Can we be Saints?

I asked a question about this feast day that we celebrate today. I started to list all those things that we do in order not to be a saint. Thats right NOT to be a saint. So I looked at St Peter and Paul and composed this list.

Finding prayers difficult  doubt Jesus deny him, persecute those who follow Jesus, have a lack of faith, struggle with knowing that God loves us, Do wrong things, eat too much, argue with those who you love.  Walk away when things get difficult. 

As I wrote the list a patten started to emerge. I began to realise that this list was not talking about the great saints Peter and Paul but talking about myself. Here I am riddled with Doubt find prayer difficult have a lack of faith sometimes. Certainly do wrong things, walk away when relationships and things are difficult. 

So what is being a saint. It is a gentle approach to Jesus its seeing our humanity and getting closer to Jesus by holiness and wholeness. 

Paul describes this process in the second reading. “ The Lord stood by me and gave me power.” Our life and the way we become saints is by walking with Jesus by recognising his power in our lives. If we place our hands in his hands if we could only just realise that Jesus knows us and walks with us. That by being close to him changes who we are that we can’t do it alone. When we do try and do it alone like Peter and Paul did we are domed to failure. Look at Peter attempt to walk on water he had to reach out for help from Jesus. Paul thought he could defeat the Church in  rampant persecution.  

A journey to wholeness means that we recognise that we can not do it alone we have to rely on the help of Jesus place our hand in his.

The question that us posed in the Gospel is also a question for us. Who do you say I am? What I wonder is our response. 

The road to sainthood is sorting out this question for ourselves. It is coming into deep prayer and asking who is Jesus for me? He is just a good man from history? Is he a miracle worker that happened then but does not happen now? Surely the answer we are moving towards is Peters’s a close personal friend the Son of the living God. Notice what Jesus says that this answer was revealed to you from my Father in heaven. 

Let's unpack this for a moment. When we let go of self which is actually the list that I put down at the beginning when we accept the power of the Holy Spirit and God working through us then we are free to acknowledge Who Jesus really is for ourselves. This my dear friends we cannot do just over night or by the end of the year. It is something that happens all through our lives. It is a gradual and sometimes painful realisation of letting go of self and coming closer to the person of Jesus. Like Peter we will have moments where we see Jesus for who he actually is we will see him clearly. These moments are moments are precious and life giving. 

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If this feast teaches us anything it teaches that God works with us that he takes our weakness our humanity and uses it for his glory.  Peter and Paul were both weak human being libel to fall but God worked with that and made them pillars of the Church my weakness is my strength and he uses it to change the world and make his name and glory known.  So can we be Saints? The answer is  yes we all have the potential to be Saints