Called to holiness.
- Jessamyn Anderson
- Oct 13, 2015
- 2 min read
You are called to be a saint. Yes, you. You’re probably thinking, “Me? But I don’t want to get martyred! I can’t work miracles!” I thought the same thing when a priest told me that in Confession the other day. Especially the martyrdom part—that’s a little frightening to think about. The beautiful thing about the saints is that they are all different. They come from different backgrounds, are called to different vocations, and have different interests. Doesn’t that sound a lot like the people in your church? God is calling each of us to holiness in different ways, and we can become the holiest versions of ourselves only if we are true to the person God has created us to be.
I struggled with this idea for a long time, primarily throughout college when I began to dive deeper into my faith and when I met a lot of new friends in the Church. I was constantly surrounded by these beautiful Catholics and other Christians who I felt were so much holier than me. I don’t have the Rosary mysteries memorized; I can’t list off every single holy day of obligation; I still have trouble looking things up in the Catechism sometimes; and I don’t own a copy of “The Lives of the Saints” (Note to self: add to Amazon wish list—I really would like to read that!). Are those important parts of my faith? Yes they are, and I need to work on them. But those weren’t the tools God was using to bring me closer to him during those four years.
I attended the SEEK2015 conference
(sponsored by FOCUS) this past January, and I heard a talk that changed my entire perspective on our call to holiness. Jennifer Fulwiler, an Atheist-turned-Catholic, gave a talk to the women at the conference about her conversion story, which involved realizing that there is no box that Catholic women must fit into. She thought, in order to be a good Catholic woman, she had to enjoy meeting other women for tea at 8am on a Saturday to chat about Jesus and make rosaries. She said, “I’d rather meet for margaritas at 8pm on a Saturday, and we can still talk about Jesus!” Both are perfectly fine. I must confess, I would prefer a margarita (or even a Shirley Temple with extra cherries) on a Saturday night as well.
When I returned from the conference, I was able to look at the women in my small group differently. I was no longer jealous of them, and I didn’t wish to be exactly like any of them. I use to have moments where I was envious of those who could quietly sit and take everything in, BUT I’m naturally talkative, and I like to share—every group needs people like that. I use to wish that I could sit back and not volunteer to lead or organize an event, BUT I’m a natural leader and tend to take charge of things—organizations need people like that. I use to wish I could have a passion for a more practical and stable career, BUT I see God in every song I sing and every performance I get to do—the world (and the congregation) needs people who sing. God is calling me to holiness in different ways than He is calling you. And the Catholic Church is beautiful and diverse because He calls us differently. So I ask you—how is God calling you to be holy?
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