Saints Come From All Walks of Life

From Father Tom Eichenberger, Pastor of Saint Francis Borgia Church, Cedarburg, WI posted on All Saints Day, 2010...


The saints are given to us by the church to be role models in following Jesus. The saints come from every walk of life to show us that anyone and everyone can follow Jesus in his or her own way and unique circumstances. For example:


Would a saint ever flunk a class in school?
-- St. John Vianney flunked Latin.
Would a saint ever live on the wild frontier?
-- St. Rose Duchesne tended pigs on US Indian reservations.
Would a saint ever die in a Nazi concentration camp?
-- Ss. Edith Stein and Maximilian Kolbe died at Auschwitz.
Would a saint ever be a millionaire?
-- Ss. Katherine Drexel (USA) and Francis Borgia were millionaires.
Would a saint ever be kidnapped by pirates?
-- St. Patrick was kidnapped by British pirates.
Would a saint ever be a nature freak?
-- St. Francis of Assisi was the first nature freak.
Would a saint ever be excommunicated by a bishop?
-- Yes, St. Mary MacKillop, Australia’s first saint.
Would a saint be an immigrant to America?
-- St. Frances Cabrini (USA) was an Italian immigrant.
Would a saint ever be an honest politician?
-- St. Francis Borgia was known as a fair and impartial governor.


So to love the saints is to love excitement, variety, holiness, and courage. Whenever someone asks me why we honor the saints and have statues of saints in the Catholic Church, I tell them to go to Washington DC and look at all the statues and monuments there. The saints are the heroes and heroines of the Catholic Church.