There are times in our lives where we experience great ache. The moments where we feel heavy of heart, emptiness, and even great sorrow. Whether it’s hurt from a relationship, a physical or mental ailment that we’re battling, or something small, it can affect us greatly. During these moments, it may feel like so much is being asked of us, like a chunk of ourselves has been removed. Even though we attempt to remind ourselves that this may not be as great of a suffering as someone else’s, it does not diminish the fact that it is hard to endure suffering.
"This is a moment to choose sainthood. It is right here, not far, just as God is not far from us."
I think in these moments it is important for us to be reminded of Pope Saint John Paul II's words, “If He asks much of you, it is because He knows you can give much.” I think this quote really reminds us that this is our moment. This is a moment to choose sainthood. It is right here, not far, just as God is not far from us. Here, we are reminded that God and holiness work together. It is the call and desire of our hearts to be with Him, but we can only be with Him if we seek Him. It is these moments that we must seek Him greatly and allow Him to embrace us.
One of my favorite young saints, whom I believe embodies this, is Blessed Chiara Luce Badano. Born in Italy, this young woman was filled with life and joy, but also many sufferings. This popular and beautiful young woman was diagnosed with a very serious form of bone cancer at the age of only 17. At that moment, she said, “Jesus, if you want it, I want it.” Her body did not respond to treatment. She became paralyzed and lost her hair. This woman, who would die only two years later, began preparing for what she called her ‘wedding’, which was her funeral. She believed and wanted to be a bride for Christ. She died in 1990, wearing her ‘wedding’ gown.
“Jesus, if you want it, I want it.”
When Chiara said, “Jesus, if you want it, I want it”, this was her fiat. This was her ‘yes’ to God’s plan for her life. I know that there has been talk of another young saint recently, his name being Carlo Acutis. Even he, to some of us, makes it feel difficult to become a saint. However, both he and Chiara gave their fiats. They lived lives in their seasons, but this is your season. So, what is your fiat? What does your ‘yes’ to God look like?
You may not be known by the world, and you may never be declared as a saint by the Vatican, but you have now to know God and to allow yourself to be known by God. You have this time to see God and be seen and loved by God. This is your time to respond to Him. He truly enables you to tread upon the heights (Habak. 3:19). So live in the heights now. Offer Him your fiat, abandoning your heart to His. For when you surrender yourself without reserve, that is where and when you are living your sainthood. That is when there are boundless measures for what He will do with you and your life. And this, brothers and sisters, is where you will change the world. You will never be lacking in living, and the beauty of your life lived in Him will change the world. Get out there and abandon yourself to Him.
"You have now to know God and to allow yourself to be known by God."
