Why Care About the Saints?

My children know me only too well. For Christmas they got me two gift cards at one of the local bookstores. I love books and I read constantly. I particularly enjoy books about the saints or Christian mystics.

The saints are people who have truly come close to God. They have that personal, visceral relationship with Him that we all should desire. They may or may not have ever studied much theology, but that's O.K. and it really doesn't matter because they've internalized how the Gospel wants us to live our lives in relation to God and our neighbor. They truly understand the Summary of the Law.....and they live it. That's why one of the books I bought today was "Mystics and Miracles: True Stories of Lives Touched by God" written by Dr Bert Ghezzi. I'd like to share what Dr. Ghezzi says about mystics and the saints and why we should pay attention to them and how they can be examples of how to come closer to God.

"God gave is mystics to show us that ordinary people can live extraordinary lives. he never meant for us to put them on pedestals or view them and superhuman, far beyond anything we mortals could ever hope to be. Mystics are not preternaturally gifted aliens from another planet, but human beings just like us. we esteem them not because, like Superman, they have supernatural powers and can leap tall buildings in a single bound, but because they show us how to live good lives.

When I look closely at mystics, I wonder if I grasp what it means to really imitate them. they did everything in extremes. no cost seemed too high. Me, I'm much more balanced. I count the cost all right, but i often find the price is steeper than I'm willing to pay.

St. Theresa Margaret was ill herself but put aside her own suffering to care for the sick sisters in her convent. I'm not that way. If I get sick, I hop into bed and expect someone to wait on me.

Solanus Casey humbly accepted decisions of his superiors that severely restricted his life and ministry. For half a century he labored without complaint. I'm not like him. Even little inconveniences chafe me. I fight back, big time.....just ask the clerks in our local stores.

What can I say about St. Elizabeth of Hungary, who though a queen spent herself and her fortunes serving Christ in the poor? Or St. Martin de Porres? For fifty years he lived every moment of each day for God and for others.

When I stand myself beside these giants, I feel puny.

Comedian Stephen Wright says he once went to a convenience store that bragged it was ope twenty-four hours, only to find it closed. Later, the proprietor explained that his store was open twenty-four hours, just not twenty-four hours in a row! That's how I am in my imitation of the saints. I'm inconsistent. I try to be like the saints. But only in some ways. And not all of the time.

However, I keep looking at them. I try to stay close to them. I think that if I draw nearer to them. they might infect me with their virtue."

Dr. Ghezzi has put it very well. Unlike the saints, we tend to count the cost....and we tend to extend ourselves only so far. I just wanted to share this rather long quote because it makes two points: 1) Why we should care about and emulate the saints, and 2) How and why we tend to fall short. I know that speaks accurately to me. I hope you've found something here as well.