A Sad Saint is a Sorry Saint
I first heard this quote as one of the one-liners that Archbishop Thomas Collins used to toss out during some of his talks and homilies. I’ve more recently discovered that it is in fact a quote from one of his favorite saints, St. Frances de Sales, whose great work An Introduction to the Devout Life I hope to finish reading sometime this year.
de Sales brings up what I think is a key mark of holiness: joy. Growing in holiness, growing closer to Christ, and becoming a saint should be marked by a certain degree of joy. I think it’s important to note that there is a difference between being happy and being joyful. There are certainly moments in the spiritual life where we may be unhappy, suffering, and sad. But holiness should mean a deep seated sense of joy (as it is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit) – which comes from the security of a strong relationship with God. In our lifetime, I think it is easy to say that Mother Theresa exemplified this: in spite of the distance she sometimes felt from God, she still approached each person she met with love and with joy. John Paul the Great did as well… see the photos of both of them below:
There’s a joy and a love there that we should all strive for. While both Mother Teresa and JPII had reason to feel burdened – Mother by the poverty which surrounded her, and John Paul by the cares of the Church, our remembrances of them are like these pictures. They didn’t approach life with stress, severity, or anger; but instead with love and joy. And it isn’t the kind of joy or love that is fake – in fact, it’s quite the opposite. It’s the life-changing realization that a loving God is indeed watching out for us, that He cares for us, and that He is always with us. He reassures us, laughs with us in good times, cries with us in bad times: but the key is, He is always there. And it’s in that reality that we can find joy.
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