At a point in one’s life, he must stop to wonder why so many people allowed themselves to suffer and to be persecuted for their catholic faith. Even the deepest atheist and the lukewarm catholic must think about these special people from time to time. They paved the way for you and me, though their lives, to find strength to continue the journey and to discover that joy they experienced when they encountered our savior, Jesus Christ. We are all in search of that joy, the contentment and the complete freedom.
As we near completion of the month of August and look forward to September, we have met some extraordinary people in the history of the catholic faith. Edith Stein (St. Teresa Benedicta of the Cross), a converted catholic, St. Maximilian Kolbe, a normal priest whom the Blessed Virgin Mary appeared to, and St. Bartholomew, one of the Apostles, all three were brutally martyred for the faith. St. Bartholomew was skinned to death. These people were not crazy; they just did not deny Jesus Christ as their savior. The month of August is also full of other superb saints: St. Liguori, St. John Vianney, St. Cajetan, St. Clare of Assisi, St. Rose of Lima, St. Monica, St. Augustine.
We most importantly celebrated the Transfiguration of our Lord, the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, the Queenship of the Blessed Virgin Mary as well as the Passion of St. John the Baptist. I hope you can feel the excitement in the air as you are learning from the experiences of ordinary people but who achieved greatness in the church, unknowingly to themselves.
We are not different from them but each of us is chosen to be saint in our own circumstances. When Mary said at the wedding of Cana “do as HE said”, it was not only to the servants of that day. This is very real today; it is a message addressed to us. If we do as HE said, we will find the map of our lives (the route) that God chose for us to conclude the journey toward HIM successfully. So read about the saints’ lives to improve your relationship with the Lord.
