Dear Saints,

During Bishop Sweeney’s recent visit to OLMC, he exhorted our students to live into sainthood. It was pretty special to see how they responded. You could just tell by their eye contact, body language, and manner of engagement that they understood what he meant. Even the little ones - perhaps especially the little ones - stood ready to meet the challenge: to trust and follow God in all things, totally unburdened by where that might lead.

The Bishop’s exchange with the students begged a question. Do we adults understand the call to sainthood as well as the kids do?

Saints are people who lead “heroically virtuous” lives worthy of imitation. That need not be grandiose; in fact, it usually isn’t. Both heroism and virtue are almost always found in our unseen decisions and silent offerings. We’ll each have the option to choose sainthood at least a dozen times today. Maybe even a hundred times. The only question is whether we’re ready to take on the challenge. If we’re unsure, perhaps we should look to the example of our little ones.

Christ’s Peace,

Father Daniel

δοῦλος Χριστοῦ Ἰησοῦ