I woke up this morning

 to see my most favorite hero

basking in a beautiful light!

Even Helen thought so too!

A quick stroll

through my yard

and you will meet more heroes

of mine.

Such as St. Rita

who is affectionately hung

below a rose tree.

St. Rita is known to leave behind roses

when prayer intentions have been answered

(through the grace of Our God)

&

I do so verily hope the prolific blooms this year

signal a pretty hefty prayer

being answered for our family!

Behind her is beloved St. Francis of Assisi…

lover of animals; which is why he stands appropriately near

our bird-feeders.

And St. Joseph, another favorite hero of mine and defender of the Holy Family,

hangs near a favorite sitting spot of Cuppycake’s & mine.

What is a Saint?

A saint is one who has been recognized for having an exceptional degree of holiness, sanctity, and virtue.

What is a Hero?

A person of distinguished courage or ability, admired for their brave deeds and noble qualities. 2. a person who, in the opinion of others, has heroic qualities or has performed a heroic act and is regarded as a model or ideal.

And so it is for me that the two are synonymous as I have not met a Saint who has not qualified as Hero. And while Hero’s, on the other hand, aren’t always made a Saint…does that mean we all shouldn’t at least aspire to be one?

Our parish priest, Fr. Larry Richards, often reminds us we should all aspire to be Saints!  That when we leave this earthly life our lives will have been so devoted to pointing always to Him, despite the trials we may face, that our parishes will be filled with statues of each one of us!

(I wrote in a previous post what I would envision my statue to denote.)

In our modern day vernacular we have made the term “SAINT” synonymous with perfection.  If someone lives a life above reproach we say “He is a real saint,”
if one dedicates their life to solely doing good works, such as Mother Teresa, we say “She is a real saint,” if one lives a life exemplary of good morals and high standards we ascribe to them the “title” of saint.

We have set some pretty high standards for achieving sainthood!

(Rightfully so!)

And yet…

I do believe the Saints themselves would say quite differntly.

They would remind us that to attain Sainthood is a courageous battle to be fought daily, with great joy! That there is no perfection to be found in living the life of a Saint, only imperfect people (sinners) striving to love Him always…in ALL ways and doing so heroically!

Rejoice not over me, O my enemy; when I fall, I shall rise; when I sit in darkness, the Lord will be a light to me.  

Michael 7:8

St. Paul himself, declares in Romans 7:15, this struggle to do good is difficult!

“I do not understand my own actions.  For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate,” Romans 7:15

However, we should never stop trying!

Will we tire?

Yes.

Should we quit?

Never.

And that is exactly why the Saints are my heroes.

Heroes never quit!

They fall down…

and then

get up.

In this past half-century I have met many Heroes!

All of whom I have drawn strength from at various moments of my life,

some more than others,

but each equally as important.

I hope you will find a hero (or more) to fall in love with!

Remember they are who we can draw strength from as we aspire to be

saints of our own…no matter how great the effort

& no matter how many times

we need to get back up

 to try again!

 My 50 Heroes:

1. Mary, the Blessed Virgin
2. St. Faustina Kowalska 
3. St. Monica
4. St. Joseph
5. St. Rita
6. St. Gemma Galgani
7. St. Therese, “The Little Flower”
8. St. Gerard
9. St. Augustine
10. St. Elizabeth
11. St. Ann
12. St. Joachim
13. St. Katharine Drexel
14. St. Frances of Rome
15. St. Teresa of Avila
16. St. Maria Goretti
17. St Rose of Lima
18. St. Michael
19. St. John Vianney
20. St. Philomena
21. St. Martha
22. St. Justin Martyr
23. St. Clare
24. St. John the Baptist
25. St. Anthony
26. St. Sebastian
27. St. John the Beloved
28. St. John Paul II
29. Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (to be declared a Saint September 4, 2016)
30. St. Francis of Assisi
31. St. Padre Pio
32. St. Paul the Apostle
33. St. Dominic
34. St. Peregrine
35. St. Dymphna
36. St. Catherine of Siena
37. St. Joan of Arc
38. St. Veronica
39. St. Lawerence
40. St. Ignatius of Loyola 
41. St. Andrew
42. St. Nicholas
43. St. Ambrose
44. St. Bruno
45. St. Francis Xavier
46. St. Jude
47. St. Maximillian Kolbe
48. St. Stanislaus
49. St. Vincent de Paul
50. St. Abigail

hugs n’ blessings to all those heroes

who I will meet in my next half-century!

Will you be one of them?