The saints are coming...

Hi All :)

Ok so recently a lot of things have been happening in my life and the lives of those around me where I have been made to ask the question I'm sure every person on their faith journey has been made to ask if they've really been honest with themselves- and that is... am I doing enough to sustain my faith life?

Now this is not the first time I've been face with this question and it ain't going to be the last. While I'm doing daily prayer, been going to mass, been going to events to increase my faith, there is something that from the moment I left NET, until recently, hasn't been feeling right- a certain sense of feeling as if even though I'm doing all of this, I'm still feeling the same. On NET it's so easy to be able to find that spiritual level of happiness- yes it's hard and there are days when you struggle, but with four plus people around you who are constantly living lives of holiness every day and much fewer distractions due to NET rules, it's much easier to jump back on the train when you've started stumbling off.

When times like these occur, I like to turn to the people who I can count on. The people who have been through it all before and who are an example to us all of how to overcome adversity, the people who are revered by our Church and have been the source of so much inspiration... I'm of course talking about.. The Saints.

Now this hasn't always been the case. Growing up, I remember that I use to see the Saints (as I did Jesus) as some aspirational figure which I could aim to get to, but never would get to. It wasn't my goal to be a saint- to be classified as one would be a life achievement equal to me landing on the moon- if I could just live a part of my life like them, that would do.

One day however, I heard someone say that we can all be saints. After a few more years, I realised it wasn't just a throwaway line from a person, but actually it was the calling of Jesus, which he gives to St Paul, when he says:

"To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ" - Romans 1:7 NRSV CE

Now with that in mind, it got me thinking- if we are all called to be saints, then why is it that there are only a few people who have made that mark in society and what is it that the rest of us are missing.

As I found out, the answer to that is.... nothing. We are all called to be saints, it's just that some are formally recognised which as I now know these days involves the Vatican and a bunch of other stuff that involves processes.

So with that in mind, I started trying to live like some of the great Saints. I like St Paul as he reminds me of the conversion we all have when we finally realise how amazing God's love truly is and I like St Peter as like me, he's a bit of bumbler at times and yet Jesus loved him and gave him the role of being the Rock of the Church, proof that you can make mistakes and God's mercy will prevail.

Now living like the saints is a good thing. I've found it helps to create direction and give clarity to a lot of things in life.The thing is though, when I'm going through questioning my faith, especially in recent years, a question has always come up and that is, well how come the Saints have it easier than I do when it comes to dealing with issues.

When you look at the likes to Saint Padre Pio who lived with Stigmatas, St Paul who spent so much time in prison, St Stephen the First who was beheaded for the faith (along with many others), they all seemed to be able to deal with faith issues much more than I can when I have a tiny issue in life affect the balance. I mean even those who are not formally saints, like Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta, have amazing stories of faith- she spent 27 years in the spiritual darkness and still did amazing works. 

This year, I've started reading a daily devotional book on the Saints and the amazing thing I've learnt from it is that in so many cases, these people were just like me. They struggled with fame, with fortune, with family, with feeling inadequate to take the roles they were being offered- yet they did it as God called them to, and achieved greatness at the highest level.

The thing is however, not only did they struggle with these things, they realised that this was a part of life, and not some wrong doing on their behalf and continued to do what they were called to do. If it was their mistake, they admitted to it, accepted it and then moved on to continue their calling, knowing that by God's mercy, we are all freed from our sins and mistakes.

A priest I was listening to yesterday really gave a good understanding of this idea. He said, (paraphrasing here) we are all able to be saints. The reason so many of us don't get there though is that they aren't humble enough to accept that a life followed in Jesus is going to have desert periods as well as banquet ones. We are all able to do God's will when things are good, but if we aren't humble enough to realise the dry periods are not our fault alone, then we end up in spiritual dryness which emotionally drains us and can cause us to head towards the darkness rather than the light. The Devil doesn't need anymore invitation than when this occurs, as he is the master of deception and soon our dryness becomes our darkness and we are more likely to fall.

Fr Robert Barron puts it another way: "God is a pure light of white that, when refracted in the prism of creation, breaks into countless colours, each unique and each an aspect of the light. These are the colours of the Saints, each one reflecting some sort of divine reality" (Word on Fire Lenten Message, 22 March 2014).

What both of these priests are saying and what I think it is important for all of us to realise, is that God loves us all so much that if we are willing to follow his path, then he will ensure that we are always able to become saints. The key to it is that we must accept that the path isn't always going to be easy and during the hard times, rather than trying to do more for God, we should keep listening to him and going on his path as he directs us, for only he can lead us to true sainthood.

When we are humble enough to accept that it is God who has control over it all, and not us- then we can live our lives without the burden of feeling we have to please him all the time and focus on our mission of doing his will and becoming saints in our own right.

So back to the question I asked at the start of this blog...  Am I doing enough to sustain my faith life? My answer to this, is well, yes I am and I'm happy with where things are at. While I know the dry periods are going to come, I also know that God is with me through them always, and all he calls me to do is to keep following his calling in my life, for as I read the other day:

"If you think God's love for you would be stronger if your faith was stronger, you are wrong. If you think His love would be deeper if your thoughts and actions were better, you are wrong again. Don't confuse God's love with people's love. Their love increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God's love..." - The Word for You Today, UCB Publishing, 23 March 2014

So what are you all waiting for.. get out there and keep living God's calling in your life. The world needs saints and I know they are coming, all we need to do is trust, execute and live in Christ always.

Till next time...

In God we trust...

Ok so I thought that the next blog update after the last one was going to be about how I've moved onto a new opportunity, am getting ready for a new challenge and how life was finally getting put into place.

Funny thing is though, this post is anything but that!

I'm still on the job hunt, being thrown curve-balls in all areas of my life that are making me wonder on a daily basis where is the path I'm meant to be on and more than ever, I have no idea what is going on.

It's funny how life works. One minute you think you know what is going on, the next, you are more clueless than a detective on a bad day (sorry about that analogy, know it's pretty bad, I'm blaming it on the fact it's Monday). The crazy thing is though is that for all that is going on right now and all the challenges it is placing in front of me, I'm actually OK with it. Now I'm not saying that I'm not worrying, feeling anxious, spending way too much time questioning or am in a space that I feel as if I can conquer the world- because if I said that this was the case, I'd be lying through my teeth. I am saying though that for the first time in a long time- I am realising that this is going on and importantly, I'm taking steps to keep on moving and working.

One of the reasons I think this is the case is that because I've realised now that this is God's plan, not mine. I'm finally starting to give God the opportunity to work in my life and what I'm realising very quickly is that when you let God in, things go from being very normal, to very extraordinary. If you don't get what I mean by this, that's OK, I'm about to explain.

When you start allowing God to enter into your life- and I mean really enter, like reading the bible, going to mass and listening to the word, being humble enough to go to confession and reconcile, spending time listening to good material etc. you begin to see what really matters in life, and then, life seems so much more than it did before.

Those areas where you thought what you did was good enough, suddenly become areas of needed improvement. That little thing you use to do, you see the bigger picture of what it can cause- the needs of others become more prevalent to the needs of oneself- everything and all that you thought of- changes.

More importantly though, you start to see how the things that happen around you, are more than just events, they are hints to the true path you should be on. I know for me, that once upon a time, job, relationship and friendship losses were a sign of how bad a person I was, how I just wasn't good enough. At this moment though, I've been through several knock-backs and while they still hurt (we wouldn't be human if they didn't)- now I see the reason behind them- I see that I might not have gotten that job because if I had, I would have missed out on doing something amazing. I might have turned that offer down but if I'd taken it up, I'd have missed quality time with family and friends that I am so blessed for today.

God doesn't want anyone of us to live our lives in misery- he said it himself it Jeremiah 29 where he says

"For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you. When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart,  I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes..."

God wants us all to live in a life of happiness and that will best use our gifts and talents to bring joy to this world. Never doubt that. No matter how hard, and believe me, I know how much of a struggle it is, to believe this every day of your life- it's the truth and it's what he shows us everyday.

I was reading a reflection piece this morning that talked about how when we want something done we will do it immediately, however when God wants something done- it's in his time. He isn't ruled by the time frames we set on ourselves- and while he can take a couple of days/weeks to grow a mushroom- he could take a lifetime to change or define a person into who they need to be.

The great thing about this is that while he is working through us and changing us- he still gives us so much love and joy and happiness- whether it's the friends and family around us, the nature outside or just the daily events that make us smile.

I've made the choice to let God take control of my plans. Do I know what's going to happen next? Of course not. Do I always feel safe in not knowing? Of course not. Do I trust in God always? Of course not.

But at the end of the day, do I still believe that God's plan is the best plan for me in my life? Of course I do.

Keep praying for me and hopefully soon I'll be able to write about what's happening next, but then again- it's up to God, and I'm more than happy with that. Know I'm praying for you all too.

Till next time...