St. Patrick’s Day
Many recently celebrated Saint Patrick’s Day. Saint Patrick is a saint to some and not to others. Depending on what you read, he may or may not be an official saint according to the traditional route to sainthood.
In my religious educational experience, I learned that there are a lot more saints than we might realize. If I believe in Christ and Christ dwells in me, I am a saint. Many would argue that I am anything but this.
You and I typically think of Mother Theresa and the work she did for the poor and outcasts of Calcutta, as a saintly person. I have done nothing in my life to the level of work that Mother Theresa has done for God’s poor and outcasts. I try, but fail, terribly, in comparison. This is why I cling to the belief by some that saints are Christ-believers. Otherwise, there would never be any hope for me to be a saint in the least.
Traditional saints are known for their work for the Lord. I love the story about Saint Jerome Emiliani whose work centered around the orphans created by war. He saw a need and focused on that need—helping orphans.
There are saints around us who do this—take care of children. To the many people who are foster parents and to the many people who adopt children, to me, they are the real saints of modernity.
May God bless them richly for the ministry they do each day for the sake of God’s little ones.
Then there are saints who take care of others who are not orphans or abandoned children. These are the people who work and care for those who are dying. Dying is not quick and easy for everyone. It can be long and drawn out.
Dying can be horrendous for the dying and it can be horrendous for family members watching their loved one die slowly and painfully. May God bless the saints of those who take care for the dying. This is a ministry of modern saints.
Are you a Christian? Then you are a saint. If you are saint, then you are a Christian in ministry.
What are you doing as a saint and a Christian to make the life of another person better? What are you doing to help improve the lives of others?
I recently read a book where a set of parents thought their son was an abysmal failure in life. He suffered from an injury he received while throwing two young girls out of the way of a drunken driver, only to be hit himself.
An elderly lady who lived near this young man was the recipient of groceries each week, thanks to his generosity. A special-needs couple who lived nearby, he befriended, and made their lives and his life richer by their interactions.
He never told his parents about his ministries. They never asked. They only found out about his ministries after he died from complications he suffered from because of the accident where he saved the girls. While this was a fictional story, I believe there are instances in life where this is happening because of people like this young man.
Sometimes, there are saints working among us, and we don’t even realize who they are. They are not tooting their horns or blowing their whistles. God bless you secret saints.