text is online.) In the beginning of the book, the authors say:

[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r30/prophet_o_peace/Phatmass/pers-1.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r30/prophet_o_peace/Phatmass/pers-2.jpg[/IMG]
[IMG]http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r30/prophet_o_peace/Phatmass/pers-3.jpg[/IMG]


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In an interview ([url="http://www.zenit.org/article-8324?l=english"]Link to Zenit[/url]) Germain Grisez, one of the authors of the book above, said:

[quote]
Q: What exactly do you mean by "personal vocation"? How do you define it?

Grisez: We define personal vocation as God's call and plan for one's entire life. Ephesians 2:10 says: "We are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." Personal vocation is unique for each one, and it includes absolutely everything -- all the good choices God would prefer one to make, all the things he allows to come one's way and expects will be handled rightly.

Q: That seems very important for many reasons. But if you had to give just one, what would it be?

Grisez: Finding, accepting and faithfully fulfilling one's personal vocation is the way to respond to the universal call to holiness, for that means doing God's will in everything and accepting whatever comes as coming from, or at least permitted by, him, as described in Vatican II's dogmatic constitution on the Church ["Lumen Gentium"] in Nos. 40-41.

Q: What are the similarities and differences between a religious or priestly vocation, and the diverse paths in the lay life?

Grisez: This is a question about states in life, not personal vocation. It might help if I spelled out the three different but complementary senses in which the word "vocation" is used in the Church.

First, there is vocation in the sense of the common Christian vocation that comes with baptism. This is the calling that comes from the commitment of faith, to love and serve God above all things, to love neighbor as oneself, and in doing these things participate in the mission of the Church.

Second, there is vocation in the sense of state in life. The clerical state, the consecrated life, the state of marriage, the single lay life in the world -- these are state-in-life vocations. They are specifications of the baptismal vocation --broad, overarching commitments that set people upon certain paths that will fundamentally shape their lives by the countless choices and actions required to carry them out. Usually, when Catholics say "vocation," they mean vocation only in this sense. And usually they mean a calling to be a priest or a religious.

Third, there is vocation in the sense of personal vocation. This concretizes the common baptismal vocation and a Christian's state of life into the unique and unrepeatable part in God's redemptive plan that the Father calls each of us to play.

He provides us with the necessary gifts and strengths to play that part, as well as with the opportunities for service that make playing it a real contribution to a better world and to the kingdom. He also allows the obstacles, weaknesses and sufferings that make playing our part a challenge to bring out the best in us.

So, it is by paying attention to all those things that we hear God's call. And only by paying attention and hearing God's call can anyone -- cleric, religious or layperson -- know, accept and live out the Father's will for him or her.[/quote]

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In an article titled [url="http://www.newmancentre.org/pages/shaw.htm"]Winning Back The World[/url], Russel Shaw, the second author of the above book, says:

[quote] And here too, there is a problem. What do we ordinarily understand — what have we been conditioned to understand — by the word vocation? For many people, “vocation” refers to the special calling that draws priests and religious into the priesthood and religious life. Priests and brothers and nuns have vocations. The rest of us have … jobs, I suppose; families; commitments and relationships of various kinds — but certainly not vocations.

This way of thinking is absolutely false and immeasurably harmful. Everybody has a vocation — not in a weak, accommodated sense, but in a full, literal, altogether robust and demanding sense. One of the great problems of Christian life for many centuries has been the lack of an adequate theology of vocation.

It might be well if we thought of ourselves not merely as having a “vocation” but as living in an exceptionally rich vocational context. First, there is the common Christian vocation shared by every baptized person — the vocation to love and serve God and neighbor and to work out one’s salvation by doing so. Next, this common calling is specified by the choice of a state of life — as a layman or priest or religious, as married or single — carrying with it a whole raft of duties and obligations. Finally, the place of the individual in the scheme of things receives its ultimate specification through unique personal vocation — the special roles he/she, and only he/she, is called to play in God’s salvific plan.

What is this thing called “unique personal vocation”? Perhaps it might be described as the sum total of who and what I am, with all that entails as far as moral obligations and apostolic opportunities are concerned. So, for example, I am a husband (of this particular wife), a father (of these particular children), a worker (in this particular job), a writer (of these particular books and articles), a friend (of these particular people), a citizen (of this particular country), a member (of this particular parish, these particular organizations), and so on and so on, until I have expressed the whole complex web of roles and commitments and duties that make up my life.

But can all of this really be called a vocation? Indeed it can, provided it is not left simply on the natural level, but instead is directed to apostolate, or more precisely, to seeking out and finding the apostolic purposes that, in regard to every element of my life, I am meant to seek out in order to accomplish the will of God. I must thus find the means of continuing God’s redemptive work in Jesus and helping to restore all things to God in him.

You find this idea in St Paul, in the doctrine of the Mystical Body of Christ. You find it in many places in Vatican II. And you find it in Pope John Paul II, who calls on the Church to take full account “of the individual Christian’s vocation of responsibility of this singular, unique and unrepeatable grace by which each Christian in the community of the People of God builds up the Body of Christ.” Describing this as “the key rule for the whole of Christian practice,” he adds: “It is precisely the principle of ‘kingly service’ that imposes on each one of us, in imitation of Christ’s example, the duty to demand of himself exactly what we have been called to, what we are personally obliged to do by God’s grace, in order to respond to our vocation.” (Redemptor Hominis, # 21)[/quote]

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Several popular theologians today repeatedly stress this point. For example, this short article by Dr. Marcellino D'Ambrosio, titled, [url="http://www.crossroadsinitiative.com/library_article/224/Universal_Call_to_Holiness.html"][i]The Two Track System:[/i][/url]

[quote]
When I was a kid, I got the distinct impression there existed a two-track system in Catholicism. Some really decided to go for it. They became priests, nuns, and brothers because they “had a vocation.” They “gave up” lots of things. Like marriage, family, success in business, and lots of creature-comforts.

The rest of us, however, don’t “have a vocation” and therefore don’t really need to run for the gold. It is enough to just finish the race. We don’t have to deprive ourselves of what most people have. We can get married, have kids, climb the corporate ladder, acquire a vacation home and buy a boat. We just need to go to Mass on Sunday, avoid breaking the Ten Commandments, get to confession when we fail, and basically be decent people.

Mother Theresa, Saints, Early Church Father, Catholic ChurchA few years ago I even heard this two track system clearly laid out in a Sunday homily. The priest said the gospel presents us with a radical Jesus and a moderate Jesus. Some, like Mother Teresa, choose to follow the radical Jesus. But we could pick the moderate Jesus if that was more comfortable for us.

In Luke 14:25-33, Jesus gives us no such choice. He says “NONE of you can be my disciple if he does not renounce all his possessions.” And probably even more disturbing is this statement: “If ANYONE comes to me without turning his back on his father and mother, his wife and his children, his brothers and sisters, indeed his very self, he cannot be my follower.”[/quote]

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Another example is Prof. William May who wrote in an article titled, [url="http://www.christendom-awake.org/pages/may/holiness.htm"]THE CHURCH'S MORAL TEACHING, HOLINESS, AND PERSONAL VOCATION[/url]:

[quote]By freely accepting in faith God's offer of grace and friendship, we commit ourselves to be holy. This is the second great truth about ourselves that Jesus makes known to us: we are called to sanctity, to holiness. As we know, the universal call to holiness is one of the central themes of Vatican Council II. This theme was luminously set forth in the Dogmatic Constitution Lumen gentium, which insists that "all in the Church, whether they belong to the hierarchy or are cared for by it, are called to holiness, according to the apostle's saying: 'For this is the will of God, your sanctification' (1 Thes 4.3; cf. Eph 1.4). This holiness of the Church is constantly shown forth in the fruits of grace which the Spirit produces in the faithful, for so it must be; it is expressed in many ways by the individuals who, each in his own state of life, tend to the perfection of love, thus edifying others" (Lumen gentium, n. 39). Continuing, this document affirms: "It is therefore quite clear that all Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of love, and by this holiness a more human manner of life is also fostered in earthly society" (ibid. n. 40).

Sanctity of life, holiness, then, is not meant only for a elete few Christians. It is rather the raison d’etre of all Christians, for all who have been "re-generated" by the waters of baptism. Indeed, in and through our baptismal commitment we personally consecrate our lives, our whole being, to the pursuit of holiness in the choices and actions of our everyday lives, in everything that we do. As Saint Josemaria Escriva put it, "when faith is really alive in the soul, one discovers...that to follow Christ one does not have to step aside from the ordinary pattern of everyday life, and...that the great holiness which God expects of us is to be found here and now in the little things of each day." [21]

Our baptismal commitment requires us to take up the "sword given by the Spirit" and use it as a weapon in the spiritual combat (Eph 6.17). God indeed is our Savior and Redeemer. It is through his initiative that we are now, by virtue of the love he has poured into our hearts, saved (Ti 3.5; Eph 2.5, 8; 1 Cor 15.1). He has sanctified us (1 Cor 1.2; 6.11), filling us with the fullness of Christ (Col 1.10), making us new men and women (Eph 1.15), clothing us in Christ (Gal 3.27) and making us new creatures (2 Cor 5.17), pouring his love into us through the Holy Spirit (Rom 5.5), so that we are indeed called by him and chosen (Rom 1.6; 8.28, 33; 1 Cor 1.24; Col 3.12) and made into his children, the children of light (Eph 5.8; 1 Thes 5.5; 1 Jn 3.1). But God's work in us is not completed by baptism. God continues to save us (1 Cor 1.18; 2 Cor 2.15), to make us holy and blameless (1 Thes 5.23; 3.13). And we are called and empowered by his grace to respond freely and be his co-workers in perfecting our holiness (2 Cor 7.1) by wholeheartedly dedicating ourselves to a life of righteousness and sanctification (Rom 6.19). It is our task continually to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Rom 13.14), casting off the works of darkness and putting on the armor of light (Rom 13.2; Eph 5.8-11). As the children of the God who is love, our call and commitment is to "abide in him" (1 Jn 2.28; 4.13f) and walk in the light and not in darkness (1 Jn 1.7).

...
...
...

Personal vocation is each individual Christian's unique way of following Jesus, of walking in his path. Jesus needs the special contribution each one of us can make to complete his work of redemption. Thus, as Grisez says, "Not only do all Christians share the common vocation to particular states of life, but each Christian also has a personal vocation: his or her unique way of following Jesus." [24] And Pope John Paul II teaches us that “the fundamental objective of the formation of the lay faithful is an ever-clearer discovery of one’s vocation and the ever-greater willingness to live it so as to fulfill one’s mission.”[25]

A third great truth, therefore, about our existence as moral beings made known to us through the revelation given in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, is that we are personally called to participate in Jesus' redemptive work in our own unique way.[/quote]

Edited April 15, 2010 by Innocent

[mommas_boy]

[quote name='Slappo' date='15 April 2010 - 12:30 AM' timestamp='1271305822' post='2093799']
I believe he is calling all of us to [b]live lives worthy of canonization[/b] and to attain heavenly glory.
[/quote]

This.

[God Conquers]

[quote name='Slappo' date='15 April 2010 - 12:34 AM' timestamp='1271306094' post='2093803']
TeresaBenedicta,

It is the teachings of the Church and the Saints that all are called to achieve the heights of holiness. That is, all humans are specifically and in a unique way called by God to achieve sanctification and divine union while on earth.

By divine union I refer to what St. Teresa of Avila talked of in her spiritual writings. Fr. Thomas Dubay does a great job explaining the unique calling of every individual to reach the heights of holiness in his book [i]Fire Within[/i].


Surely God calls particular people to be public beacons of holiness and others to be private beacons of holiness (they are still beacons as holiness is in a sense contagious), but none the less everyone is called to be outstanding persons of holiness.
[/quote]


I think they'd be happy to deal with the paperwork.

[laetitia crucis]

[quote name='vee8' date='15 April 2010 - 12:27 AM' timestamp='1271302058' post='2093759']
Tuberculosis.
[/quote]



[quote name='Slappo' date='15 April 2010 - 01:34 AM' timestamp='1271306094' post='2093803']
TeresaBenedicta,

It is the teachings of the Church and the Saints that all are called to achieve the heights of holiness. That is, all humans are specifically and in a unique way called by God to achieve sanctification and divine union while on earth.

[b]By divine union I refer to what St. Teresa of Avila talked of in her spiritual writings. Fr. Thomas Dubay does a great job explaining the unique calling of every individual to reach the heights of holiness in his book [i]Fire Within[/i].
[/b]

Surely God calls particular people to be public beacons of holiness and others to be private beacons of holiness (they are still beacons as holiness is in a sense contagious), but none the less everyone is called to be outstanding persons of holiness.
[/quote]

My spiritual director (while I was in the convent) said a similar thing when I asked him about St. Teresa's [i]Interior Castle{/i] and St. John of the Cross' [i]Ascent to Mt. Carmel[/i] -- EVERYONE is called and has the potential to reach the heights of Mt. Carmel and the Seventh Mansion/Chamber of the Interior Castle.

That was a real eye-opener for me. I tend to put certain saints (and Saints) on these unreachable high pedestals... and pretty much find myself struggling to get past the first few Mansions/Chambers. I just thought perhaps that was my only potential; yet upon finding out that EVERYONE is called to that level of sanctity... ...I knew I'd better get to work!

Then my dear Thomas came along and smacked me in the face with "WILL IT!"

[Thy Geekdom Come]

[quote name='cruciatacara' date='14 April 2010 - 10:30 PM' timestamp='1271298607' post='2093719']
Not exactly. To become canonized a Saint one has to be dead. Anyone living can be a saint. St Therese was a saint while she was alive and became a Saint after she was dead.
[/quote]
He was kidding. You have to know him.

[Lil Red]

+JMJ+
[quote name='cruciatacara' date='14 April 2010 - 07:06 PM' timestamp='1271297191' post='2093684']
Not everyone who is a saint has been canonized. The Saints with a capital S are canonized by the Church to be beacons of light and inspiration for the faithful, but they are no greater than the saints with a little s who are in heaven. All are called to holiness and sainthood. Some of the greatest saints in heaven are totally unknown to us.

Waiting for God to 'make' you a saint is a little like Quietism to me. Aquinas was much more active in his statement to 'will it'. As St Therese said, God wouldn't put the desire into our hearts unless He intended to fulfill it (with our cooperation). So instead of wondering if you are called to be Saint (capital S), ask God to make you one and then leave it all up to Him. He may make you a saint, instead of a Saint, but they are all the same in heaven. It is only here that we differentiate.
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yes, yes, yes!!

[quote name='Slappo' date='14 April 2010 - 09:30 PM' timestamp='1271305822' post='2093799']
I really don't think God is calling all of us to be canonized.

I believe he is calling all of us to live lives worthy of canonization and to attain heavenly glory.


The difference is that the Church administration would have a heck of a time if there were 6 billion causes for canonization open at a time...
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AMEN!!