Hello Rosary lovers. In this post we will answer the question: Do I have to become a saint?
Why the Catholic Church Exists
This may seem like an odd question at first glance, but it is an extremely significant question. The entire purpose of the existence of the Catholic Church is TO MAKE HUMAN BEINGS SAINTS.
That, in a nutshell, is why the Catholic Church exists. So if anyone fails to become a saint, it means they have failed to make use of what the Catholic Church offers the world.
What it means to ‘become a saint’
Now, of course, most of us will never be canonised. This means most of us will never be officially recognised by the Church to be saints. The chances of me being recognised by a future Pope as ‘St Matthew’ are very slim.
Nevertheless, what’s vital is not that I am officially canonised in the future, but that I live a life of such holiness now until the day of my death, so that I am immediately welcomed into heaven when I die.
My life’s purpose and goal is simple: I wish to become a saint; I wish to avoid purgatory and hell; I wish for Jesus and Mary to receive me immediately upon my departure from this world; I wish to see God face to face.
I do NOT want to go to purgatory, and I certainly do not want to go to hell.
This isn’t so much because purgatory or hell would be awful places/states to be in. Hell, obviously, would be much, much worse, because Hell is the total loss of all hope and an eternity without Christ in darkness.
But I also have no desire to get to purgatory. Of course, in some sense, I would settle for purgatory any day of the week over Hell. But I would desire heaven any day of the week over purgatory.
This is because purgatory will also be a place of suffering and misery, although it will be a place where there is hope, where I know that after my sufferings – however long they last – I will eventually get to heaven.
From Purgatory to Paradise: My Story
When I first converted to the Catholic Church in 2019, I would have told you that I was quite happy with making it to purgatory. I didn’t think I’d make it to heaven straight away anyway, I knew I wasn’t seeking a life of complete purity. I just wanted to escape hell.
I can bet that most Catholics think like this. They’ll do whatever it takes to escape hell, but they’ll settle for purgatory, because they want to enjoy some sins down here. They think a life of holiness, heading for heaven, would be unspeakably boring. Perhaps they think they’d have to become a nun or monk, and couldn’t imagine anything worse.
In 2020, I nearly lost my faith completely. My faith only held on because of the intercession of St Therese of the child Jesus and because of St Joseph and Mary immaculate.
From that moment on, I knew what I needed to do and I knew what I wanted. It was all or nothing. No more messing around with sin. I wanted to become a saint. I wanted to get straight to heaven and bypass purgatory.
I’ve never held to any other goal since. You can read more about my story here.
The Rosary and Faith
One of the MAJOR helps in this mission has been the daily recitation of the Rosary. The Rosary has upheld my faith, it has supported me and it has brought the presence of God into my life with more power than I’ve ever known before.
These days, thanks to the Rosary, it is easy to be holy and it is easy to have faith in God and to love God. I love God more than anything. I love the blessed Virgin Mary more than anything, and Jesus is more precious to me than anything else in the world.
I adore the Catholic Church and her saints, her sacraments and her priests. By God’s grace, I almost feel like I would lay down my life for the faith.
I never felt like this before 2020. I never felt like this before Mary met with me.
Settling for Second-Best
So the question is: Do I have to become a saint?
The answer: No, you don’t have to become a saint. You CAN settle for second-best. You CAN settle for purgatory. You CAN merely settle for avoiding hell.
But you shouldn’t bank on any of this. You don’t know where you are really going, and neither do I. Therefore, we should make every effort to make our calling and election sure, as St Peter says (2 Peter 1:10).
Also, if you settle for purgatory, it means you don’t understand what purgatory will entail. We call the souls in purgatory ‘The Poor Souls in Purgatory’ and ‘the Church suffering’. It’s not a nice state to be in at all. It’s unpleasant and no Catholic in their right mind should settle for purgatory.
Not to mention, settling for purgatory will mean that God will settle for you to have an average life. You probably won’t turn out to be anyone particularly special because you haven’t let the true YOU shine out of your soul. You haven’t become the person God intended you to be. You’ve settled for second-best with your soul.
That’s an extremely bad decision, if you think about it. Why would anyone do this, when becoming a saint is only a serious prayer away?
How to begin the process to sainthood
To become a saint, all you have to do to begin is to seriously desire it. You pray, from the heart: ‘Lord, please, please make me a saint, no matter what the cost.’
And God will answer that prayer. God hardly hears anyone in the world pray this prayer, so if you pray it, God will take firm notice of you and begin working powerfully in your life.
It’s Your Decision
So, in short, no, you do not have to become a saint. But it depends where you put the focus on what is necessary.
If it’s not necessary to you to get to heaven immediately as soon as you die, then fine, you are free to settle for purgatory. You’ll become a saint eventually, but it might not be for a very long time. Plus, you run the risk of not even making it to purgatory, and ending up in hell.
But if it is necessary for you to get to heaven immediately, if you do love God so much that you cannot bear the thought of not going straight to heaven, then you will have to become a saint down here.
If you are interested in becoming a saint, I have a post which can help you, focusing on simple ways to become a saint.
God bless you richly, and hopefully see you in heaven.