Several weeks ago many Christian churches celebrated the feast of All Saints. On this Sunday, liturgical churches chant the Litany of the Saints, a distinct prayer calling upon the intercession of the saints. The Litany names canonized saints throughout the church’s history including Mother Mary, archangels, apostles,. martyrs, popes, theologians, Doctors of the Church, and so on. In the past I often attended an All Saints service and enjoyed its beauty and solemnity. But now as my spiritual journey moves me in a different direction, let us consider another approach to identifying saints.
I recently attended a contemplative service at my Unitarian Universalist Church. The presenter, a woman of eighty-six, spoke eloquently of the saints in her life; people who have passed away but left her with gifts of kindness, mercy, insight, encouragement and companionship. She treasures these gifts. When she was six her first grade teacher showed her a great kindness. One day she wet her pants, as kids sometime do, and left a puddle on the floor. The teacher did not embarrass her but said the puddle was probably caused by a water leak in the ceiling. And then there was a mentor who encouraged her to attend college at the age of 41 which she did. She graduated with an advanced degree. Another friend suggested she might consider working for a hospice as a grief counselor. She did and loved the work. And when her husband died, friends rallied around her and offered valuable support. All of us at the contemplative service were very moved by her presentation.
Certainly there must be modern day saints. The answer is “yes.” Here are the names of a few and you can research them online. No need to agree with my choices. This is just to get us to think out of the box, a box that we’ve been stuck in for a long time.
Here is my list: Katherine Drexel, Oskar Schindler, Mamie Till, Martin Luther King, Oscar Romero, Thich Nhat Hanh, Harriet Tubman, Mother Teresa of Calcutta, Baba Sali, Dorothy Day, Roddie Edmonds, John Lewis, Eleanor Roosevelt. While only several of these people were officially canonized by the Roman Church after miracles were attributed to them, I affirm that the lives of all these people were miracles enough.
Churches and other places of worship have begun honoring contemporary saints with various iconography including stained glass windows. Prime examples are the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C. and Grace Cathedral in San Francisco. No longer are we just presented with images such as a saint carrying a tray on which her eyeballs were strategically placed, made to represent her martyrdom. Again, nothing wrong with this except the gore can be a little offputting. But I frankly love seeing the faces of people who inspire me. People who were often flawed but somehow connected to the Divine that dwelt within, enabling them to do courageous things to help others. While Jewish and Muslim traditions emphasize non-figurative art in worship spaces, you will see their saints honored in buildings other than houses of worship.
So, who were the saints in your life? Those people who left you with an enduring gift like the presenter at the contemplative service mentioned above. When she asked this question we had a few minutes to think about it. The first person I thought of was my boss at the Los Angeles Public Library. Throughout my 33 year career from the time I was a kid shelving books at my local library until I retired as the Library’s Manager of Information Systems, Elizabeth mentored me, helped me grow into the various positions I held, taught me how to be a good communicator, an effective supervisor and manager and how to assemble the best team of people to support my efforts. She believed in me, saw my potential and made me feel valued and worthwhile. I owe her so much and she will remain in my heart forever. I was a lucky guy to have her in my life.
I bet you might have had someone like Elizabeth in your life. Someone who believed in you and made you feel valued. It doesn’t have to be a supervisor. It could have been a friend, a relative, a teacher, a pastor, someone who saw something special in you. Whoever that person might have been, they were your saint.
To quote C.S. Lewis on the courage of saints from his The Screwtape Letters “Courage is not simply one of the virtues, but the form of every virtue at the testing point.” The individuals mentioned in this article had the courage to make a difference in many lives. It takes tremendous courage to face evil, stand up for what is good and right, show compassion and mercy. It also take courage to tap your inner strength and reach out to someone in need who might be hurting, alone or afraid. We cannot all be an Oskar Schindler, but I know we can make a difference one person at a time.