DON'T CALL ME A SAINT!

 

 

Dorothy Day was famous for saying: Don’t call me a saint.  I don’t want to be dismissed that easily”. She did not feel she was any better than any other Christian seeking Christ, and that holiness was attainable by everyone. Being called to be saints isn’t just for a few super-Christians. We are all called to be saints in our own circumstances. Even in scriptures we see the shortcomings and the infidelities of Jesus’ own ancestors and then His chosen friends. This honesty is meant to give us courage and hope in our own day. 

Through saints we can make special friends with those whose experience and conditions speak to our own situation and conditions.  We can value their friendship for what they say to us, how they live and what they do. Saints bring a local accent to the people.  They speak our language, understand our fears, speak and provide
models for action and translation within our circumstances.  

Saints show and remind us that Christianity is not a set of doctrines, but a living faith.  It is a true and living way followed and explored by people.  Saints are personal connectors to the divine and to the life beyond that which we see and know.  Saints make faith seem alive and interesting.  Friendship with them and they with us gives us a sense of human comfort, self worth, connection with others and personal meaning.  Saints help us to listen to and affirm and celebrate values, bonds, ideas, and hopes that are important to us. 

Art: John Nava, Cathedral Los Angeles