Shortly after Pope Saint John Paul II died, there was a murmur around the Church calling him “Pope John Paul the Great.” There have been a few “Great” saints: Saint Gregory the Great, Pope Saint Leo the Great, and Saint Gertrude the Great, whose feast we celebrate today. What makes them so Great? Aren’t all the Saints great?
While there is not an exact answer to why some of the Saints are called “Great,” it has a lot to do with the things they accomplished in life, as well as popular devotion to them. Pope Benedict XVI said Saint Gertrude was given the title of “Great,” “because of her cultural and evangelical stature” (source).
Each Saint is great, and in the same way you would describe the great qualities and personalities of your family and closest friends, we can do this with each of the Saints. I believe this is an important stage from moving from head knowledge about the Saint to heart knowledge of the Saint. The Saints are real people. Just as I will not be best friends with every person in my circle of acquaintances, I will also have some Saints that play a greater role in my life than others.
Saints Live a Life of Heroic Virtue
A Saint is declared a Saint because the Church has recognized the person as living a heroic life of virtue. They have lived as we are all called to live. Pope Saint John Paul II tells us: “Indeed, faced with the many difficulties that fidelity to the moral order can demand, even in the most ordinary circumstances, the Christian is called, with the grace of God invoked in prayer, to a sometimes heroic commitment.” (Veritatis Splendor, 92-93)
A few Saints, like Pope Saint John Paul II or Saint Mother Teresa, might be recognized as “living saints” during their lifetime, but that is a rare occurrence. Yet, the truth is that each Saint, during his or her lifetime, is living an ordinary life with extraordinary love. They are living each day well, to the best of their ability.
Saints are Just Like Me and You
Each of the Saints has their strengths and weaknesses. They each have their quirks and foibles (I think of Blessed Solanus Casey playing his violin with less than stellar results). Some have heavy crosses (Saint Oscar Romero is said to have suffered with obsessive-compulsive disorder). Some struggle with sin for a good majority of their lives until they allow Christ to break through (Saint Paul or Saint Augustine come to mind). Others' hearts are seemingly attuned to God from their earliest childhood (Venerable Antonietta Meo’s beautiful letters to Jesus are typical and yet profound for a six-year-old).
It’s easy to forget the normalness of the Saints. Recognition of their heroic commitment doesn’t explode across the world stage automatically. It begins in their local Church. The Saints grew up in families and attended local parishes. Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati’s family realized he was something special only at his funeral, when thousands of people showed up to mourn the loss of his young life. Devotion to Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus began to grow as her obituary and life story were circulated to the other Carmelite monasteries, which was just the normal tradition for cloistered nuns. Those nuns then shared her story with others, and friendship and devotion to Saint Thérèse grew. Life is meant to be shared, and goodness and holiness are attractive. “Holiness is the most attractive face of the Church,” as Pope Francis said in Gaudete et Exsultate.
It is curious how some Saints become “Catholic famous” quickly. Blessed Carlo Acutis ironically became “trending” soon after his passing because he played video games, designed websites, and loved the Eucharist with every fiber of his being. Other Saints are more hidden; Venerable Francis Nguyen Van Thuan spent thirteen years of his life in a Communist prison—nine of those in solitary confinement. He died in 2002, and quietly makes himself known through the collection of thoughts he wrote while in prison that have been published as books. Saint Dominic gathered like-minded followers of Jesus to fight the heresies of his time and started the Order of Preachers. He must have had a charism for leadership and organization. We get to know him today through those same followers who are still fighting heresy.
Saints Live for Heaven
We could say the Saints are just as much themselves in Heaven as they were during their earthly lives. Their whole being here on earth was ordered to the eternal, so it makes sense that they would relate to us from Heaven the same way they related to their friends during their lifetimes. The Saints strove to live Heaven on earth.
Dr. Peter Kreeft explains to us in writing about Heaven:
This is perhaps the greatest thing about the Saints. They witness to us how to live in a world that is not home. They show us how to navigate the longings and desires that will never be fulfilled on this side of Heaven. They show us how to say yes again and again to the Lord and His will. The Saints show us how to be most ourselves.People think heaven is escapist because they fear that thinking about heaven will distract us from living well here and now. It is exactly the opposite, and the lives of the saints and our Lord himself prove it. Those who truly love heaven will do the most for earth. It's easy to see why. Those who love the homeland best work the hardest in the colonies to make them resemble the homeland. ‘Thy kingdom come [. . .] on earth as it is in heaven.’ (source)
Sr. Mary Claire de la Sainte Famille est membre de la Société des Notre-Dame de la Très Sainte Trinité (SOLT) et sert actuellement à Corpus Christi, TX. Elle aime Jésus et Marie, et ses élèves diraient que chaque saint est son préféré. Elle a obtenu un diplôme en éducation élémentaire et travaille actuellement sur une maîtrise en théologie de son Alma Mater, Université franciscaine. Une fille du Tennessee qui pourrait vivre du Dr Pepper et du pop-corn, elle adore les voyages en voiture, en particulier celui-ci, nous sommes au paradis.
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