The Catholic Church has a calendar of saints. Each saint has a memorial day, a day when the Church remembers and honors that saint for their example of holiness. The memorial is
usually the day that the holy man or woman left the earthly life and entered heavenly life (i.e., the day of death).
As I was browsing this week’s memorial days (there are often dozens of saints who are memorialized on a day) I noticed an uncomfortable pattern. So many of the saints that are celebrated this week didn’t just die, they were killed!
We remember Roman saints who defied the emperors and refused to make sacrifices to the pagan gods. We remember Korean, Vietnamese, and Japanese martyrs who helped to spread the faith in countries where it was forbidden. And we remember hundreds and hundreds of martyrs who died for their faith in the French Revolution and the Spanish Civil War.
It reminded me that the path of holiness always comes with suffering. It’s no coincidence that every one of the saints went through times of great personal suffering — illness, tragedy, persecution. We don’t become saints by
avoiding the suffering in life but by facing it the way Jesus did.
When I was a very small child, my grandmother shared a story with me. She told me that as she was growing up in Germany, medicine and food were sometimes in short supply. Sickness and hunger were common, and parents taught their children that when they were unhappy, or hurt, or scared, they could either complain about that suffering (which wouldn’t change it) or turn it into a prayer:
Lord Jesus, I carry this little cross as a gift to you because you carried your cross for me.
You may be going through your own suffering right now. You may have worries or fears, may be feeling sadness, loneliness, or anger. Our faith can’t always take those sufferings away, but we give thanks to God for the examples of the saints and martyrs who turned their sufferings into a great witness. Their sacrifices inspired their communities to grow in faith. May the way we face these days inspire faith in
our community too!