March 2019 Philadelphia Chapter of Pax Christi U.S.A.

Lenten Reflection 2019

When the Saints …

Phyllis Grady

The song begins: “Oh when the saints go marching in” and ends “Yes, I want to be in that number; when the saints go marching in.” The song offers us a challenge: do we want to join the saints? Most of us think of saints as people who led lives of extraordinary holiness who could be admired but not imitated. Dorothy Day used to say, “Don’t call me a saint. I don’t want to be dismissed that easily.”

It is helpful to read about people who are dealing with challenges of their time. But these people may not always be role models. St. Peter and St. Paul did not always offer an example that would inspire those who wanted to follow the way Jesus presented in the beatitudes. But they did eventually meet the challenges of their time and provided guidance and leadership.

So who are the Peters and Pauls of today? Who are some of the people dealing with the challenges of today in a saintly way? In his book, All Saints and in his columns in Give Us This Day, Robert Ellsberg presents people from current time and past centuries that he would include in his gathering of saints. Here are a few: Gandhi, Jewish prophet Abraham Heschel, writers Albert Camus and Leo Tolstoy, abolitionist Frederick Douglass, artist Vincent van Gogh, Prophet of Freedom Fannie Lou Hamer, and recently, Fred Rogers (Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood).

As you read about the saints, it is interesting to see how Pope Francis seems inspired by his namesake. Francis of Assisi chose a simpler way of living and the Pope has done that. His recent journey to Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates is a reminder of St. Francis of Assisi’s trip 800 years earlier to visit the Egyptian sultan to discuss the search for peace. In Abu Dhabi the Pope declared to a large gathering of people of many faiths: “God is with those who seek peace.”

Reading about the saints helps one get a better picture of what it is to seek holiness although the saints did not think of it in that way. They just wanted to concentrate on meeting the great need for dealing with the injustice and suffering in front of them. So read on. When the saints go marching in you may want to join in that number.

Phyllis is a member of CPF

Bibliography:

Ellsberg , Robert. All Saints; Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets and Witnesses for Our Time, Crossroads Publishing, New York, 1997

Ellsberg, Robert “Blessed Among Us” in Give Us This Day, monthly, Liturgical Press, Collegeville, Minnesota

March 2019