The short answer of course is that we cannot! And this is where many, in their pride, lose their way and despair. The good news of the Gospel, however, if we are willing to accept it, is that we have a savior who mercifully loves us knowing full well our inherent brokenness. He alone can transform our incapacity for holiness and make us saints.

Two marvelous pedagogies where God works this transformation within us can be found in the Beatitudes from today’s Gospel reading and from our own rule of life in recovery: the Twelve Steps. They collectively provide a kind of “how-to” manual in humility that teaches us to get out of our own way—that recovery from sin and addiction is ultimately nothing we primarily “do” at all, rather is what Christ Jesus does with us when we allow Him to increasingly divinize us with His grace. Of course, it requires our cooperation—surrender, obedience, trust, docility to the Spirit, frequent reception of the sacraments, adoration of Him in prayer, and service to others. All of these are essential to dying to self that He may live within us.

In the end, all we can “do” is receive His saving presence in our lives, trusting that He will bring to fruition in our souls what we are incapable of ourselves, spiritual perfection. On this Solemnity of All Saints, it is fitting to conclude with the wisdom of a great saint and doctor of the Church who beautifully captures the confident trust we all should have in a loving savior who yearns to make us saints: “The desire [for holiness] could certainly appear audacious if one were to consider how weak and imperfect I was, and how, after seven years in the religious life, I am still weak and imperfect. I always feel, however, the same bold confidence of becoming a Saint, because I don’t count on my merits since I have none, but I trust in Him Who is Virtue and Holiness itself. God alone, content with my feeble efforts, will raise me to Himself and, clothing me with His infinite merits, He will make me a Saint” (The Story of a Soul: The Autobiography of St. Therese of Lisieux).

All you Holy Saints, pray for us!

Reflection Questions

• Bishop Robert Barron has said, “Sin is not a weakness that we can overcome but a condition from which we have to be saved.” How do these words relate to your recovery?
• How is embracing your brokenness as a beloved child of God working miracles in your life?

Daily Mass Readings

First Reading: Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 24:1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
Second Reading: 1 John 3:1-3
Gospel: Matthew 5:1-12a

Reflection by Pete S.