The Making of a Saint

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patient endurance, kindness, generosity, faith, self-control and chastity.” Galatians 5:20

These are the values of the Kingdom of God, God’s values. Scott Hahn said that this world is a vast, intricate, Saint-making machine. Just yesterday my patience was sorely tested by one of my staff, and two customer service reps from Smart. Was I kind? No. Did I exhibit self-control? No. Hopefully as I get older, I will learn to be more patient and more in control of my words. The hope is that we exhibit more and more of the fruits of the Holy Spirit as the days go by. 

I like reading about saints. There are of course our favorite saints who really exhibited love, joy, peaceful endurance, etc. But then I read about Padre Pio who was known to have an awful temper. In spite of that, he was beatified in 1999 and canonized in 2002. From the age of 5, he knew he wanted to dedicate his life to serving God. At the young age of 15, he entered the noviciate of the Capuchin friars at Morcone. 

Padre Pio said, “The person who meditates and turns his mind to God, who is the mirror of his soul, seeks to know his faults, tries to correct them, moderates his impulses, and puts his conscience in order." Here we see this holy man’s advice to us who easily lose patience. We need to recognize our faults, try to correct them and moderate our impulses. Padre Pio also suggested weekly confession. Just as a regular cleaning of our homes is necessary, so too we should see what unnecessary baggage we carry in our souls. I am sure he too experienced disappointment in himself, and that’s why he always said to his visitors, “Pray, hope and don’t worry.” 

Lord, thank You for the example of Your saints. They were not perfect but they lived their lives for You. May we too never give up striving to live holy lives, going back to You and drinking from the living water of  Your Spirit.