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Saints, that’s what we are. Paul insists on it. He calls his converts “saints” even when he is scolding them for outrageously unsaintly behavior. We’re saints not by our own merit, but by God’s gift. We don’t become saints by leading virtuous lives after Baptism; we become saints by virtue of Baptism. Period. Our virtuous lives – and the lives of the throngs of unnamed saints whose victory we celebrate today – are expressions of the saintliness we have all been given in Baptism. They lived it. As when I was a boy, I still today want things to go my way – and I protest, perhaps with more civility than I did then, when they don’t. I’m still focused on number one – me. But there’s that crowd of all the saints. They’re our cheering section, urging us to stay the course, to be faithful and true. If I listen, I can hear them saying, “Robert, give it up. Act your saintliness! You can do it!” |