"The saints are the great revolutionaries in the area of loving God and neighbor. Through their total commitment to God, they are able to extend themselves past the boundaries of what their own society is willing to see as lovable....Saint Vincent de Paul discovered the lovableness of slaves and of abandoned babies. And different saints through the centuries overcame the lethargy of their fellow citizens by expending enormous energies in the founding of the first free hospitals and schools for the poor.... Saint John Bosco, relying solely on daily contributions, was able to feed, clothe, shelter, and train hundreds of street boys in Northern Italy.
...We should want to imitate them, not because of some vainglorious desire to be famous, but because we wish to give ourselves generously to those who need us. But we cannot do this unless we become holy (totally open to Christ); only then, through love, can we give them something of infinite and eternal value...."
- Ronda Chervin, from Magnificat, November 2025
Hello Lisa,
ReplyDeleteIt is most interesting to consider the saints as revolutionaries as indeed they were. Defying norms and taboos, they went where others feared to go. And, how one can relate this to the everyday today. It is easy to love our friends, more difficult at times to love all members of our family, but very difficult to love those outside this close circle, those who are often marginalised in society as a whole.
Hi, Jane/Lance,
DeleteGod is enabling the faithful to become saints every day, even in our day! Only with his help can we go beyond ourselves and do these things which seem so unappealing or scary to us.