For all the saints who from their labors rest, who Thee by faith before the world confessed; Thy name, Jesus, be forever blest. Alleluia, Alleluia!
Thou wast their Rock, their Fortress, and their Might;Thou, Lord, their Captain in the well-fought fight; Thou, in the darkness drear, their one true Light. Alleluia, Alleluia!
“Strive to enter through the narrow door; for many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able.” Luke 13:24
We are all called to sainthood, every single one of us. It is our ultimate goal in life: Get to Heaven. So how do we make that happen? How is it possible for sinners to become saints? What can we change about how we are living to grow in holiness and strive for sainthood? God has given us all of the tools we need to become saints.
The sacraments, the Bible, prayers, many daily opportunities to practice virtues, and even suffering can be used to grow in holiness. The sacraments give us the graces we need to get through everything that is thrown at us. St Francis de Sales said that everything is grace, and that God will either shield is from the suffering or provide every grace to get through it. His grace brings us closer to Him and helps us grow in holiness. By regularly receiving the sacraments, we can receive a constant stream of graces to help us grow closer to God.
Besides frequently receiving the sacraments and making time to pray and read the Bible everyday (which I still struggle with), we must also try to grow in virtue. For me personally, the most difficult virtue to practice is patience. Besides being impatient with my kids or other people that I interact with daily, I get impatient waiting for things to “get better” and am a classic case of, “the grass is greener…” Things will get better when we can move out of the apartment that constantly needs repairs, things will get better when hubby gets out of the Army, things will get better when we can move to Wisconsin to be near his family while his mom battles cancer, things will get better when…. These are all thoughts I have had in the last five years, and I have come to realize that life will never get “better” but rather, life just continually changes and provides different challenges.
This is where God’s grace comes in, and where we can strive for sainthood. Instead of moaning and pouting and complaining about how much life sucks, we can offer it up and use the opportunities we are given to strive for sainthood. When I look back at the various times of life that were incredibly difficult, I can’t imagine how I possibly got through them… except I know exactly how: with God’s grace. Always do your best in your current vocation and stage in life, offer everything you do to God, receive the sacraments as often as you can, and practice being virtuous whenever the opportunities arise. Don’t let the devil win. You are destined to join God in Heaven and become a saint!
To Jesus through Mary- Adrianna Tucker
