Achieving Sainthood through Reading
Aim Higher. That is the one piece of advice for the pilgrim's return journey to the Catholic faith. In my adolescence, I found the demands of the church impossible to meet. Instead of hearing Aim Higher, I heard Be Perfect or Don't Bother. Go Big or Go Home.
The reasons for abandoning the faith (and they are legion!) differ for us all. Not every other wayward Catholic was so panicked by the enormity of God's orders. Many just drifted away or became complacent. Or perhaps grew distracted by modern trappings. The old storylines are coloured by apathy, fear, disenchantment.
The more dynamic twists in the great mystery are also numerous. How do followers find their way back? How do followers become saints? What tools does God use to make saints out of heathens?
As I update my sophomore-level education of the Catholic traditions and the Catechism, I've taken to my Kindle and devoured some of the liveliest works from writers such as C.S. Lewis, Father James Martin, Father Robert Barron, Dorothy Day, Henri Nouwen, Thomas Merton, E.P. Sanders. What I have found in the Christian canon has delighted me for there is a rich tradition of Catholic scholarship. The following three saints all had their conversion moments through the simple act of picking up a book. And all three were party animals in their pre-Christian lives, existing in a state of loose morality.
Augustine of Hippo
Saint Augustine of Hippo, the patron saint of brewers, lived in the 4th century CE in what is present-day Algeria. Augustine was a known philanderer whose famous prayer to God is "Grant me chastity...but not yet".
Augustine was gifted in both Latin and rhetoric and was soon teaching in different corners of the Roman empire. In Milan, he received mentorship under Ambrose, the highly popular Bishop of Milan who would years later become Saint Ambrose. Augustine, tortured by his strong appetites, was at least surrounded by good, Catholic role models. Ambrose, along with his mother, Monica (also later canonized) tried always directing him to the faith. It took years but it was effort that paid off.
Augustine's moment of conversion happened in a garden, suddenly. He heard a child's voice to "take up and read" (Latin: tolle, lege) and opened up a passage from Paul's writings which ended up being Romans 13: 13–14: Not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh to fulfill the lusts thereof.
From that point on, there was no going back. Augustine would become one of the greatest writers and thinkers of the Catholic faith. He is now considered the main proponent behind the idea of original sin and is hailed as one of the unofficial saints of twelve-step recovery.
Ignatius of Loyola
Then we have Saint Ignatius of Loyola. Ignatius wasn't so much a playboy (although he did engage in his share of womanizing) as he was a ham, thirsty for fame. The future saint, who grew up in the Basque country of Spain in the 16th century, was quite skilled in the military. After receiving a broken leg from a rogue cannonball during one of his daredevil acts, Ignatius was laid-up and only had two books on his nightstand.
One book was The Vita Christi, a popular manual written by Ludolph of Saxony in 1374. It contained a number of moral dissertations and spiritual instructions from the church fathers. The other book contained the lives and stories of the saints. Deep in reading, Ignatius felt his heart gradually change. He wondered: If Saint Francis can do these things, why can't I?
Ignatius would continue on to spread the gospel and end up writing several of his own books, the most famous being "The Spiritual Exercises". In his masterwork, Ignatius advises the eager Christian to put herself within a scene of the bible while engaged in prayer. Ignatian spirituality depends on a rich imagination and a full-bodied approach to worship. Ignatius of Loyola would go on to found The Society of Jesus, otherwise known as The Jesuits, the most popular order for priests today. Jesuits have established many colleges and universities (like Boston College and Georgetown). They take a more extroverted approach of getting out into the world to teach and share the good news.
Dorothy Day
Lastly, a more modern Christian figure who speaks to the activist set on the Left is Dorothy Day, the nun who founded The Catholic Worker movement and newspaper of the same name. The movement established a number of communities in which to feed, clothe and house poor people. Day biographer, Jim Forest, writes: "Beyond hospitality, Catholic Worker communities are known for activity in support of labor unions, human rights, cooperatives, and the development of a nonviolent culture". Day was an avid reader as a teen. She enjoyed Russian literature and appreciated, especially, the moral passion of Tolstoy. Day worked as a journalist and communicated her faith through her written work. Her mentor and friend, Peter Maurin, helped Day find her voice and sense of organization.
Pre-conversion, Day was a big drinker and a very sexually active bohemian. At age 30, she had a conditional baptism and continued writing for radical and anarchist publications. Day was difficult to pin down (she was widely known for her opposition to social security). She lived directly through some of the most critical moments of the 20th century, like the great 1906 quake in San Francisco as a kid in Oakland and the whole of the Great Depression in New York's Lower East Side.
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While the blinding white light is one dramatic way to make converts, the book is a much quieter tool. Each word a mustard seed. Have you read any good books lately?
Very interesting...I'm impressed.
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