We have daily opportunities to be great saints

I am finishing a pilgrimage. I have been blessed to encounter the remains of many saints, and in doing so encountering their lives. I think there is a danger here. It is so easy to dehumanize the saints. We are enamored with stories of heroic deaths, or of miracles worked. Pilgrims flock to the saints with great stories, and I am no different.
But in reality, my opportunities to be a great saint are often found in the midst of mowing the yard, emptying the dishwasher, holding my tongue when I want to speak ill of someone or many other such ordinary moments. I tend to look for the big opportunities and in doing so I miss hundreds of opportunities to be holier than I was previously.
I think the tendency to look for other and bigger opportunities is one of the ways the devil deceives us into not acting. “Yes, I know the homeless person I just passed is asking for help, but I am too busy fixing bigger problems.” I make a point of praying my Rosary and interceding for people I know and love as well as humanity at large, all the while being impatient with those closest to me.
Saints are made in the ordinary moments of life. When we can love in action and word those closest to us we are making great strides toward authentic holiness. Christ gives us the assistance of His grace. I think that particularly the Sacrament of Reconciliation is a great tool in our spiritual repertories. When we fall short we need to notice that we fell short and seek the forgiveness of Christ as well as the grace that helps to heal us of our shortcomings. Christ did not leave us this Sacrament to used sparingly. He gave us this Sacrament to mold us into the saints He is calling us to be.
— Pat Arensberg is the Director of the Office for Evangelization and Family Life. Email him at [email protected] 
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