{"id":1392,"date":"2016-09-09T14:41:34","date_gmt":"2016-09-09T18:41:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/admin.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/?p=1392"},"modified":"2016-09-09T20:24:30","modified_gmt":"2016-09-10T00:24:30","slug":"the-saint-of-the-gutters-is-now-a-rock-star","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/09\/the-saint-of-the-gutters-is-now-a-rock-star.html","title":{"rendered":"The ‘Saint of the Gutters’ is now a Rock Star!"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<\/head>

<\/iframe><\/h4>\n<h4 style=\"text-align: left;\">Now that Pope Francis has elevated Mother Teresa of Calcutta to Sainthood, my question is: would this unassuming Albanian nun have ever aspired to such an ecclesial honor?<\/h4>\nIn a word, No.<\/p>\nThis \u201cemblematic figure of womanhood and consecrated life,\u201d as the pope referred to her in his <a href=\"http:\/\/bowed%20down%20before%20those%20who%20were%20spent,%20left%20to%20die%20on%20the%20side%20of%20the%20road,%20seeing%20in%20them%20their%20God-given%20dignity.%20She%20made%20her%20voice%20heard%20before%20the%20powers%20of%20this%20world,%20so%20that%20they%20might%20recognize%20their%20guilt%20for%20the%20crime%20of%20poverty%20they%20created.\" target=\"_blank\" class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">homily<\/a> at the Mass of Canonization on September 4, \u201cbowed down before those who were spent, left to die on the side of the road, seeing in them their God-given dignity.\u201d<\/p>\n<iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Holy Mass and Canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta - 2016.09.04\" width=\"500\" height=\"281\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/KOI4WIUq0sk?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\nI contend that such a self-deprecating servant of the poorest of the poor would never have envisioned \u2013 nor desired \u2013 the title of \u2018Saint\u2019 in the Roman Catholic World. Her life\u2019s work was about grassroots kindness, compassion, and justice in the trenches of the abysmally forgotten.<\/p>\n\u201cNo Saint\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\nI recall a former missionary priest colleague of mine sharing with me how his close encounter with this feisty Albanian was somewhat of an awakening. He described her as a no-nonsense, at-times-controlling, but invariably tireless advocate of the poor. \u2018Saint\u2019 was not \u2013 nor seemed likely to be \u2013 a title he would have bestowed upon her!<\/p>\nWhy does the Church canonize anyone?<\/p>\nParagons of Virtue to whom we can pray<\/strong><\/p>\nThat\u2019s it in a nutshell. We elevate such icons of \u2018saintliness\u2019 in our world, so that we can pray to them with the hope that they will miraculously intervene in our lives, with a view to guidance and healing. And such cures are a canonical prerequisite if one aspires to sainthood in the Catholic Church.<\/p>\nIn Mother Teresa\u2019s case, an India woman whose stomach tumor disappeared and a man in Brazil with brain abscesses who awoke from a coma <a href=\"http:\/\/www.ncregister.com\/daily-news\/the-miracles-that-made-mother-teresa\/\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">both attribute their dramatic recovery<\/a> to prayers offered to the nun after her death in 1997.<\/p>\nAnd who\u2019s going to argue with that? My question is: why do we need to look for the fantastical and miraculous in those we consider to be saintly? Can\u2019t we just let them live their lives with dignity and rest as peaceful souls after they pass from this lifetime?<\/p>\nWhy do we need to bother them for miracles? That\u2019s asking for a handout \u2013 in times of desperation yes \u2013 but how deeply can we unearth the answers we seek from within? Or from the the many therapeutic modalities at our disposal today?<\/p>\nNatural (rather than supernatural) healing is also divine and awaits us at every turn.<\/p>\nAnd what are we to make of . .<\/p>\nThe Loopy Saints?<\/strong><\/p>\nFor example,\u00a0St. Denis, Bishop of Paris during the 3rd century. He was so successful at converting the local heathens that the authorities arrested him and had him beheaded.<\/p>\nBut to their surprise, Denis picked up his head and walked away from the execution site preaching the Gospel! The drama did eventually catch up to him and after a few miles of headless trekking, he finally collapsed and died. A shrine was soon built on the site, which was later replaced by the current <a href=\"http:\/\/en.wikipedia.org\/wiki\/Saint_Denis_Basilica\" class=\" decorated-link\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow\">Basilica of St. Denis<\/a>.<\/p>\nHmmm . . and then you have\u00a0ultra-ascetic saints like\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/cathen\/13795a.htm\" target=\"_blank\" data-beacon='{\"p\":{\"mnid\":\"entry_text\",\"lnid\":\"citation\",\"mpid\":4,\"plid\":\"http:\/\/www.newadvent.org\/cathen\/13795a.htm\"}}' class=\" decorated-link\" rel=\"nofollow\">St. Simon Stylites<\/a>, the fifth-century Christian who lived atop a pillar for years on end. And St. Appollonia, the patron saint of dentists.\u00a0While Christians were fleeing the city of Alexandria during the first wave of persecutions, Appollonia was seized. The crowds beat her, knocking out all of her teeth. Then they lit a large fire and threatened to throw her in it if she did not renounce her God. She begged them to wait, acting as if she was considering their ultimatum. Instead, she jumped willingly into the flames and so suffered martyrdom.<\/p>\nOh dear . .<\/p>\nSaintly success or failure?<\/strong><\/p>\nSaint Teresa of Calcutta was once asked by an Irish broadcaster if, after many years of ministering to the poor of Calcutta, she considered her mission to be successful? Her prompt response (which stomped the interviewer) was, \u201cWhen God called me to work with the poorest of the poor, He did not ask me to be successful; He asked me to be faithful.\u201d<\/p>\nIsn\u2019t faithfulness and an honest \u201cshowing up\u201d in this lifetime, what it\u2019s really all about? Rather than ecclesial titles and praying to \u2018saints\u2019 for miracles?<\/p>\nWhat say you?<\/p>\nCover Photo\/Image Insert: YouTube Stills<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Can’t we leave our humanitarian heroes alone?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2586,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[148,37,38],"class_list":["post-1392","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-canonization","tag-mother-teresa","tag-pope-francis"],"yoast_head":"\n<title>The 'Saint of the Gutters' is now a Rock Star!<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Can't we leave our humanitarian heroes alone?\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/09\/the-saint-of-the-gutters-is-now-a-rock-star.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The 'Saint of the Gutters' is now a Rock Star!\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Can't we leave our humanitarian heroes alone?\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.patheos.com\/blogs\/pitstopforthespirituallybamboozled\/2016\/09\/the-saint-of-the-gutters-is-now-a-rock-star.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Pit Stop for the Spiritually Bamboozled\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-09-09T18:41:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-09-10T00:24:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Gerard A. 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