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<\/a>At first, the canonization of two popes on a Sunday morning in Rome<\/a> might seem interesting but somewhat remote from the daily lives of students, faculty and staff at Trinity.\u00a0\u00a0 What do we care about such distant Catholic pageantry when we have more immediate concerns like getting through exams successfully, grading papers and doing final grades, or far more seriously, trying to make ends meet with children and families, or caring for elderly parents, or worrying about the aimless violence that plagues too many local neighborhoods?<\/p>\nBut such stresses and challenges of daily life are precisely the reason why we should stop and contemplate the idea of the saints — even if Catholicism is not your religious tradition, there is an important message in the ritual and tradition of calling out and lifting up people whose lives offer examples of grace and courage.\u00a0 And after contemplating the official saints of the Catholic Church, it’s well worth asking, Who are the saints you know?\u00a0 Surely there are saints among us even now.\u00a0 Who are they, and what do they mean to you?<\/p>\n
Why did Pope Francis<\/a> choose to canonize Pope John XXIII and Pope John Paul II?\u00a0 Cynics might say it sounds like some kind of insider deal<\/a>, with one pope doing this for two others.\u00a0 But Pope Francis is hardly the kind of leader who blindly follows any rules of the club — in just one short year, he’s developed quite a reputation for being a bit of an iconoclast, which is someone who breaks with tradition.\u00a0 He refuses to live in the papal apartment; he eschews the red shoes and other trappings of the papal office.\u00a0 He calls people who write to him asking for pastoral counseling.\u00a0 He even has been known to ride the bus!\u00a0 This is not a man given to following rules just because they are rules.\u00a0 He looks for larger social meaning in every gesture.<\/p>\n In canonizing the two popes, Francis sends a message about the truly wide reach that makes the Catholic Church “catholic” in the best sense.\u00a0 St. John XXIII reigned only five years but the effects of his papacy continue today.\u00a0 He started the Second Vatican Council, the force for modernization of not only rituals and liturgies, but the entire worldview of the Church.\u00a0 St. John Paul II, quite the opposite, reigned 27 years, the second longest pope in history.\u00a0 Many people today remember him well — he even visited Trinity in 1979 and I remember waving to him on the steps of Notre Dame Chapel.\u00a0 He was a charismatic and challenging pope.\u00a0 He was one of the most important forces for the end of communism and liberation of Poland and Eastern Europe; he also was a force to rebalance the Church after the liberalizing years post-Vatican II.\u00a0 Even as some people felt that John XXIII was too progressive, others felt that JPII was too conservative.\u00a0 In choosing to canonize both, Pope Francis has created a sense of equilibrium between the major bookends of the modern Church.<\/p>\n Canonization is the formal process through which the Church recognizes worthy, holy people who become official saints.\u00a0 Surely, however, we all know people who might never achieve canonization but who are worthy of reverence as saints.\u00a0 The moment of an official canonization ceremony is an occasion for all of us to reflect on the icons among us, the daily saints who inspire, challenge and hold us to very high standards.<\/p>\n We live and work alongside daily saints.\u00a0 These are the people whose generosity of spirit and care for others are breathtaking.\u00a0 We all know people who never tire of living their commitment of service, of care for those in need.\u00a0 In many cases, these are also people who are generous with their tangible resources, sharing the little they have so that others might have some relief.<\/p>\n Who are the saints among us whom you admire?\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 Share your thoughts on saints — official saints, and living saints — in the comments section of this blog.<\/p>\n