Fr. Nate's Letter - November 3, 2024

While November is devoted to praying for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, it’s also a month that seeks in a special way to honor the Saints. For you and I here, this month takes on special significance in that we’re surrounded by so many different images and reminders of the Saints. One of our former pastors thought November 1st should be considered our patronal feast. 

Some years ago, I remember reading an article that commented on a study conducted among fifth grade grammar school students who were asked to rank the desirability of thirty-five different careers. As you can imagine they were given all sorts of choices: doctor, lawyer, teacher, athlete, etc., and one of the thirty-five possibilities was to be a Saint. Among these particular students, becoming a Saint ranked second to last - the only less desirable career choice was being a garbage collector. In many ways the results of that little survey were sad because, first, it seems that the students must have concluded that it is not possible to be a lawyer, or teacher, or doctor and a Saint at the same time. And second, it revealed an ignorance (perhaps through no fault of their own) of what you and I are called to be as Catholics and followers of Christ. 

I’m particularly impressed with and admire Monsignor Dolan for what he did when planning the baptistery here at the Basilica. When the young parents of our parish bring their children to the baptismal font, the images in the windows and the relics of the Saints remind them, and us, of how the faith first came to our area. We are reminded of how the faith has been passed on, just as they are handing down their faith to their child. When we invoke the Saints during the Rite of the Sacrament of Baptism, we respond “pray for us.” We are asking the Saints to help us, and to help the little one about to be baptized, achieve our goal, which is to get to heaven. Where they are, we hope to be. 

Sometimes when we look at the Saints, the tendency can be to look at “the finished product,” so to speak. St. Thérèse of Lisieux used to reflect that when she looked at the Saints, they seemed to be majestic mountains, and she felt like only a tiny grain of sand. Becoming a great Saint seemed impossible to her. Yet we see that she allowed the Lord to work in and through her, offering of herself to the Lord as that “little grain of sand,” and she, too, has become one of those “mighty mountains.”

In the course of my life, I have been privileged to meet many holy people, people definitely on the path to sanctity, and have also encountered a couple of canonized Saints during their earthly life. One thing that I certainly learned from those experiences is that even the canonized Saints were people just like you and me. They had their favorite foods, they enjoyed various pastimes - so many of the things that make up our lives, made up theirs as well. What they were especially attentive to was ensuring that their life was centered on Christ, and that they served the Lord in the context in which they lived.

Pope St. John XXIII reflected that we don’t need to go far to find all that we need to become great Saints, as everything we need is already placed in front of us. Becoming a Saint simply consists of responding to particular people or events as Christ would want us to respond. It’s said that when the sister of St. Thomas Aquinas asked him what one must do to become a Saint, his response to her was, “Will it.” If we truly “will” something, isn’t it true that we’re going to go after it? It’s going to influence everything we say and do! 

So, in the words of St. Padre Pio, “Let’s become great Saints! So that after having been together on earth, we may be together in Heaven.”

Don’t forget to pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, they are counting on you!

Wishing you all God’s blessings this week!

Keeping you in prayer, and say one for me!

- Fr. Nate