"All" Call

“All” Call

May 4, 2018

O’Cebreiro-Triacastla

The day started at an elevation of 1300m, still on mountains with commanding views.  I was gifted with a glimpse of sunset before bed and the early sunrise breaking over the mountains.  Spring is erupting here in such soothing, emerald greens.  The guidebooks for the Camino claim that O’Cebreiro is distinctly similar to Celtic lands of Ireland and Scotland.  If so, both own a piece of heaven on earth.

There were two nasty breath-stealers that ran at sharp grades upward for 8km until reaching Alto (Mt.) Poio.  It was a spectacular view worth every gasping breath to reach the top.  From there it was a 15km descent into this old medieval village named so because it once had three castles located here. No sign of them today. 

What I did have roll through my reflections today was a bit of a surprise for me.  It was a recollection of some of the lives of the saints.  Spanish churches have lavish sacred art depicting saints. Many include our (and especially my) Camino hero, St. James. Quite frequently the art captures saints in the moment of torture for the faith.  We often see St. Sebastian who was killed by a firing squad of arrows. He is depicted in a statue with multiple arrows piercing his body. Another common sacred art depicts St. Bartholomew who was flailed alive.  He is portrayed as an older man with his hands tied to a post while his executioners work their knife on the tissue on his arms and chest. Of course, there are so many saints who refused to deny the faith and accepted persecution in love of God.

As my feet and mind rolled on, saint after saint rolled on in my memory. Each made the complete sacrifice of their life for the love of the One who loved them.  I recall rare conversations with friends about the topic of saints. They are people who love the faith, most, myself included, shutter with admiration and dismiss this as something not for our lot in life.  Deeply embedded in the secret of ourselves lingers whether we could truly face torture for love of the faith. Could I suffer torture, pain, agony for my faith? God only knows.

The more that is learned about the lives of the saints reveals that they were quite ordinary people.  They had life work they were dedicated to, and many, many lived badly behaved lives. Yet God called them in His unique way.  Before sainthood, they looked and behaved like you and me. But how did God penetrate their ordinariness, their naughty lifestyles. 

A reminder of something Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta said answered this for me today. She said, “Give God permission.” This was true in the lives of all saints.  God extended an invitation to do or be more in relationship with Him; they gave Him permission do the next thing-whatever the next small thing was. They did not go from invitation to martyrdom.  God moved in their heart for them to give a little bit more, to serve a little bit more sacrificially, to surrender a little bit more of their way for His way. In most saint stories, sainthood evolved in a life of allowing God to have more and more of their free will.

Ok, this is where it hit me. Am I not called to be a saint? Are we not all called to be saints? Saints are those who live what Jesus said in Matthew’s gospel, “To love the Lord with all of your heart, with all of your soul, and with all of your mind, and to love your neighbor as yourself.” Maybe my third grade kind of thinking is too simplistic, but Jesus gave us at least of good starting place for a sainthood job application in that gospel message. True?

The more I reflected upon this the more I came to believe that, of course, I want to be a saint. I truly believe you want to be a saint as well. And I am sure that all believers want to be saints. How could we not? Otherwise we’re saying to God, “Yes, Lord, I want you, and I want to be in heaven with you, but I’m hoping to slip into eternity less than the saint you wanted me to be.” This is like hoping to enter heaven through a side door.

This added more to my contemplation. I may not believe that torture and martyrdom is what God has called for me, but am I not called to sacrifice for the faith?  The sticky point in this whole sainthood challenge came to me from one word in the gospel calling. It was and is the word: all.

Ouch. Saints gave their all, in complete surrender.  Their lives are an example for me to move from whatever portion of “all” I’m giving until I’m “all in” for Him. This was my challenge and perhaps one you might find a challenge in as well. How “all in” am I? How “all in” are you?

Again, Saint Mother Theresa of Calcutta response can help.  That is, “To give God permission.” Whatever the next opportunity to love like Him is, I hope to go deeper into giving it “my all.” I’m convinced these opportunities will present themselves in simple ways in our ordinary life events.  In these, I can give God permission to draw me “all” the more closely to Him.

I believe God is shouting our His “all” call for saints.  The reward is eternity with the One whose love is an “all” in deal. We can get there by giving God more permission to make us into the saint He sees in You and Me.

Fondly, Deacon Willie