Sanctity is for everyone

Once I read a quote, “Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future.” This quote came to mind recently when I read an article about the canonization of John Paul II in which the author was trying to prove how John Paul II really “Ain’t no Saint” because of his failure to control the scandals that plagued the Church in the last decade. I had to laugh just thinking of how unrealistic and idealistic our view of sanctity can be. If we think that to be a saint we have to be perfect, forget it! There would be no such thing as a saint. That is the beauty of the communion of saints. They were all real people; they all had their faults, failings, imperfections, and even their sins! But what made these ordinary people saints was their love! They didn’t even have to do extraordinary things. They were just people like you and me who were striving and fighting for holiness but what made them saints was that when they did fall they got back up and not just once but over and over again. It was their love for God, for others, and even for themselves who God loves unconditionally, that kept them fighting. So the next time you get discouraged thinking that you have to be perfect to be a saint look to God and rejoice because he, in his mercy and love, has redeemed our brokenness, our weakness, our failings, and has called us to be saints with all we are!