Over the past two days, I was thinking of the fact that many saints would not be people invited to cocktail parties at this time of year or given pressies.
Many saints would not be considered by our society as pleasant people. And, I am not referring to those who are seen as curmudgeons, whether they were or not.
Therefore, I am not emphasizing the Old Testament prophets, or St. John the Baptist, or St. Jerome, or saints who are martyrs, who were persecuted to the death. Thomas a Becket was a difficult saint and he was killed by the seculars who supported the king over the Church. Yesterday was his feast day. But, as he is a martyr, let me move on.....
What is necessary for Catholics to realize today that if you choose to be a saint, you will be labelled a difficult person.
Saints look at the world from a completely different viewpoint than seculars, consumerists, materialists, atheists. Increasingly so, real Catholics have become different than many of their Protestant brethren who now, in most denominations, accept and support same-sex marriage, contraception, abortion, even euthanasia.
A saint should be seen as "difficult" insofar as he has different moral framework with which to judge events, laws, political party platforms and so on.
Saints irritate their families by not taking over the family farm or business, such as Damien of Molokai.
A saint who walks in the footsteps of Christ will naturally incur the hatred of the world.
The world, the flesh and the devil hate goodness, purity, truth.
Worse, than mere hatred, the world, the flesh and the devil want to destroy goodness, purity and truth.
A list of difficult saints must include SS. Catherine of Siena, Patrick, Teresa of Avila, Wilfrid of York, and Etheldreda, to name very few.
Saints challenge the status quo.
Saints present light in darkness, truth in deceit, simplicity in complexity, purity in decadence, innocence in cunning.
Saints trouble the mediocre Catholics who do not want to "rock the boat" and who want to avoid conflict.
Saints are difficult as they aspire to a perfection the world not only cannot understand, but wants to annihilate.
Saints are not conformists, except in conforming to the mind of Christ.
Can you choose to step out and be a bit "difficult"?
