Born 1902 - Died 1975
Canonized 2002
Patron Saint of Excellence in Ordinary Life
"Prayer has to come before everything. If you do not understand this and put it into practice, don't tell me that you have no time; it's simply that you do not want to pray."
"Prayer has to come before everything. If you do not understand this and put it into practice, don't tell me that you have no time; it's simply that you do not want to pray."
It's my hope and prayer that this weekly column will remind both me and the readers that sainthood is our common calling... or as I like to say: "Saints are people too!" And if there was ever a saint in recent history who knew what it was like living in the modern world, it's St. Josemaria. When we challenge students to live as leaders by example, especially in the virtues, the common response is something along the lines of, "What?! You're asking me to be a saint?! HA - yeah right..."
But, after the chuckling subsides, it begins to sink a little bit more into the heart of the student and mine as well... saints are people too. And it was just recently that Blessed JP2 reminded the world of this universal call to holiness... so why am I not a saint yet?
While that is a good question, please be gentle in your written response, and remember that an even better question is: Who can I look to in my own world who is a saint, and what happened in their life? Just as "Christ fully reveals man to himself" (Gaudium et Spes), so does the Christ centered life of a saint who bears witness to Him in our modern world! So, let's gaze more towards the saints and less towards our navels! I'm sure it'll be a better adventure walking alongside someone else, and it won't involve that weird lint stuff...
So, here's just a good little nugget to grab from the life of St. Josemaria, and then we can put the wraps on this article:
"Don't let your life be sterile. Be useful. Blaze a trail. Shine forth with the light of your faith and of your love. With your apostolic life wipe out the slimy and filthy mark left by the impure sowers of hatred. And light up all the ways of the earth with the fire of Christ that you carry in your heart."
St. Josemaria, Pray for us!
