So What if You're Young?!

So I suppose its no secret that I try to make my prayer time a priority. My morning prayers typically include reading from several different books of the Bible, doing some spiritual reading, visiting with the souls in Purgatory and trying to meditate without my kids waking up or interrupting.

Obviously he didn't have children ;)
photo Cred: facebook.com/thecatholicrose

Sometimes a wonderful thing happens when I say my prayers and its like everything comes together to basically beat me over the head. This happened this morning.

It started with me reading about a soon to be new saint, Bl. Jose Sanchez del Rio. He was just credited with the miracle he needed to be Canonized! He cured a baby who had a fatal stroke and tuberculosis. (Read the whole story Here) But here is what got me: he was a FOURTEEN YEAR OLD MARTYR! That's right. Fourteen. 14. Four-teen.  This of course made me think of my Godchildren!  God wants you to be saints too!

Bl. Jose Sanchez's story is pretty crazy. He was martyred during the Cristero wars in Mexico. These were wars against the anti-Catholic government that openly persecuted and killed Catholics. Bl. Miguel Pro, best know for shouting "Viva Cristo Rey" (Long Live Christ the King!) was also martyred during this time.  Bl. Jose was tortured before he was killed. The soles of his feet were cut off and then he was forced to march to his grave. When he got there he defiantly yelled "Viva Cristo Rey" like his fellow Cristero martyrs, and was executed.  Think about that. He was fourteen.

Bl. Jose Sanchez del Rio and the baby he healed being held by her Mama.
photo cred: Catholic News Agency

After reading about Bl. Jose I turned to my Bible reading. (Here's where it gets crazy). Having just finished reading through Isaiah, I began Jeremiah today and read this: "But the Lord answered me, 'Do not say, "I am too young," To whomever I send you, you shall go; and to whomever I command you, you shall speak.'" (Jer 1:7).  That struck me as a fun "coincidence" after having just read about 14 year Jose and thinking of my Godchildren.  So then I turned to 1 Tim 4 and read THIS: (verse 12) "Let no one have contempt for your youth, but set an example for those who believe, in speech, conduct, love, faith, and purity."

Well!! After all that, how could I NOT write you this blog letter and beg you to not listen to those who say that you are "young" and therefore not capable of living for God. Not capable of greatness. Not capable of becoming saints!

When I think about St. Philomena, martyred at thirteen. Maria Goretti, who was martyred when she was ELEVEN (and begged her attacker to stop because she was afraid for his soul!), Dominic Savio who died of illness when he was fifteen, Agnes of Rome who was thirteen when she was martyred, St. Francis of Assisi was in his early twenties when he renounced his family in a spectacular (and naked) fashion and gave his life to God alone, and lets not forget the Blessed Mother, a young teen when the Angel visited her!

I do not believe these young men and women were anomalies! Yet people today would try to have you believe that "kids are just different now" and that "back then children matured faster." I don't buy it.  Bl. Jose didn't live "back then." The Cristero Wars took place less than 100 years ago in the late 1920s.  No, I think people do you a great diservice when they don't think you are capable of being saints. Now. Today. Because you are. 

Why don't we expect MORE from you, as you are teenagers? You are capable of SO MUCH. Its a lie, a flat out lie that "now is the time to have fun." "You're only young once!" "Live while you're young." "YOLO" is a trap and an excuse to not live for something greater than yourself. Did Bl. Jose yell "YOLO" at his executioners? No. He yelled "LONG LIVE CHRIST THE KING." He lived for someOne not somthing. That, dear Godchildren is the difference.

Who are you living for?

Yourself? 
You will be empty and disappointed.

Christ? Others? 
You will have the capacity to be a saint.

You knew I couldn't leave him out ;)

See we have our perspective all wrong. We treat this life here on earth as the be-all-end-all. Its not. We are here so that we might go to Heaven. THAT is out goal. Not living it up. Not partying. Not getting away with as much as we can. Not living for ourselves. This is what all the saints understood! They understood that they were here so that they could learn how to love God in a way that would allow them to Love not only HIM in Eternity, but the world!

They understood that this life was passing, so they better not care so much about stuff and things that weren't of God and start caring for Eternity! They LOVED here on earth as best they could, yet they understood that they would be able to do so much more in Heaven! This is a worthy goal! This should be our goal too!

This is what we are ALL called to do, my Godchildren. To be saints. To Love, not ourselves here on earth, but to love God and love others so that we may love perfectly in Heaven! In Heaven we will be able to live so much more fully than we could ever imagine here!

Do you think when he was marching to his grave Bl. Jose thought he would one day heal a baby? Do you think he knew the impact he would have or the great things God would allow to happen through his intercession?  His life of love and faith has allowed him to do infinitely more now that he is in Heaven!

May we all be so blessed!

You can do it! You CAN BE SAINTS!

With Love,
Your Fairy Godmother