For the Feast of St. Ignatius of Loyola: What makes a (Great) Saint?

The great (and toothsome) sinners are made out of the very same material as those horrible phenomena the great Saints.
from Screwtape’s Toast from
The Screwtape Letters by C. S. Lewis
There is a new program on TNT called “Saving Grace”. The title character is an extremely unstable person whose way of life is morally objectionable (The show is rated TV-MA). She is told by a drinking, tobacco chewing angel that she is on the freeway to that hot area extremely south of the Pearly Gates. There is some humor as exampled by a black and white marking resembling a portrait of Jesus (leading to one of the characters to remark “Holy Cow”.

This show got me to thinking about Screwtape’s Toast. It is a possible address of a senior demon to lesser devils after a formal dinner. I recommend it to all, especially if you do not have time to read the whole book. (Also, I do not recommend reading the book if you are depressed or have a case of scruples).

It occurs to me that most of us are not great saints (or sinners) because we do not make the effort. We are complacent to be average, to be mediocre. I think a study of the great saints’ lives point out Screwtape’s observation. Although there are exceptions (like Mother Teresa of Calcutta), many of the saints (like Augustine, Ignatius of Loyola, Francis of Assisi) had rather dubious lifestyles before they awakened to Christ’s influence in their lives. Even the brash Peter and zealous Paul were not immune of this distinction. It makes one wonder what kind of saints Judas Iscariot, Adolph Hitler, Joseph Stalin would have made if they had converted and used their talents for good?

Of course, the opposite is true as well. Hitler, Count Dracula, and those involved (whether indicted of not, false accusers and guilty religious) with the recent sex scandals, are all examples of gifted people who chose to misuse their God given talents. All talents are gifts of God, but we are free to direct them for God’s Glory or for our own selfish purposes.

What should we do then? First, pray for the Holy Spirit to guide us in our actions. Repent and confess our shortcoming. For those who we think are misguided, pray for their conversion. Do not condemn or judge them, for we do not know what shaped their decisions, and none of us is innocent enough to “cast the first stone”.

Maybe by such actions we will assist in the generation of a new crop of Great Saints (and God knows we need them!)

My 1st Post!

Every speaker knows that a joke is a great way to break the ice, so I relate a couple of my favorite Catholic jokes:

The Greatest Order
Told to me by a Dominican

The orders of the Catholic Church were arguing about which of them was the best order in the Church, and the argument was getting violent. The Carmelites were citing John of the Cross, and Teresa of Avila, the Dominicans were citing Dominic and Thomas Aquinas, the Franciscans cited Bonaventura and Francis. So the Pope called all the orders together to Rome to pray a novena so that the Holy Spirit would guide him in resolving the issue. Masses, Rosaries, and all sort of prayers were offered for nine days for an inspired answer to the question.
On the ninth day the participants were approaching the front doors of St. Peter's and observed a paper fluttering in the breeze which had been tacked to the door. None dare approach the sheet, but fears of another Martin Luther were foremost in their minds. Finally the Holy Father approached and took the sheet down, and read the letter aloud to the assembled religious:

My dear beloved sons and daughters:
I love all my children equally.
Signed,
God, S.J.

What the Evangelist Left Out

The men brought the woman to Jesus and told Him that she had been caught in adultery. Jesus told them "Let the one without sin cast the first stone." There was a prolong silence as each man considered his sins. Suddenly, a stone whistled past Jesus' ear and hit the woman squarely between the eyes. Jesus whipped around and exclaimed: "Mother!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"