Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Pit Stop for the Spiritually Bamboozled

Home
New Visions
The ‘Saint of the Gutters’ is now a Rock Star!

The ‘Saint of the Gutters’ is now a Rock Star!

Last updated on: September 9, 2016 at 8:24 pm by Gerard A. Murphy

The ‘Saint of the Gutters’ is now a Rock Star! 2016-09-09T20:24:30-04:00 Gerard A. Murphy

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Now that Pope Francis has elevated Mother Teresa of Calcutta to Sainthood, my question is: would this unassuming Albanian nun have ever aspired to such an ecclesial honor?

In a word, No.

This “emblematic figure of womanhood and consecrated life,” as the pope referred to her in his homily at the Mass of Canonization on September 4, “bowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity.”

I contend that such a self-deprecating servant of the poorest of the poor would never have envisioned – nor desired – the title of ‘Saint’ in the Roman Catholic World. Her life’s work was about grassroots kindness, compassion, and justice in the trenches of the abysmally forgotten.

“No Saint”

I recall a former missionary priest colleague of mine sharing with me how his close encounter with this feisty Albanian was somewhat of an awakening. He described her as a no-nonsense, at-times-controlling, but invariably tireless advocate of the poor. ‘Saint’ was not – nor seemed likely to be – a title he would have bestowed upon her!

Why does the Church canonize anyone?

Paragons of Virtue to whom we can pray

That’s it in a nutshell. We elevate such icons of ‘saintliness’ in our world, so that we can pray to them with the hope that they will miraculously intervene in our lives, with a view to guidance and healing. And such cures are a canonical prerequisite if one aspires to sainthood in the Catholic Church.

In Mother Teresa’s case, an India woman whose stomach tumor disappeared and a man in Brazil with brain abscesses who awoke from a coma both attribute their dramatic recovery to prayers offered to the nun after her death in 1997.

And who’s going to argue with that? My question is: why do we need to look for the fantastical and miraculous in those we consider to be saintly? Can’t we just let them live their lives with dignity and rest as peaceful souls after they pass from this lifetime?

Why do we need to bother them for miracles? That’s asking for a handout – in times of desperation yes – but how deeply can we unearth the answers we seek from within? Or from the the many therapeutic modalities at our disposal today?

Natural (rather than supernatural) healing is also divine and awaits us at every turn.

And what are we to make of . .

The Loopy Saints?

For example, St. Denis, Bishop of Paris during the 3rd century. He was so successful at converting the local heathens that the authorities arrested him and had him beheaded.

But to their surprise, Denis picked up his head and walked away from the execution site preaching the Gospel! The drama did eventually catch up to him and after a few miles of headless trekking, he finally collapsed and died. A shrine was soon built on the site, which was later replaced by the current Basilica of St. Denis.

Hmmm . . and then you have ultra-ascetic saints like St. Simon Stylites, the fifth-century Christian who lived atop a pillar for years on end. And St. Appollonia, the patron saint of dentists. While Christians were fleeing the city of Alexandria during the first wave of persecutions, Appollonia was seized. The crowds beat her, knocking out all of her teeth. Then they lit a large fire and threatened to throw her in it if she did not renounce her God. She begged them to wait, acting as if she was considering their ultimatum. Instead, she jumped willingly into the flames and so suffered martyrdom.

Oh dear . .

Saintly success or failure?

Saint Teresa of Calcutta was once asked by an Irish broadcaster if, after many years of ministering to the poor of Calcutta, she considered her mission to be successful? Her prompt response (which stomped the interviewer) was, “When God called me to work with the poorest of the poor, He did not ask me to be successful; He asked me to be faithful.”

Isn’t faithfulness and an honest “showing up” in this lifetime, what it’s really all about? Rather than ecclesial titles and praying to ‘saints’ for miracles?

What say you?

Cover Photo/Image Insert: YouTube Stills

Previous Post

August 21, 2016

Heart Wisdom in a Madcap Election Year

Next Post

September 12, 2016 Turning the Tide on Child Brides

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Uncategorized

Select a Month August 2018 May 2018 April 2018 January 2018 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2014 September 2014

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz