Any everyday saints in your life?
Monday, November 3, 2008
By Kevin Clarke
Comments (10)
When his cousin was canonized, professional skeptic Justin Catanoso began a journalistc pilgrimage that got very personal. (Read Catanaso's story: "All in the family.")
His story got us thinking about the everyday saints—whether family members, friends, or people just encountered on the street—we've met. Is there someone in your life whose saintliness you feel is worth talking about? We invite you to share their stories.
Comments (10)
Misinformed educator
By Anonymous (not verified) on Wednesday, May 18, 2011I recently gave my grandaughter the rosaries that had belonged to my father's little sister that had died when she was nine years old. From my father's recollections about her she was indeed a "saintly" child. She carried her rosaries with her in a little leather wrist bag. When I gave the rosaries to my grandaughter I explained to her that she had a "saint" in heaven she could pray to. When my grandaughter took the rosaries to her school she was told by the principal that in order for her to be a saint the Pope would have to declare her as one. I respectfully submit that she is wrong. All of us are called to be saints, which is nothing more than living holy lives. This is not something that is out of our grasp. We all know people that living and dead have led this kind of life.
The principal is wrong.
By Anonymous (not verified) on Wednesday, May 18, 2011The principal is wrong. Equally wrong is when a person refers to a child who has died as an angel in heaven. Humans do not become angels.
A person does not have to be canonized in order to be a saint. Canonization give the person special status because it recognizes the good life the person had lived and the assurance he/she is in heaven by the verifiable miracles performed.
I believe my grandmother is in heaven. She was a good person and died shortly after receiving her last rites. I believe she is a saint. But I doubt the Church would ever canonize her. She was nothing more than a simple grandma.
The principal is wrong (well, sort of)
By The Eminem Fan (not verified) on Wednesday, May 18, 2011Every person in the state of grace on earth, every soul in purgatory, and every soul in heaven is part of the Communion of Saints, and therefore each and every one of them is, in a very real sense, a saint.
Anyway, a person can be a saint without being a formally canonized Saint.
Without formal beatifciation though, we don't know with absolute certainty where a soul has gone after death.
On the other hand, it is reasonable to assume that if someone seemed to live a faithful Catholic life, and/or appeared to have died in the state of grace after receiving the Sacraments near death, that the person is probably either in heaven or purgatory. I think it's safe to make the probable guess, while allowing room for the fact that we have no absolute certainty.
Great...
By priti (not verified) on Thursday, January 13, 2011All Saints Day (November 1) and All Souls Day (November 2) are two excellent opportunities to celebrate the lives of those “everyday” saints in your life, such as grandparents, aunts, uncles, friends, etc. Pull out family photo albums and videos. Invite your family to reminisce and share stories about the lives of those close to you who have passed away. Or visit the cemetery where your loved ones are buried. Take a moment to pray and remember the person’s life and what he or she meant to you.
People in Mexico do this by celebrating the Day of the Dead on November 1 and 2. The Mexican people celebrate the lives of their deceased relatives and the gift of life. The day is marked by visits to the graves of relatives where families decorate the graves, enjoy picnic lunches and tell stories about their deceased loved ones...
Can't somebody name a saint
By Anonymous (not verified) on Saturday, May 30, 2009Can't somebody name a saint in their lives that is not a parent, grandparent or family member? Are we that limited in our interactions with the world we cannot reconize saintly behavior unless it is "one of us". In some ways, it is just an extension of our own egos.
St. Grandma
By Sandra (not verified) on Friday, November 21, 2008My paternal grandmother, Altagracia (in English: High Grace) is my real-life saint! According to my childhood memories, she was the perfect example of how to be Catholic. I can never think of her without invoking memories of her kneeling more hours in a day than standing with rosary in hand infront of the makeshift altar in a corner of her bedroom, softly whispering Hail Mary's and Our Father's in a spiritual chant every single day several times throughout the day along with a constant litany of prayers well into the night. I would fall asleep to her whispered prayers. She has a ceramic Sacred Heart of Jesus hanging in the hallway and I have never in my life seen her walk past it without kissing the tips of her fingers and then touching them to His exposed heart with tender reverence, her head slightly bowed. When I left the Catholic Church and went through a self-proclaimed "atheist" spell I know it was her prayers that kept me safe and alive through all the trouble I would into and eventually her fervent and constant prayers had a hand in bringing me back to my Church after 20+ years (think St. Monica!). She always turned the other cheek, she always called for peace among squabbling family members, and she shared food and clothing with neighbors in need. To this day, at the age of 85, my grandmother still prays the rosary several times a day (only now she sits on the sofa as kneeling causes her too much pain). Even now I call her on the phone and ask for her prayers when I want special attention devoted to a particular intention. I am convinced she has a direct prayer line to God. In all my life I have never met anyone besides my grandmother who actually does pray without ceasing. I am comforted by the assurance that even when my beloved saintly grandmother goes home to our Heavenly Father she will still be praying without ceasing in Heaven and hearing all my prayers intentions!
Saints in My Life
By Anonymous (not verified) on Friday, November 14, 2008My parents were the saints in my life. My mother worked part-time
outside the home, raised the three of us, cared for my father who
was an invalid, baked for the church (her breads, rolls, and ponchkas
were sold before they reached the sale table), and never complained.
She was very creative--could make a costume for us out of nothing,
made some of our clothes, could bake anything, made porch
furniture out of scraps when she couldn't afford to buy any, and
never complained. She also found time to be sociable--belonged to
church groups, two card groups, etc. etc. My father had been quite
athletic, but was confined to a wheelchair with Mutliple sclerosis; he
had part-time accounting jobs at home (he had been an accountant
at a large Food Company), but was frustrated by not being able to
support us as he wished. He helped all of us with homework, and
by prayer. We had the best saints to follow. All of us are now
active in the church, and are looking forward to meeting our parents again some day.
Saints in my life
By Anonymous (not verified) on Thursday, November 13, 2008The Saints in my life are those who went before me, the church's saints and people who have lived a good Christian life and who had made an impact on my life for the better.
Saints in the family
By Ralph Ranieri (not verified) on Thursday, November 6, 2008I don't know if he was a saint but at times my father acted according to the gospel, even though he never read it. A common laborer, he was working with an Afro-American man in the 1940s. They were breaking concrete with sledge hammers. Every once in a while the two of them would break for water. My father said he could not keep up the pace of the Afro-American man who was strong and a hard workler. The boss would occasionally drive by the job site in his limo and on several occasions he viewed the Afro-American man drinking water. The boss ordered the foreman to fire him because he took too many breaks. My father who had no status or authority went to the boss, and told him he was making a mistake. The Afro-American was the best man he had. My father would not know what social justice or advocacy was. While he might not have been a saint, he had flashes of holiness. Now these flashes were common in my family.
Where are the Apostles of Jesus Christ?
By Anonymous (not verified) on Tuesday, November 4, 2008It is sad seeing, knowing Catholic have not learn reading the signs of the time.
The great majority of Catholic have never read the Bible. They do not have a Bible in their home.
And sad as it may be, those born after the 50's, second vetican Counsil never heard of Fatima, of the Rosary.
The meaning of the mass?
Where are the are the apostles of Jesus Christ? Why we do not see them?
The answer is in the Rosary.
Why is the world the way it is now?
The answer is in the Rosary.
GEORGE
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