5 Things They Didn't Tell You About Saints (And Why You Might Be One)
When we hear the word “saint,” our minds often conjure up specific images: figures in stained glass, spiritual superheroes, or martyrs whose stories feel both inspirational and impossibly distant. We think of historical giants like St. Francis or St. Peter—people who performed radical acts of faith that seem entirely set apart from the messy realities of our own daily lives. Their lives can feel like impossible ideals to live up to.
But what if this common image is incomplete? What if the true definition of a saint is far more accessible, immediate, and relevant than we’ve been led to believe? What if the stained glass is not a barrier but a prism, meant to show the single light of holiness fractured into a spectrum of ordinary human lives? The truth is that sainthood is an extraordinary call given to ordinary people, right here and now.
Here are five surprising and transformative takeaways about what it truly means to be a saint.
Saints Aren't Just Historical Figures—They're All Around You.
The first step in reimagining sainthood is to look beyond history books and church walls. While we rightfully celebrate the great witnesses of the faith, we often miss the saints living and working beside us every day. You have encountered dozens of them in your life—perhaps without even realizing it.
You encounter them in work meetings, on your commute, and in your community. A saint is simply a person whose life has become a prayer, who has sought God’s will above their own, and who has found their deepest identity in the character of Christ. This recognition transforms the “communion of saints” from an abstract creedal statement into a living, breathing reality we participate in daily. It pulls holiness out of the distant past and places it squarely in our present.
Sainthood Is a Transformation, Not an Imitation.
Many of us feel pressure to perform specific "saintly" acts, believing that holiness is about mimicking the lives of Christ or other great figures. But this misses the point entirely. As St. Clare said:
"We become what we love and who we love shapes what we become. If we love things, we become a thing. If we love nothing, we become nothing."
Sainthood is not about a literal mimicking of another’s actions. Rather, it is an internal transformation where we become an "image of the beloved." It’s a process of becoming a vessel for God's compassionate love for others. This idea is freeing. It releases us from the anxiety of performance and instead focuses our attention on the internal posture of our hearts—on what, and who, we choose to love.
There Is No One-Size-Fits-All Saint.
The beauty of the "communion of saints" is its incredible diversity. No two saints are exactly alike. They were not mythological figures but ordinary people from all walks of life: doctors, teachers, parents, laborers, and priests who realized the extraordinary gift offered to them in Christ.
This diversity is a testament to the myriad ways one can step into holiness, proving that there is a unique path for each individual. The goal is not to copy someone else's journey but to discover and embrace our own. Our unique lives, with all their specific circumstances and challenges, are the very material from which our sainthood can be built. This diversity isn't just a comfort; it's a commission. Just as their unique light has the potential to catch fire in us, our own distinct path to holiness is meant to illuminate the way for others.
True Sainthood Involves Discomfort.
While the call to sainthood is for everyone, the journey is not always easy. It demands a willingness to leave behind what is easy or familiar. It requires sacrifice, risk, and the courage to embrace discomfort for a greater purpose.
This is the meaning behind the call to "die to self," a concept Christ explained with a powerful metaphor: a seed must die in order that it might sprout anew and bear much fruit. This journey requires three key elements:
Prayer and humility: A consistent yielding of our will to God's.
Compassion and service: A willingness to know the experience of the poor, the brokenhearted, and the hungry.
Courage: The strength to have a heart broken by the world's brokenness and the resolve to heed God's call to do something about it—a courage that may set us at odds with the currents of our culture, calling us to anchor ourselves in a deeper truth.
Sainthood Isn't Earned—It's an Inheritance.
Perhaps the most encouraging truth is that we do not have to generate the power for this journey on our own. The Apostle Paul reminds the Ephesians that this holy calling is not merely an aspiration but a vocation given to us by God. Believers, he explains, are "marked with the seal of the promised Holy Spirit," which is the "pledge of our inheritance."
The power that empowered the saints of the past is the same power at work in us today. It is our seal and our guide. Paul follows this truth with a powerful prayer that is as much for us as it was for them:
"I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him. So that with the eyes of your heart enlightened, you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance among the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power for us who believe..."
The capacity to live a holy life is not something we must generate through sheer will, but a glorious inheritance—an "immeasurable greatness" of power already at work within us, waiting to be embraced.
Your Extraordinary Calling
Ultimately, the church asks us to look up to the saints not as impossible ideals, but as proof that holiness is possible for us. They are a great reminder that an extraordinary call is given to ordinary people. You already have the inheritance. You already have the seal.
This brings us to the quiet, personal question the Spirit is always whispering: In what ways are you being called into your own sainthood?
