Living Words

 “It is clear that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.” 2 Cor: 3:3

           If I am ever in need of recharging my spiritual life I read the life of a Saint. Inevitably I sense my whole being reoriented toward God.  Providentially, the inspiration of that particular Saint will be exactly what I need in my life at that time.

           Recently the relics of St. Sharbel of Lebanon came to Pittsburgh. I and a few friends visited the nearby Maronite Rite Church where the relics rested before the Blessed Sacrament exposed for adoration.  I had read his life (providentially) a few years ago and knew that after his quiet holy life as a hermit monk, he was buried near the place he had lived.  Strangely at night a glow was seen coming from his grave. People began going to his grave to pray and ask his intercession. Miracles began happening!

          The Abbot of the monastery opened his grave to prepare for the transfer of his remains to the MonasteryChurch and found the body intac, as fresh as the day he died!  As I knelt and prayed before our Risen Lord in the Blessed Sacrament and the relics of St. Sharbel, I realized what God was telling us by that light that came from his grave.  It is the Light of the Risen Christ!  Every Saint gives his or her life, body and soul to Jesus so that He can reveal His Risen Presence in our world.  The holiness of the Saint is none other than the Presence of the Risen Christ, received in baptism and allowed to grow and be manifested in the person’s life.  This is the universal call to holiness, mine and yours.  As well as I could, I offered my life that day again to Jesus, so that He could manifest Himself through me.

           My parish church is the Church of the Resurrection. A large mosaic of the Risen Christ fills the sanctuary and a large stained glass window of the Resurrected Christ shines onto the choir loft. Almost all of the other stained glass windows that flank the body of the church depict images of Saints. The sun light shines through those windows illuminating the interior of the Church as their lives reflected the Risen Lord to those around them and illuminates the Church for all times. The Saints embody the Resurrection.

           The Eastern Monks on Mt.Athos give their new recruits the Lives of the Saints to read before they give them the Scriptures.  Their rationale is that if these new monks first see the Word of God lived out by ordinary human beings they can realize it is possible to follow Christ’s teachings in their life. They believe that they are called to be a living Word of God to the extent that if all the copies of the bible were lost it could be recovered and rewritten by looking at the lives of the monks. St. Paul tells the Corinthians that they are a “letter of Christ” written by his ministry.  He prayed that the Word of God that he preached would be inscribed in their lives. There is a saying that sometimes the only Gospel that some people will read is the Gospel of our lives

           Many Saints began their journey of a life oriented totally toward God by reading the lives of the Saints.  St. Ignatius of Loyola was one who read the life of St. Francis of Assisi while convalescing after being wounded in battle.  He converted from soldier to dedicating his life to follow the Banner of Our Lord Jesus Christ and worked to build the Kingdom of God.  He founded the Society of Jesus and was inspired to compose the Spiritual Exercises meant to lead others in making this same conversion.  Another was Saint Teresa of Avila who was so inspired as a child after reading the lives of the desert monks that she and her young brother ran away one day to find a cave and imitate their way of life. Later she would reform the Carmelites of her day to lead a life of deeper contemplation and prayer. Our latest canonized Saint, Teresa of Calcutta, found her inspiration in the life of another Teresa, the Little Flower.  Her little way of doing everything with great love is inscribed in the way Mother Teresa led her life.  Countless people throughout the world, people of all faiths and social standing, have seen the radiance of the Risen Christ shining from the face of this little women who made of her life “something beautiful for God.”

           Like a true Mother, the Church cherishes Her Holy Children, preserving accounts of their lives, lifting them up to us as examples and inspiration by inscribing their names in the Canon of the Saints (that’s what it means to be canonized) and even cherishing their bones as a mother cherishes the milk teeth of her baby.  The Risen Life of Christ transforms the whole person, body and soul, and the bones of the Holy Ones can be a source of grace.  As the body of Saint Sharbel gave off a light that drew others to Christ and healed them, there are incidents of fragrance and healing oils oozing from the bones of some Saints.  The relics of the Saints remain as little signs that the Risen Christ is living and with us all days until the end of times, living in the lives of His Holy Ones.

           The Saints are our brothers and sisters in Christ and we can turn to them for help in our journey toward God. Feed your soul by picking up the life of a Saint and read it with your heart open.  You will be richly rewarded as the Spirit guides you toward a heavenly friend who can help you on your way to holiness.