Hello there Rosary lovers 🙂 I have entitled this post The Secret of a Saint because I believe that there are some easy ways that God has given us to become saints and to get to heaven.
Obviously, this post is most definitely not exhaustive, and there may be elements of it which are incorrect. I am not a saint, but a lay Catholic, and I make mistakes all the time. I am only human.
But if anyone benefits from this post, then praise God, I will be most grateful. And hopefully, I’ll see you in heaven!
Secret of a Saint Number 1: Be Yourself
The first secret to becoming a saint is to be true to yourself. Do NOT try and be anyone else other than the person God has made you to be.
Pray and find out who that person is that God wants you to be. Spend time in silence and meditation, speaking to your soul, and asking the Holy Spirit to reveal to you your true self. BE that person, because that is the real you.
Never has this advice been more necessary. The 21st century is a century of clones, a century where the celebrities are followed and copied all the time. The imagination of individuals is at an all time low, and without imagination, there is no other option but to copy what everyone else does.
Don’t follow the crowd. Be yourself, be precisely that person God intended YOU to be from all eternity.
It’s funny how often we are told today that we should be ourselves, but I find few people who are authentic to who they really are. For most of us, the real ME is buried beneath a lot of baggage and what we think people want us to be.
Let the image of God which is in you shine, my friend. God created YOU in his very own image, so that by being who YOU are you might glorify him in this world and forever. You’ll never be happy being someone else.
Secret of a Saint Number 2: Become a Catholic
The second secret to becoming a saint is to become religious, and to become Catholic.
Speaking from experience, I was NEVER able to find my true self when I didn’t practice religion. Religion is the answer the world needs, but Religion is fulfilled perfectly in the one, holy, Catholic and Apostolic Church.
I cannot pretend that you don’t need to become Catholic, that you don’t need a Church, that you don’t need what the Church of Jesus offers for salvation. We definitely need the Church to help us become all that we might be in Christ.
We need the Church to help us take down our addictions and bad habits. We need the Church for the wisdom of the local priest. We need the Church for the Sacraments and for her authoritative teaching.
Is it possible for someone to become a saint and get to heaven without the Catholic Church? Possibly. Who knows?
But one thing is for sure: it is a darn sight easier to become a saint and to get to heaven WITH the Catholic Church, because the fullness of truth and power is all here. MAKE USE OF IT! It’s yours for the taking!
Secret of a Saint Number 3: Obey ALL Church teaching
When you become Catholic, seriously – seriously – do NOT pick and choose what you will believe and practice and what you won’t. The Church’s teachings are not optional, they are necessary and we are bound to submit ourselves to what she teaches.
The Church is the living Voice of the living God in this world, because the Church is the extension of the Incarnate Lord Jesus. The Church is his very own Body on earth. When she speaks, Jesus speaks. When Jesus speaks, God speaks.
For instance, when the Church tells us that the use of artificial contraception is a grave mistake, she is speaking from experience and from the wisdom of the Holy Spirit. The Church KNOWS what she is talking about. Follow her teachings and you will be fine.
You can obey the Church is many things, but if you refuse to obey in just ONE area, it will greatly hamper your spiritual life and could negatively impact all sorts of other areas in your life.
It isn’t worth it, trust me. I’ve been there. I’ve been on the edge of falling off the cliff of faith and into complete Agnosticism and skepticism. It all starts with picking and choosing what you will and won’t believe about what the Church teaches.
This is ESPECIALLY true in matters relating to human sexuality. Please, please: LISTEN to the Church’s voice on these matters. She speaks with the very Voice of the Infinite to our souls.
‘Let those who have ears to hear, hear.’
Secret of a Saint Number 4: Discover the Virgin Mary
You will never grow so much as a Catholic as when you discover the holy and immaculate Virgin Mother of the living God: Mary full of grace.
Mary is the Door to Salvation. She is the Door of the Ark, and the Ark is Christ and his Church. Mary is the Covenant Box which contains the living Manna and Bread of Heaven: Jesus Christ.
Mary is the living Temple of Almighty God, containing Jesus Christ. Mary is the Throne of the Almighty, upon whom Christ sits for all time.
To turn to Mary is to turn to Jesus in a FAR, FAR deeper way than is possible without her.
One of the best ways to be devoted to the Virgin is to give yourself to her Rosary. Study how to pray the Rosary and then pray it, it really isn’t very hard. In fact, it’s very easy when you know what you are doing.
Millions of people can testify to having their lives changed by praying the Rosary. I am one of them.
The day you truly discover the Virgin Mary is the day you experience something like a second conversion to God and Christ. She adds THAT much to the faith.
Secret of a Saint Number 5: Visit Jesus Often
The best way to visit Jesus often is to attend daily Mass. Many Catholic Churches run plenty of masses throughout the week, perhaps even one in your local area.
The Mass is celebrated everywhere and all the time. This is because it is the true Worship of the living God in heaven and on earth. The Mass celebrated on earth is an experience of the true and eternal Mass offered constantly in heaven.
ALL of the blessings that God has to offer, and ALL of the answers to our prayers, and ALL of the power to become a saint – everything in fact – comes to us through the Mass. There is NOTHING God gives anyone without relation to the holy Sacrifice of the Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world.
Daily Mass attendance is quite possibly the BEST and most certain way to become a saint and to get to heaven.
Failing that, it is an excellent idea to try to step foot in a Catholic Church often during the week and visit Jesus. Here we can worship him in silence and pour out our souls to him.
A Simple Rule
So I’ve offered 5 Secrets to becoming a saint. But really, we can simplify it all down to just TWO things to focus on:
1. Going to daily Mass, or visiting Jesus as often as possible in the local Church
2. Praying the Rosary daily
If you do JUST these two things, everything else will follow. You WILL be yourself, you WILL be true to yourself and your conscience. You WILL become a Catholic if you aren’t one. You WILL come back to the Church if you have fallen away. You WILL find yourself eager to obey EVERYTHING the Church teaches.
God so powerfully works in us both to will and to do his will (Philippians 2:13) through the Mass and Mary. The Holy Spirit will be so present in your life if you visit Jesus often in the Church and pray the Rosary daily that it will be almost impossible for you to fail to become a saint.
So there you have it. I hope this has been useful. I would love to hear any ideas you can offer as to how we can become saints.
And if you want to read more on this, then you could check out this post.
God bless you greatly!