HOW TO BECOME A SAINT AMONG SODOMITES

http://www.lisagraas.com/blog/archives/5872

By Lisa Graas (I have Asperger,  a neurobiological syndrome which affects social and communication skills)

How To Become a Saint Among Sodomites

For many today, as homosexuality is being promoted so clearly as a “dogma” of those who sit on proverbial “golden thrones” in entertainment and media, it is becoming more clear that it is harder to say “yes” to God than it was just a few years ago. Persecution is already occurring and we are being called to white martyrdom which is to suffer as a Christian for being Christian, but not to the point of bloodshed. (YET) The good news is that Jesus is with us in all of this, and it is through Him that we may become the saints God calls us to be.

Did you know that God wants everyone to be a saint? Only a few among all people who have lived are known by the Church to be saints, but it is God’s will that each and every one of us will become a saint. If you are not seeking to become a saint, you need to begin now, particularly given this time of trial for the Church.

I have entitled this article “How to Become a Saint Among Sodomites” not because I am a saint (not yet), but because I know that I can eventually become one because that is God’s will for me. I want everyone else to know that they not only can become saints, with the help of God and with the (bonus) help of His holy saints, that it is God’s will for you.

The Holy Spirit will teach us how, through the Church. Though there are those who would disagree, I have found that our priests are quite well equipped to instruct us. An example dropped in my lap today as I was listening to a homily at Audio Sancto about fixing our intentions at the offertory. In it, Father spoke at length about something that is of utmost importance for one to become a saint. That is to not be absorbed spiritually in the things of the world. He mentioned the Precautions of St. John of the Cross, who was a Doctor of the Church. More specifically, he mentioned what St. John of the Cross wrote about Lot’s wife.

Take Lot’s wife as an example: Because she was troubled at the destruction of the Sodomites and turned her head to watch what was happening, God punished her by converting her into a pillar of salt [Gn. 19:26]. You are thus to understand God’s will: that even were you to live among devils you should not turn the head of your thoughts to their affairs, but forget these things entirely and strive to keep your soul occupied purely and entirely in God, and not let the thought of this thing or that hinder you from so doing.

If we fret too much over other people and what they may think of us if we do not accept their “dogma” on homosexuality, we will lose sight of God’s will. Not only that, if we are afraid to hurt people’s feelings, then it means that we are afraid to be used by God to pierce people’s hearts. It is through the pierced heart that we become saints, so to avoid hurting feelings is to avoid becoming a saint and also to avoid helping others to find God. Without pierced hearts, there would be no saints.

What St. John of the Cross said about Lot’s wife reminds me very much of St. Perpetua’s ladder.

From the Passion of St. Perpetua:

I saw a golden ladder of marvelous height, reaching up even to heaven, and very narrow, so that persons could only ascend it one by one; and on the sides of the ladder was fixed every kind of iron weapon. There were there swords, lances, hooks, daggers; so that if any one went up carelessly, or not looking upwards, he would be torn to pieces and his flesh would cleave to the iron weapons. And under the ladder itself was crouching a dragon of wonderful size, who lay in wait for those who ascended, and frightened them from the ascent.

I sometimes think that people without Asperger, which I have, are the ones with an impediment to sainthood, for with Asperger  I have very little capability of “seeing” the feelings of others, and so I have very little sense of hurting people’s feelings. I often think about our duty to meet people where they are, and one way that we do this is to accept things within a culture that are okay and reject the things that are not okay because they are not of God. It occurs to me that sometimes people confuse the teaching on culture with the idea that we’re not ever supposed to hurt anyone’s feelings. That is a mistake. If their hearts are not broken, their hearts cannot be healed with His love. If we are not piercing hearts by speaking the truth, then we are not allowing them to come to know God. If we don’t show God to them, they will never know Him, and that would be a tragedy. They need to know that God’s will exists, and what His will is, because otherwise, they will not be able to see that there is a “ladder” — and the ladder is simply keeping our eyes fixed on God and His will for us. If we fail in this, then they will never become saints…and neither will we.

One final note. I hesitated to use the word “Sodomites” but I figure if it’s good enough for St. John of the Cross, it’s good enough for you and me. If your feelings are hurt, then think of our Blessed Mother and consider her Sorrows.

Read here about the Seven Swords…and listen to this homily from her Feast Day. It will help…I hope…because I love you.

Our Lady of Sorrows,

Pray for us.

"Wherever politics tries to be redemptive, it is promising too much. Where it wishes to do the work of God, it becomes not divine, but demonic." - Pope-Emeritus Benedict XVI