Later this month I will be giving a presentation to an adult education class at one of the local parishes on St. Teresa of Jesus, more familiarly known as Teresa of Avila. When I have shared that I was preparing this presentation, I heard more than one person say, “Oh, she is a great saint!” Conversationally, the automatic reply is, “Yes, she is.” And, this is true. She is a great saint, who just so happens also to be my own patron saint, the saint whose name my parents chose for me at my baptism and whose name became my religious name when I entered the novitiate with the Benedictine Sisters. The comment leads me to wonder, “What makes a saint ‘great’ and more notable than other saints?”
Letting this question roll around in my mind for a while, I humor at the human inclination to compare saints to one another in the first place. If all saints are enjoying the bliss of heaven and the presence of God for all eternity, then all saints by this measure may be considered “great.” That is to say, they arrived at the ultimate destination all Christians yearn for. They cherished Christ above all else and dedicated their lives to serving Him. What can be greater than this?
Some might say that great sinners with great conversion stories, like Augustine of Hippo, are great saints. Their lives inspire hope for ourselves and faith in the greatness of God’s mercy. Some might point to the influence of a saint’s writings as a sign of their “greatness.” Saints in this category would include Benedict of Nursia, Thomas Aquinas, Hildegard of Bingen, and Therese of Lisieux. What about miracles performed or the founding of a religious order? What about the stigmata, that is, the wounds of Christ mysteriously appearing on their hands and feet and in their side that painfully bleed, experienced by Francis of Assisi, Catherine di Ricci, and Pio of Pietrelcina? Most likely it is a combination of reasons that certain saints stand out as more exceptional than others rather than any single characteristic.
“Great saints” are those persons whose lives, words, and actions naturally grab and hold our attention, for whatever reason, and point us to the One who calls for our attention. Great saints nudge us in the direction of becoming our best self, the self that God created us to be. They reflect back to us our own vocation as Christ’s disciples and citizens of God’s kingdom who have our own work to do in the world. Great saints remind us of the importance of personal prayer and of providing prophetic witness to the Gospel in whatever ways our personal gifts and abilities allow.
Perhaps as we near the Solemnity of All Saints on November 1st, we might reflect on the great saints who have influenced our lives—fascinated us, encouraged us, taught us, supported us, inspired us, and challenged us. Give thanks and praise to God for the gift of great saints.
By Sister Therese Haydel, OSB