It wasn’t until I was in my twenties that I heard about the universal call to holiness, or what was then news to me: “You were born to be a Saint.” Maybe you grew up with an “us and them” view of holy people too. Never in my wildest imagination had I considered that the invitation to Sainthood had been extended to me. I’m just too ordinary, I imagined.
I have wrestled long and hard with Dorothy Day’s quip: “Don’t call me a Saint. I don’t want to be dismissed that easily.” What an odd sentiment from a woman whose cause for canonization is being actively pursued. But doesn’t she speak to that skeptical place in each of us that has been too quick to disregard the life of the Saints as unattainable and out of reach?
And yet this is the case: We are made in God’s image and likeness to spend our lives conforming ourselves to God’s image and likeness. When done faithfully, Sainthood is what that looks like. Learning from those who have done this already is where we begin.
This Call to Sainthood Should Not Be a Surprise
Making this good news available to children is an ideal introduction, which is why children’s books about a variety of Saints are so essential. Saints Come in All Shapes and Sizes by Patrick O’Hearn and illustrated by Elizabeth Blair is such a book. This pair did an outstanding job keeping the text simple, the pictures engaging, and the call clear: You are called to be a Saint!
What I appreciated most about this board book is the diverse representation of the holy figures: young and old; white, black, and brown; from Scripture and Church history; well-known and obscure. Each page presents a new invitation for children to consider that they, too, could be called Saints. What a gift to form children (and adults) in this reality.
With the invitation to see Saints as they existed in the world, the temptation is no longer to interpret their witness as unattainable and other-worldly. Quite the opposite really. If God can use children, hermits, converts, and sinners to share the tremendous love of God, why not me?
A Message for Children and Adults
“Every saint has a past, every sinner has a future.” // Oscar Wilde (A Woman of No Importance)
Several years ago while I was teaching sacramental preparation classes, a parent commented that there are Saints for any number of holy causes, but so many fewer that remind us of our own less-than-admirable qualities. While I understood where she was coming from, I wanted to follow up with her, so I did some research.
The quieter, but unsurprising truth is that there are patrons and patronesses for all of our very human struggles: lust, depression, scrupulosity, anger, and so on. The biggest antidote to the belief that we are not capable of Sainthood is becoming familiar with the vast circumstances, gifts, and stories representative of the holy men and women through whom God has chosen to work throughout history. Aware of the realities and quirks of actual people can give us an important camaraderie with the entire body of believers.
Yes, “we are all called to be saints, . . . and we might as well get over our bourgeois fear of the name. We might also get used to recognizing the fact that there is some of the saint in all of us” (Dorothy Day, Selected Writings, pp. 102-3).
For more encouragement on the subject, see Meg Hunter-Kilmer’s book Pray for Us: 75 Saints who Sinned, Suffered, and Struggled Their Way to Holiness.
A Shared Experience
The beauty of children’s books is two-fold. First, the images and words that depict the story capture the imagination of a child, while informing them of the message. Simultaneously, the adult sharing the book with the child hears the same simple truth echoed in their own ears. Whether or not we are cognizant of it, reading to children doubles the impact of evangelization. Or, in the words of Saint Josemaria Escriva, “Reading has made many Saints” (The Way, point no. 116).
The Gift That Keeps on Giving
Saints Come in All Shapes and Sizes would make a great gift—to a child in your life or a little library. Children’s books in particular are re-visited over and over again. Beyond that, the invitation to live a life for God is foundational and cannot be unlearned. It is a truth (and a challenge) that we re-visit for the rest of our lives.
Katie Cassady is a regular contributor to the BIS blog. She is a wife and mom to three little girls in Denver, CO. Steeped in theological reflection, beekeeping and motherhood, she is appreciative of any and all wisdom she can glean from those living intentional lives of faith. Find out more about her here. Read all of Katie's posts here.
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