Saint-making is God’s doing!

Coming from a rich religious background, I always wanted to be a saint. I put in a lot of time in learning, studying, reading the lives of the saints and that had a great impact on my personal life. There was a fervent desire in me that I will be a saint one day and I need to work toward it. Along with the desire, I also had the urgency. I would spend hours of my sleeping time before the tabernacle, expecting that God would talk to me one day face to face like he did to many saints. I would try to inflict pain on me voluntarily thinking that self-mortification was a sure way to sanctification. It took me years to accept and appreciate that saint-making is God’s doing and not our own accomplishment.

The Church rules regarding canonization was promulgated on Jan 25, 1983 and was made public only on Sep 12, 1997. To begin the process, the person should have been dead for at least 5 years. The Bishop of the diocese is responsible for beginning the investigation by forming a diocesan tribunal for this purpose. Witnesses are called before the tribunal to look at his/her theological virtues: faith, hope and charity and also Cardinal virtues of prudence, justice, temperance and fortitude. He/she gets the title Servant of God by now. These documents are sent to Rome (Congregation for the Causes of Saints). The Postulator in Rome prepares a summary and 9 theologians examine the possibilities and vote followed by the examination of cardinals and bishops who are the members of the office. If the judgment is favorable, the prefect presents the result to the Holy Father to approve and draft a relative decree. For the beatification a miracle should be attributed to the servant of God and is proven through the appropriate canonical investigation (another decree) – title of Blessed. For Canonization, another miracle is needed. Title of Saint.

We need to understand it is only the Catholic view of the sainthood of humanity. Abraham, Moses, Jacob were all called the Patriarchs. They were Jews. Were they saints? Gautama Buddha, Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and all other extraordinary men and women of other religion who lived holy lives – were they saints? We may have about 10000 saints in our Church. Church is human indeed that it is limited in many ways to identify and appreciate simple, ordinary people who day in and day out lead holy life, yet remain hidden. Our Church remembers all those men and women who have died living this kind of life. Our church celebrates with joy the living saints who model their lives on Christ. Holiness belongs to God. As saints we share the Holiness of God.

If we are look at saints, we should as well look the sinners. If you know that your doctor got only 35% in medical examinations, would you continue to get treatment from him? He/she literally does not know 65%. If you know a certain country is infested with swine flu or water contamination is over 80%, would you mind taking a trip there for vacation? Can a failed lawyer, failed businessperson, a failed spiritual leader ever approached for help in respective fields? Church the universal sacrament of salvation has no saving effect if we don’t cooperate. Church we claim ‘one, holy’ and yet holiness is locked in tabernacle and our tongues don’t feel real presence of God. Perfection is interpreted as mechanics and is aimed at secluded elite group. Transformation is what we need.

Look at the things that are reserved for other religions: Muslims don’t eat pork, Hindus don’t eat beef and only Catholics eat, drink and do everything. Is there anything we can tell the world honestly, “we Catholics don’t do that” and it is against our faith? What are the honest steps we take towards being holy? How many here wants to be remembered as a saintly man or woman when he/she dies? What do you want your own children to remember you for? Oscar Wilde says, "The only difference between the saint and the sinner is that every saint has a past, and every sinner has a future." One, Holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.