“Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” Matthew 5:12

Fame, fame, fatal fame
It can play hideous tricks on the brain
But still I’d rather be famous
Than righteous or holy,
any day, any day, any day*- The Smiths

I can completely understand. I don’t want to be righteous and holy either. Then again, I’d rather not be famous. It is not because I am humble. Being famous seems to be a chore. Perhaps I am too lazy for fame. As for being “righteous and holy”, it is not what it seems to be. Today, there are many people who claim to be on a holy cause and their actions are righteous. More often than not, they don’t seem like people we want to emulate. There seems to be a lack of compassion and grace in their actions. Thankfully, there is another way. Being “saintly” is available to us. It remains uncontaminated with negative images. Saints never considered themselves to be righteous or holy. Quite the opposite, they always thought that they were far from it. Maybe this is what makes them saintly. They are more accessible. However, we are drawn to saints not because of their piety. They are attractive to us because they show us doors which we never knew were open to us.

I know that the Roman Catholic Church has rigorous rules before anyone can be promoted to sainthood. It is almost as if one has to have receive a license to be considered an official saint.
However, in practice, people recognize others as saints without the necessity of ecclesiastical approval. Brazilian history reveals many saints who never had official recognition. Regardless of this, these saints have left their mark in the lives of many people. The present Anglican bishop of São Paulo shared with me that his grandfather was taught how to read and write by a man named Antonio Conselheiro. For many in the world, this name means nothing but this simple teacher turned mystic caused problems to the newly formed Republican Government of Brazil in the late 19th century. They sent a fleet of armies against a man who never once encouraged violence nor rebellion. He was just a mystic who traveled around the poorest regions of the northeast of Brazil where hunger and extreme poverty reigned. Not to mention the ominous presence of dangerous bandits who brutally maimed and mercilessly slaughtered people for the little that they had. They were known as cangaceiros.

The people must have felt that God had forsaken them. The land was infertile and hunger was rampant. Children died before they could speak. Parents buried their young without time to mourn. Ruthless landowners made unreasonable demands, impossible to fulfill. Everything was working against the survival of this tired and miserable people. Then a young man appeared and went around the impoverished villages giving people the gift of literacy. He spoke about the Christian faith in a manner which common people understood. His presence brought joy to the people. Soon people followed him around even though he did not want to start a sect nor be a religious leader. The people organized themselves around this person and he taught them from the Bible. The Catholic priests opposed him but some eventually joined his community. People brought their limited resources together and then suddenly everyone had enough to eat. The most surprising thing was that this simple man did something that the brutal arm of Law could not do. His lifestyle convinced the bandits to lay down their arms and join his community. Throughout this time, Antonio Conselheiro never assumed the role of a religious leader. He was a man who dedicated to prayer and fasting. He never gained anything from his community. The people felt that this man brought God closer to them. They saw God’s grace shining through him. Unfortunately, the newly founded republic did not like the idea of autonomous communities. They sent their troops to destroy this community and a war ensured which ended with the massacre of half of the inhabitants of this community called Canudos. Antonio Conselheiro fasted and prayed for it to end. In the end, he died as a consequence of his rigorous spiritual practices. Today, he considered a saint. He brought hope to a people in a land where hopelessness reigned. He opened the doors for people who never knew that they had a chance of being part of something God was doing in this world. My friend, the bishop, would not be where he is today if this young man did not reach out to his grandfather. Historians today are still baffled at this strange phenomenon. Antonio Conselheiro did not have the personality or the desire to be a great leader. They don’t understand how he managed to influence people to unite and even resist the forces trying to destroy them. I don’t believe that they will never understand this man. This world does not understand saints. In a way, they are not to be studied. They just appear in our lives to help us see something better and greater that what meets the eye.

I know that many Protestants have a hard time comprehending the idea of saints. I guess that they were a little confused with the way they are presented. I agreed. Saints are transformed into someone “holy and righteous”. This does not do justice to the saints themselves. Most of them did what they loved. They were not trying to be someone special or better than others. They loved God and they allowed God’s love to shine through what they did. Antonio Conselheiro loved to teach people and God’s love permeated through the way he taught people. His words opened the minds of people who had been taught that their world was limited and hopeless.

God puts saints in our lives. Sometimes we might not realize their presence because we have preconceived ideas what saints should look like. We mistakenly look at “righteous and holy” people and think that they are saints. These people tend to tell what is wrong with this world. Saintly people show us what is beautiful and real in this world. They bring hope in a hopeless situation. We need to keep our hearts open to these saints in this world. We live in a strange time where everything seems dark and hopeless. I quoted above from a song by a band, the Smiths. Those who know of them might wonder at this bizarre choice. I must admit that it is quite unusual. However, the song does not end there. The next line says something profound, maybe said in a humorous way,

“But sometimes I feel most fulfilled
Making Christmas cards with the mentally ill.”

Maybe for the composer of this song, God’s saint was the mentally ill person. In fact, if most historical saints underwent the scrutiny of a psychoanalyst today, I am sure that they would have earned a diagnosis or two. Like I mentioned before, the world will never understand saints. However, we are not of this world. We are to be attentive to these people who opened our eyes to see a reality that is hopeful and beautiful in this world. In other words, the presence of God dwelling among us. For us, our saints are the children and teens. I am not saying this in a manner to end this reflection with a sentimental touch. I am saying this because during this time of pandemic and political uncertainty, a brief conversation with our children and teens brings Light and Joy into our souls. For that moment, we realize that no matter what happens, we can still find God’s presence in our midst in the lives of saints that God places among us.

* This name of this song is “Frankly, Mr Shankly“