“‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one...’” (Matthew 13:37-39).
I have been reflecting on the lives of the saints – the both the publicly recognised canonised Saints in the Church, and those other souls who went straight to Heaven and who nobody even knows about…
And I have been reflecting on what it takes to be a saint…
The Blessed Virgin Mary – Queen of Heaven – was conceived without Original Sin. This Soul is the ONE Saint in Heaven who has never ever sinned. And, then there is Saint John the Baptist. This Saint, though conceived with Original Sin, was BORN without it because he was baptised in his mother’s womb during the Visitation of the Blessed Virgin to Saint Elizabeth, which we celebrate in the Second Joyful Mystery of the Most Holy Rosary.
These Saints became Saints through their sinlessness. But they are the only two. There was no other Saint who was sinless. ALL Saints were sinners. Saint Augustine – who spent the first thirty years of his life in a state of sin – became a doctor of the Church through Grace. Saint Augustine openly admitted that there was no sin of which he was not capable of committing, and the very fact that he had not committed a particular sin was simply evidence of God’s Grace rather than his own goodness… Saint Josemaría went as far as to say that humility was the most important of all the virtues and that without humility then no other virtue was possible. This is because – Saint Josemaría taught – without humility as a foundation for any good act, the goodness of the act is consumed by our own pride, selfishness, or other motives…
But what is common to all Saints is not only their sinfulness, but, more importantly, their heroism in being able to trust in God’s Infinite Mercy and Love and allow God to provide them with the challenges - the tribulations - that forged them into heroes.
Though the Saints are all Baptised with Water and the Spirit, it is the FIRE of their tribulations that turns them into saints. And understanding that the parable of the weeds in the field becomes so much clearer to me… “His disciples came to Him, saying, ‘Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.’ He answered, ‘He who sows the good seed is the Son of man; the field is the world, and the good seed means the sons of the kingdom; the weeds are the sons of the evil one, and the enemy who sowed them is the devil.’” (Matthew 13:36-40). You see, Saints cannot be made without the tribulations… The persecutions of Christians by the Roman Emperors, Diocletian and Nero, produced thousands of martyrs, who were Saints… The tribulations of the twentieth century have produced thousands more…
You see, tribulations feed holiness – because heroes can only grow when they are faced with a struggle…
And it occurs to me to accept the words of Saint John of the Cross, who said, "Whenever anything disagreeable or displeasing happens to you, remember Christ crucified and be silent."
And I have been thinking about that today – as I face the minor tribulations of my own life – and I pray for the Grace to embrace those tribulations – for they are a precious gift from my Beloved for my salvation… And how could I possibly thank my crucified Lord and God for such a gift as that?
For with prayer, I stand on Holy Ground where everything is clear. Here. At the Foot of the Cross.