The Road to Sainthood

 

The Road to Sainthood

All Saints — called, blessed and gathered by God

Becoming Present to God

Not long ago, I watched someone arrive at church in a great hurry—checking their phone, searching for their glasses and wondering where they had left the car keys. Then they sat down, took a breath and became still. Nothing dramatic happened. But the rushing stopped, and there was room to listen.

Perhaps that small moment tells us something about sainthood. We may imagine it begins with something extraordinary. Yet the stories of holy men and women suggest that it usually begins somewhere very ordinary: with a heart willing to become quiet before God. We come to prayer carrying our plans and worries. But when we become still, even for a moment, we make room for the Holy Spirit. The more present we become to God, the more truly present we can become to one another—and through that loving attention, another person may glimpse God’s welcome.

Blessed in the Ordinary

That is the invitation of the Beatitudes (Matthew 5:1–12). Jesus calls blessed those who know how much they need God: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, and those who hunger and thirst for righteousness. This does not mean life is easy. It means God meets us in our poverty, sorrow and longing. As we receive that grace, our hearts change. We learn to be merciful, pure in heart and ready to make peace. Little by little, God changes us from the inside out.

Children of God

Saint John tells us to “see what love the Father has given us, that we should be called children of God”—“and that is what we are” (1 John 3:1–3). Our journey into holiness begins not with what we achieve, but with what God gives. We are his children; we belong to him. And when Christ is revealed, John says, “we will be like him, for we will see him as he is”. Christian hope is not only about the future. It is about allowing Christ to shape us now, little by little, into his likeness.

A Multitude No One Could Count

The Book of Revelation shows us where this journey is leading. Saint John first hears the symbolic number of one hundred and forty-four thousand, expressing the completeness of God’s people. Then he sees “a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages”, standing before the Lamb (Revelation 7:4, 9–12). This is not an exclusive gathering. It is the fulfilment of God’s promise and of our baptism: people from every nation and language gathered and brought close to God.

A People of Praise and Mercy

And we are called to join their song: “Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and might be to our God for ever and ever” (Revelation 7:12). Our praise is expressed not only in church or in words. It becomes visible whenever we show mercy, make peace, comfort someone who is grieving or stand beside someone who is struggling. That, too, is worship.

We can live this way because the Lamb has first loved and saved us. Revelation speaks of those whose robes have been washed in the blood of the Lamb (Revelation 7:14). The psalm speaks of those who long to see God’s face, who have clean hands and a pure heart (Psalm 24:3–6). We do not make ourselves holy by sheer effort. Holiness is God’s gracious work in us: forgiving our sins, cleansing our hands and renewing our hearts.

Fellow Pilgrims on the Road

So perhaps the desire to become a saint is our response to God’s promise to recreate and renew us. When we become silent, still and present, God meets us with a love that steadies us. He reminds us that we are his beloved children and that we do not walk alone. We are fellow pilgrims, learning together to receive his blessing and share it. May the saints encourage us. May their prayers accompany us. And may Christ bring to completion the good work he has begun in each one of us.