Saints: How Would They Live In Today's World?

[Jeanette_L]

I’m sending along another meditation, same theme of obedience, but from St. Thomas Aquinas.

**June 10, 2008 **

Obedience

“Obedience unites us so closely to God that in a way transforms us into Him, so that we have no other will but His. If obedience is lacking, even prayer cannot be pleasing to God.”
St. Thomas Aquinas

For Reflection:

Why do I think prayer is not pleasing to God without obedience? Where have I been disobedient to God in the past, or now presently? To what extent have I seen my disobedience affect my prayer?

Peace
Jeanette

 

[JReducation]

Last night I went to our parish for a payer service. It was absolutely beautiful. This week our town is celebrating the anniversary of our patron saint, Maximilian Kolbe. We have started a week long celebration with a different activity each evening.

St. Maximilian’s niece came to speak to us about her uncle. It was very gracious of her to do so. She flew in from Atlanta and we’re in a small town just outside Ft. Lauderdale. Her name is Marina Kolbe. She’s really an inspiring person to listen to as she tells how Max has influenced her entire family for two generations. She seems to have a very mystical connection with him. She shared letters that he had written to the family before he was murdered by the Nazis. Her family still preserves them and she had one that was in his writing.

In it he writes to his brother, her grandfather, “This is the last that you will hear from me in this world. But keep in mind that you will never be alone. No matter where we go, remember to love. I am leaving the friary now to take my place where I belong, among the Jews. I go gladly, because Jesus died among those who were despised and among sinners. As St. Francis said in our holy rule, our call is to live the Gospel as Christ lived it on the cross. The healthy do not need us, but those who have not yet known Christ are in the greatest need of our company, especially during these difficult times. Again, I repeat to you the words of our Lord, ‘As long as you did it for one of these the least of my brethren, you did it for me.’“ That night he left his friary and went to join a community of Jews. When the Nazis found them, they were praying. As you know, St. Max asked to trade places with a Jewish prisoner who was going to be killed. And he died a martyr’s death.

It was beautiful to hear the story told by a member of his family who still has dreams about him. What was most beautiful in my mind was that Catholics, Protestants and Jews came to hear about St. Maximilian and how he had given up his life to save another man’s life, all for love of the crucified Christ. I don’t know if you are aware that when he was a teen he had a vision of our Lady. She was holding two crowns, a red and a white one. She asked him which one he preferred. He asked what they meant. She told him that the red was for martyrdom and the white was for purity. He responded that he wanted both. She said that it would please her son very much to grant his heart’s desire.

I have always admired St. Max because he brought many souls to the faith by laying down his life on the cross, without ever saying a single word to them. It was his life and his death that spoke everything that had to be said about love and faith. Last night I saw Catholics and non Catholics moved by the life of this holy friar. I am sure that the Holy Spirit was at work there and that at least one person, Catholic or non Catholic will be brought closer to Christ.

It certainly made me do a great deal of remembering when the same Franciscan friars converted me without ever saying a word. St. Max was truly faithful to this calling by St. Francis to preach without words, unless absolutely necessary, but always preach through penance and the cross.

As we face the difficult times in our lives, the world and the Church this message certainly resonates today as it did during the life of St. Max. Lay down your life with the Church and the Holy Spirit will do the rest. In my mind this is the height of Holy Poverty. It is the height of Gospel detachment, when one can place so much trust in the Lord that one feels that nothing one can do is enough compared to what God can do if we die to self and to our wishes.

I wanted to share what I picked up last night and how it drew me a little closer into the mystery of salvation. I hope no one minds.

Fraternally,

JR

 

[Tracy10]

How would saints live in today’s world? With great difficulty, hardship, and sacrifice – not much different than they lived in yesterday’s world.

 

[catharina]

It certainly made me do a great deal of remembering when the same Franciscan friars converted me without ever saying a word. St. Max was truly faithful to this calling by St. Francis to preach without words, unless absolutely necessary, but always preach through penance and the cross.

Fraternally,

JR

Yes, to St. Max, yes to your remarkable town and yes to this insight re your conversion.
I’ve wondered but never asked how your conversion came into being.
Always, yes to the Franciscans too.

 

[Jeanette_L]

Over the next few days, I’d like to post from some readings of:

St. John of the Cross
Sayings of Light and Love

I’m starting with excerpts from the Prologue and will post some of his sayings over the next fews days. There is such a treasure here. Wisdom that spans the centuries and is still completely inspiring for our spiritual journeys today. I hope you are blessed by them.

I have taken these from “The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom”, Edited by John A. Hardon, S. J., Ignatius Press

 

[Jeanette_L]

St. John of the Cross
Sayings of Light and Love

Prologue

O my God and my delight, for Your love I have also desired to give my soul to composing these sayings of light and love concerning You. Since although I can express them in words, I do not have the works and virtues they imply (which is what pleases You more, O my Lord, than the words and wisdom they contain), may others, perhaps, moved by them, go forward in Your service and love - in which I am lacking. I will thereby find consolation, that these sayings prove an occasion that what I lack may be found in others.

Lord, You love discretion, You love light, You love love, these three You love above the other operations of the soul. Hence these will be sayings of discretion for the wayfarer, of light for the way, and of love in the wayfaring. may there be nothing of worldly rhetoric in them nor the long-winded and dry eloquence of weak and artificial human wisdom, which never pleases You. Let us speak to the heart words bathed in sweetness and love, which do indeed please You, removing obstacles and stumbling blocks from the paths of many souls who unknowingly trip and unconsciously walk in the path of error - poor souls who think they are right in what concerns the following of your Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, and becoming like Him, imitating His life, actions, and virtues, and the form of His nakedness and purity of spirit, Father of mercies , come to our aid, for without You, Lord, we can do nothing.

Taken from “The Treasury of Catholic Wisdom”, Edited by John A. Hardon, S. J., Ignatius Press

 

[catharina]

Many thanks to you, Jeanette.

 

[JReducation]

St. John of the Cross presents us with some interesting insights into the spiritual life and how we should approach it. I think it’s important that we understand what he is saying. Let’s analyze together.

B]St. John of the Cross
Sayings of Light and Love

Prologue

O my God and my delight,

Saint John makes two statements here. One is dogmatic and one is biblical.

1. He states quite simply that he is speaking to his God. There are no apologies made and no explanations as to why this is his God. None are needed. God as revealed himself as God, the one who is. There is not more to be said.
2. The term delight is quite commonly used in the scriptures. In Luke Mary says, “My spirit rejoices in God my saviour.” God is the delight of any soul who binds itself to God through fidelity and therefore the soul is lead to light in the presence of God or as Mary says, to rejoice for God can be nothing but pure love and love is the source of all delight, both human and spiritual.

for Your love I have also desired to give my soul to composing these sayings of light and love concerning You.

1. Again, John is writing not primarily for our benefit, but for God’s praise. The benefit that others derive from the good works of the soul are secondary or side effects. The primary goal of the soul is to please God through everything the person does. Therefore, the soul leads the mind and body to praise God through word and deed. Writing is a combination of action with words. John demonstrates for us true holiness. All things are done to show love for God, even giving up one’s soul to God is for the glory of God. The benefit that the soul derives is secondary. This is God’s mercy toward us. But the real saint is not the one who does things for his own salvation. The real saint acts out of love for God and completely disregards his slavation. THAT is left in the hand of God.

" Since although I can express them in words, I do not have the works and virtues they imply (which is what pleases You more, O my Lord, than the words and wisdom they contain), may others, perhaps, moved by them, go forward in Your service and love - in which I am lacking. I will thereby find consolation, that these sayings prove an occasion that what I lack may be found in others."

1. Again, John is stating another dogmatic truth. We are not in possession of the grace necessary to praise God as he should be praised. But we do so nonetheless in the hope that it will benefit the other person. The saint is one who places others first and who does the good not for his benefit, but for the benefit of his brothers and sisters. The spiritual reality that John presents here is the connection between our soul and the souls of others. If one soul does not have the holiness that it takes to praise God perfectly, maybe the prayer of praise raised by that sould will serve to the benefit of another.
2. Such a sharing of graces is only possible through the Mystical Body. John simply assumes that God understands the workings of the Mystical Body better than he does. Therefore, he feels no need to mention the term. He simply says that he can only write about God’s wonders, but he does not posess the holiness to display it in his own life. His hope is that through his words someone who has the level of holiness required to reflect the wonders of the Lord will pick up on his ideas and make use of them. In other words, John’s humility extends into charity. He writes humbly of the honour and glory of God, the fisrt beneficiary of his charity and the second beneficiary of his charity is the person who reads his writings who will be inspired to live them.

As we can see in this introduction, John shows us that holiness has a primary and secondary goal and neither are us. The primary goal is to praise God in everything we do and say. The secondary goal is to lead others to love and glorify the Lord.

In the modern world where we alays think in terms of how things will benefit us, this type of thinking is counter culture. Even among Catholics we often think in terms of saving our souls, as the primary reason for loving and serving God. This is not the foundation for true holiness. The foundation of true holiness is total detachment from self so that one may live in praise and honour of God and as a light to others.

JR

 

[Jeanette_L]

St. John of the Cross
Sayings of Light and Love

1. The Lord has always revealed to men the treasures of His wisdom and His spirit, but now that the face of evil more and more bares itself, so does the Lord bare His treasures the more.
2. O lord, My God, who will seek You with simple and pure love and not find You are all he desires, for You show Yourself first and go out to meet those who desire You?
3. Though the path is plain and smooth for men of good will, he who walks it will not travel far, and will do so only with difficulty if he does not have good feet, courage, and tenacity of spirit.
4. It is better to be burdened and in company with the strong than to be unburdened and with the weak. When you are burdened you are close to God, your strength, who abides with the afflicted. When you are relieved of the burden you are close to yourself, your own weakness; for virtue and strength of soul grow and are confirmed in the trials of patience.

 

[JReducation]

The Lord has always revealed to men the treasures of His wisdom and His spirit, but now that the face of evil more and more bares itself, so does the Lord bare His treasures the more.

This is key not only in good spirituality, but it is also excellent theology. John is expounding on the dogma of God’s mercy. God distributes the grace that men need to live in a sinful world. Therefore there is no need to be afraid of the world.

1. O lord, My God, who will seek You with simple and pure love and not find You are all he desires, for You show Yourself first and go out to meet those who desire You?

Again, John is using his spiritual experience to express a theological truth. Anyone who seeks God can find him, because God has entered into human history through Jesus’ incarnation. Therefore, God is accessible to us, because he wants us to find him. He does not hide.

1. Though the path is plain and smooth for men of good will, he who walks it will not travel far, and will do so only with difficulty if he does not have good feet, courage, and tenacity of spirit.

Here again, John’s mystical experience lead him to actually visualize what Christ said, “I am the way, the tuth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me.”

Jesus is the path and it’s not difficult to follow Jesus because we know him. He has been revealed to us. At least it looks easy at first glance, because one can take the simplistic view that all one has to do is follow the commandments, go to mass and confession and be nice to others. That seems fair and simplel enough.

But what John experienced was that the more he tried to follow Jesus, the greater were the challenges that God threw in his direction. He had to come to terms with his conscience. He had to come to terms with his love for neighbor. He had to come to terms with his pride and his ego. He was a very iintelligent man and well educated. To be humble and accept what God had laid out for him as a Carmelite friar, in the eyes of the world was beneath him. We went from being the theologian and the scholar, to being a simple Brother who had to submit to the authority of Teresa. At that time in history, theologians and priests did not submit to the authority of a nun. Yet, this was the greatest challenge that God put in John’s way. He had to to the most humbling thing that a man in his position could do. He went from being Father John to Brother John son and disciple of Teresa of Avila, a woman whose only knowledge of God was infused by the Holy Spirit, not acquired through the great universities as was John’s case. He also had to give up his dream of becoming a Carthusian Monk and dedicating his life to prayer, because Teresa ordered him not to do so.

John shows us that the closer we get to God, the more demanding that God becomes. This explains the cross perfectly and why he changed his name to John of the Cross. The ultimate act that God demands of those whom he loves is that they embrace the cross.

1. It is better to be burdened and in company with the strong than to be unburdened and with the weak. When you are burdened you are close to God, your strength, who abides with the afflicted. When you are relieved of the burden you are close to yourself, your own weakness; for virtue and strength of soul grow and are confirmed in the trials of patience.

Again, Johns speaks of how we can embrace the theology of the cross. It’s not just a matter of believing and going to mass and believing that it’s the ultimate sacrifice. Those who go to mass and believe this must also accept the difficulties that God places on their shoulders. They must solve them without complaining, but with love as Christ does. To be among others who face the things they don’t like with great love is to be in the company of people who are spiritually strong, as Christ was strong.

JR

 

[peary]

**Well, if we study the life of Mother Teresa or even Padre Pio - both contemporary saints - their actions answer the question posed by the thread.

Not only that, look at all the individuals that John Paul II canonized. A study of their lives (most of them lived in our own time) will also answer the question. They lived normally, they lived in Faith and practiced their Faith, extending the love of God to others.**

 

[JReducation]

Hi Peary and welcome to Saints Thread.

What you say is true, but what this thread is looking at is the deeper levels of sanctity. Let us take a look at what you posted and ask ourselves some questions.

if we study the life of Mother Teresa

1. What was her prayer life like?
2. How did she jusify leaving her religious community to which she had made solemn vows to go out and start a new religious Society that was not even a religious congregation during its first 20-years of existence? How is it possible for one to make a solemn vow, which is unbreakable and yet justifiably ask to be dispensed from it, to live outside in what was, according to Canon Law, an Association of the Faithful? What happened in this soul that she was so convinced, as was the Church, that it was possible to justify dispensing from a solemn vow?
3. When she left the Sisters of Loretto, she took on the dress of a Hindu woman, she abandoned the EF form of praying the Liturgy of the Hours and prayed them using the same form that the Hindus use for their prayers. She did pray the Liturgy of the Hours, but not in a form that looked anything like the monastic form that was then in use in the Church. Why? What was Christ telling her about her Christian life of prayer and her Hindu brothers and sisters? What was Christ saying to her about ecumenism? How was Christ leading her to bring the Hindus to him? How did she know? How did she respond, not on the outside, we know that, but within the soul? That’s what we want to discuss here.

or even Padre Pio

 

[KingAlfred]

To live a saintly life in today’s world, one must accept grave unpopularity by rejecting its values and customs. A devout person can’t even engage in normal small-talk at work, for example, knowing it will be laden with sinful, worldly discussion. He must walk away from it, to save his soul, yet at the cost of making enemies among the worldly. In the pursuit of holiness, one must foresake worldiness, and become Christ’s *lonely *disciple.

 

[peary]

Hi Peary and welcome to Saints Thread.

What you say is true, but what this thread is looking at is the deeper levels of sanctity. Let us take a look at what you posted and ask ourselves some questions.

1. What was her prayer life like?

Dry but active. When one reads her letters and biography, it becomes apparent that most of her life was lived experiencing the "dark night of the soul."

1. How did she jusify leaving her religious community to which she had made solemn vows to go out and start a new religious Society that was not even a religious congregation during its first 20-years of existence?

She explained to her spiritual director and superiors what she was being called to do, and they allowed her to go. There is nothing wrong with that. She did not give up her solemn vows but continued these in her new calling. In fact, the vows became more strict as her religious congregation developed.

How is it possible for one to make a solemn vow, which is unbreakable and yet justifiably ask to be dispensed from it, to live outside in what was, according to Canon Law, an Association of the Faithful? What happened in this soul that she was so convinced, as was the Church, that it was possible to justify dispensing from a solemn vow?

Read the above.

1. When she left the Sisters of Loretto, she took on the dress of a Hindu woman, she abandoned the EF form of praying the Liturgy of the Hours and prayed them using the same form that the Hindus use for their prayers. She did pray the Liturgy of the Hours, but not in a form that looked anything like the monastic form that was then in use in the Church. Why?

Catholics in India have done the same thing for centuries prior to Mother Teresa. It is a legitimate form of the Hours accepted there and endorsed by the Indian bishops and accepted by Rome.

What was Christ telling her about her Christian life of prayer and her Hindu brothers and sisters? What was Christ saying to her about ecumenism? How was Christ leading her to bring the Hindus to him? How did she know? How did she respond, not on the outside, we know that, but within the soul? That’s what we want to discuss here.

She followed Christ’s command to “Go and make disciples of all nations…” And I think she did well as a good and faithful servant of the Lord.

 

[JReducation]

Thanks Peary for taking so much time and making so much effort to examine each point so conscientiously. If I may, I would like to add some comments based on Mystical Theology.

Dry but active. When one reads her letters and biography, it becomes apparent that most of her life was lived experiencing the “dark night of the soul.”

It is very true that Mother spent a great deal of her life living the Dark Night as described by St. John of the Cross and St. Teresa of Avila. That being said, the Dark Night is a state in which the soul becomes totally dependent on the grace of knowing that God is love and that God is present. There are no emotions or experiences of God that the mind can perceive through the senses. You either believe or don’t believe.

She explained to her spiritual director and superiors what she was being called to do, and they allowed her to go. There is nothing wrong with that. She did not give up her solemn vows but continued these in her new calling. In fact, the vows became more strict as her religious congregation developed.

At this venture, we must be careful not to confuse mystical experience with Church Law and tradition. Mother Teresa’s solemn vows were dispensed. Only those who belong to religious orders may make solemn vows. They are the highest form of consecration in religious life. The Missionaries of Charity are a congregation. Congregations make simple vows. There is a difference in the grace that these two kinds of vows mediate and a legal difference in the person’s relationship with the Church. A person in simple vows retains certain degrees of control over their will, property, and their vow of celibacy can be annulled by marriage. Such is not the case in solemn vows. Religious in solemn vows own nothing as a community or individually. Blind and loving obedience is required to the Pope, the founder and the superior. A bishop has no authority over religious in solemn vows. In the case of the Missionaries of Charity they are subject to the bishop and they may change their constitutions and rule if they democratically decide to do so. A bishop can overrule their rule and constitutions. If a religious in simple vows attempts marriage, the marriage is valid and the vows are annulled, de facto.

That’s the legal side of it. However, the mystical side of this is that Mother continued to live her life as if she were in solemn vows. Her conscience told her that there was a covenant relationship between her and God, since the time that she was a child. A covenant is a marriage of love, as that between Yahweh and Israel or Jesus and the Church. Mother was sustained by the covenant. She was blinded by God’s love and returned that love as if the solemn vows were still in effect. What made it most meritorious in the eyes of Christ is her commitment to finish what she began many years before she left the Sisters of Loretto. Once a gift is given, it is never reclaimed. This was the lesson that Mother taught us. In essence, her soul experienced a transition from one form of commitment to another. However, Mother teaches us that transitions can lead us to a greater love of God, if we use them wisely and respond to them, rather than resist them.

Catholics in India have done the same thing for centuries prior to Mother Teresa. It is a legitimate form of the Hours accepted there and endorsed by the Indian bishops and accepted by Rome.

Canonically this is very true. However, there is a deep theological truth being revealed to us by Christ, through Mother. His presence and the love and depth of our prayer are not always as dependent on form, as we often believe. But love, humility, and nakedness before God are essential. Equally essential is the result of prayer. The deeper we go into prayer, the more we become aware of our weaknesses, the beauty of all creation and the infinity of God’s mercy. Even with the change in liturgical form, the essence of Christ, the Church, the world and the soul, remain the same. Therefore, salvation is still guaranteed for those who ask for it.

She followed Christ’s command to “Go and make disciples of all nations…” And I think she did well as a good and faithful servant of the Lord.

Mother was familiar with these words, but she heard another call from Christ’s mouth. “I thirst.” She wrote that she could not deny him anything. Her love for her Hindu, Muslim and Christian brothers and sisters was out of love for him who told her that he was thirsty for love. There was no separation in her mind, between a Hindu and Jesus. This love brought her into closer union with God and with others.

Mother Teresa reminds us of a great theological truth. God is love. When one loves without considering one’s self, one becomes a true image and likeness of God. The expression of love, concern, dedication and joy is the most convincing sermon. What brought others to Christ through Mother were not her words. Many have said beautiful things in this world. We have libraries filled with poetry and pearls of wisdom.

Mother converted souls, because each day she converted herself. She said in one of her letters to the Bishop that she wanted to be Franciscan and Benedictine. Francis could teach her to live the Gospel literally, with great joy and without allowing the world to contaminate her. She didn’t have to run away from conversations with others or from contact with the world. Benedict could teach her the true meaning of silence, prayer, and solitude.

Although her Society eventually joined the Franciscan family, it retained the gifts that Mother received from Christ through Benedict and the Sisters of Loreto. God always finds a way to bless us. There is no need to fear. The only need is to believe.

JR

 

[Jeanette_L]

St. John of the Cross
Sayings of Light and Love

1. He who wants to stand alone without the support of a master and guide, will be like the tree that stands alone in a field without a proprietor. No matter how much the tree bears, passers-by will pick the fruit before it ripens.
2. A tree that is cultivated and guarded through the care of its owner produces its fruit at the expected time.
3. The virtuous soul that is alone and without a master is like a lone burning coal, it will grow colder rather than hotter.
4. He who falls alone remains alone in his fall, and he values his soul little since he entrusts it to himself alone.
5. If you do not fear falling alone, how do you presume that you will rise up alone? Consider how much more can be accomplished by two together than by one alone.
6. He who falls while heavily laden will find it difficult to rise under the burden.
7. The blind man who falls will not get up alone in his blindness, and if he does, he will take the wrong road.

 

[mnealon1]

My favourite Saint is St. Therese of Lisieux. She lost her Mother when she was very young. I can identify with that , but from a different angle. She just wanted to be a St. and made no bones about it! She was so simple, and did not presume to be able to “Great” things, but just in her “litle way” She said her greatest works would be done from Heaven. Her words are so simple and so beauitful. Her “little way” is is another way in which she appeals to me, because most of us can only do little things - me anyhow! I think St. Therese would have the same view if she was to live in this age. Her beautiful words and wisdom made her one of the three women Drs. of the Catholic Church. I have received favours from her.
Of course St. Faustina is one of the last Saints to be cannonised by Pope John Paul11 for the spread of Divine Mercy.
Pope John Paul11 and Mother Teresa will be the modern Saints of OUR time and I do not think anyone will be in any doubt of the message and exanple to our modern world that they gave. God Bless Margaret.

 

[catharina]

My favourite Saint is St. Therese of Lisieux. She lost her Mother when she was very young. I can identify with that , but from a different angle. She just wanted to be a St. and made no bones about it! She was so simple, and did not presume to be able to “Great” things, but just in her “litle way” She said her greatest works would be done from Heaven. Her words are so simple and so beauitful. Her “little way” is is another way in which she appeals to me, because most of us can only do little things - me anyhow! I think St. Therese would have the same view if she was to live in this age. Her beautiful words and wisdom made her one of the three women Drs. of the Catholic Church. I have received favours from her.
Of course St. Faustina is one of the last Saints to be cannonised by Pope John Paul11 for the spread of Divine Mercy.
Pope John Paul11 and Mother Teresa will be the modern Saints of OUR time and I do not think anyone will be in any doubt of the message and exanple to our modern world that they gave. God Bless Margaret.

That’s a beautiful post, Margaret.

 

[Anlar]

The world is so very different today. We need great saints so I’d say St. Peter and St. Paul. Need very hard works to change this world.

I like St. Therese little ways also. Little but huge. The word “little” has something huge inside it. Poorly explained but I hope you get my point. It is not little by little the world will change but through this little, in one glance the world will change.

Another is St. Faustina’s trust in God and struggle for perfection.

 

[catharina]

News flash from Chicago Tribune, this morning …

(I love this news!)

Pope clears way for Belgian priest to become saint

By VICTOR L. SIMPSON
Associated Press Writer
11:21 AM CDT, July 3, 2008
VATICAN CITY

%between% %between%
Pope Benedict XVI on Thursday approved a miracle attributed to the intercession of a 19th century Belgian priest who ministered to leprosy patients in Hawaii – opening the way for him to be declared a saint.

Benedict declared that a Honolulu woman’s recovery in 1999 from terminal lung cancer was the miracle needed for canonization of the Rev. Damien de Veuster. The miracle was attributed to the intercession of the late priest, to whom the woman, Audrey Toguchi, had prayed.

The approval means that Father Damien, beatified by Pope John Paul II in 1995, will be canonized at a date still to be set.

The Vatican’s Congregation for the Causes of Saints had said Toguchi’s recovery defied medical explanation, and on Thursday the pope told the sainthood office’s leader, Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins, that he agreed, the Vatican said.

“It’s such an exciting time in our lives that one of our men, one of us here in Hawaii, has attained the highest rank of sanctity and will soon be declared a saint in the church,” said the Rev. Christopher Keahi, head of the Sacred Hearts order of Hawaii.

Born Joseph de Veuster in 1840, Damien went to Hawaii in 1864 and joined other missionaries of the Congregation of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary. Nine years later he began ministering to leprosy patients on the remote Kalaupapa peninsula of Molokai island, where some 8,000 people had been banished amid an epidemic in Hawaii in the 1850s.

The priest eventually contracted the disease, also known as Hansen’s disease, and died in 1889 at 49.

Honolulu Bishop Larry Silva said canonization is important, “not simply as a recognition of the saintly heroism of Father Damien, but so that, following his example, we may all be renewed in holiness and in our dedication to those brothers and sisters who are most in need.”

The Vatican’s saint-making procedures require that a miracle attributed to the candidate’s intercession be confirmed in order to be beatified. Damien was beatified after the Vatican declared that the 1987 recovery of a Sacred Hearts of Jesus and Mary nun was a miracle. The nun recovered from an illness after praying to Damien.

After beatification, a second miracle is needed for sainthood.

A date for canonization was not expected to be set until February. Damien’s body was exhumed from his Molokai grave in 1936 and his remains sent back to Belgium for reburial. In 1995, a relic of his right hand was given back to the Hawaii diocese and returned to the Molokai grave.

The decree for Father Damien was one of 13 approved by the pope for people in various stages of the sainthood process.

---

Associated Press Writer Jaymes Song in Honolulu, Hawaii, contributed to this report.