“This is your path to holiness,” the priest uttered as we finished our conversation after I had confessed my sins. His words pierced my heart. My most recent struggle with my teens had left me feeling dismayed. I had witnessed friends effortlessly parent their teenagers, while mine seemed to be on and off the struggle bus. Feeling worn, the grass seemed greener on the other side. My wise confessor recognized my yearning for another situation when he reminded me that this was, in fact, the plan God had for my life. Holiness could be reached even from my vantage point.
The resources, people, and situations that the Lord plants in our lives bring us to our own unique holiness and closer to heaven. God grants a unique path to each of us, requiring specific people, goods, and situations. These things draw out our goodness and allow us to grow in perfect holiness. Other resources, situations, family, friends, and acquaintances would not have this same effect, thus not allowing us to reach the holiness God desires for us. “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ says the Lord, ‘They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” Jeremiah 29:11
Knowing Him, loving him and serving Him fully require that we embrace where He has placed us. He calls us all to sanctification while journeying toward Him. It is our duty to listen, observe, act, and be flexible as He guides us uniquely to Himself. If we take our eyes off Him, we are easily drawn to things of this world which will not heighten our holiness. The Lord’s creation, as well as things of this world, hold goodness and purpose and can be used to glorify God. Though some of these things may not be sinful or bad, they are not intended to grow our individual virtue or being into who Our Master created us to be. St. Therese reminds us, ”We must forget ourselves, and put aside our tastes and ideas, and guide souls not by our own way, but along the path which Our Lord points out.”
Call to Act: I invite you to ask yourself: Are there areas the Lord is calling you to adjust, and you are not cooperating? Are there goods that no longer seem to produce fruits for you? Are there people in your life who have been phased out in this season of life? Can you embrace these changes? Ask the Lord for the strength to surrender and the wisdom to discern His will for you right now. Open your heart and be willing to listen to the ways He is asking you to change, the resources He is asking you to use, and the goods or people He is asking you to release. My prayers are with you sister, as we journey this life together toward Our Lord in Heaven.
Saints Pope John Paul II, Opportuna, and Julie Billiart, and Blessed Lidwina, and, Michelle Duppong , pray for us that we may embrace the suffering and path God has placed us on. Beg Him to grant us the graces necessary to live a holy life here on earth, leading many others closer to the Heavenly Father through our example and life, as you did while in this world. Intercede for us as we live each day on earth serving the Lord in the unique way the Lord has called us to. We ask this through the name of Our Creator and Master, Jesus Christ Our Lord, Amen.
Today’s Saints each embraced the unique paths and crosses the Lord granted them and lived a life with their eyes fixed on Our Lord and His will. They focused not on their sufferings or the trials of their times, but on leading others to holiness.
Saint John Paul II
So much can be said of Pope Saint John Paul II, however, I will only touch on small snippets of his life. St. John Paul II was born Karol J. Wojtyla, in Poland in 1920. With his mother, sister, and brother all moving to their eternal home before he turned twelve, Karol was raised primarily by his father. After studying drama at Jagellonian University, he felt a call to the priesthood, however the Nazi’s had forced closure of the university. After studying partially underground, the seminary was reopened, and he was ordained John Paul II in 1946. Receiving his doctorate in theology in 1948, his thesis discussed faith and St. John of the Cross. Known for his intelligence and passion for knowledge, he taught at the university for twenty-five years. During this time, he was appointed a Bishop in 1958, an Archbishop and then cardinal in 1967, and then Pope in 1978. One of the most traveled and well received Popes, he also wrote 3 books and more than 75 principal documents for the Church, as well as presided at over 125 beautification ceremonies and proclaimed more than 450 Saints. He had a passion for serving the people, embracing those from many religions as well as leaders of various countries, also inviting pilgrims to his General Audiences. He called all people to give themselves fully to loving God and each other, recognizing the beauty in the gift of human life. He died on Divine Mercy Sunday in 2005. He was proclaimed a Saint on April 27, 2014. Read more about him here: https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=6996
Saint Opportuna
Little is known about St.Opportuna except that she lived a holy life of prayer and humility in the eight century. She was an Abbess in Normandy. Read more about her here: https://www.newmanministry.com/saints/saint-opportuna
Saint Julie Billiart
St. Julie was born in 1751 in France. She loved God and was happy to share all she knew about Him with others. Becoming paralyzed as a young adult she continued to catechize from her bed. St. Julie touched a multitude of lives, inspiring many to holiness. With the help of other young women, Julie began the Sisters of Notre Dame de Namur. During a significant time in her life, a priest came to visit and asked her to pray a novena with him for a special intention. On the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, on the fifth day of the novena, he instructed Julie to walk. Her paralysis of twenty-two years was no more. Always trusting in Our Lord, Julie Billiart was proclaimed a saint in 1969. Read more about her here: https://www.franciscanmedia.org/saint-of-the-day/saint-julie-billiart/
Saint Lidwina (Lydwine)
Lidwina lived in Holland in the late 1300s. She was devoted to Our Lord, however, when she was sixteen, she had an accident and successive illnesses. Constantly in pain, Lidwina writhed in agony and could not leave her bed. Initially angry at her suffering, a priest came and helped her to unite herself with the suffering Christ. Her pain became a prayer to God, as well as intercession for others. She lived on the Eucharist alone for the last nineteen years of her life. Read more about her here: https://www.catholic.org/saints/saint.php?saint_id=232
Michelle Duppong
Michelle was a servant of God. Growing up on a farm in North Dakota, Michelle knew what hard work looked like and she did not shy away from it. Always putting her faith first, Michelle worked to bring others to love Christ, first as a child and then through her college years working for FOCUS Ministry as a missionary for six years. Becoming the director of adult faith formation in the Dioceses of Bismarck also allowed her to spread her deep faith and love for the Church with a multitude. At the young age of 30, she was diagnosed with Stage 4 Ovarian cancer and died a year later. Her faith remained a beacon for her and allowed her to share joy and Christ’s love until the end of her earthly life. Michelle touched so many lives both while on earth and after her death that the cause for her canonization was opened in 2022. Read more about her in Columbia, April 2024. “She Lives with Him” by Patti Armstrong, p 8-12.