Saints are not people different from us. There have always been saints, some children, others young people or adults. There are saints and there are saints, some very intelligent, others very simple, some very rich, others very poor. Some have been saints since they were children, others led a worldly life, but when they met Jesus, they changed and decided to be happy following him. We are all called to be saints. God wants us to be saints, and for that reason he gave us the Gift of Faith, which was his gift when we were baptized. Being saints is wanting to follow Jesus, to act like him, to do good like him, to love like him. Being a saint is to be a friend of Jesus.

Saint Augustine was a great saint who said: “Lord, you created us for yourself, and our hearts will be restless until they rest in you.” He also said: “Love and do what you want,” because he knew very well that when you love God you do only what pleases him.

Saints, those who are already in heaven, are venerated because they are:

Models: Seeing what they did to be friends of God, we can imitate them.

Stimulus: To fight like them to enjoy the inheritance to which we are all called.

Intercessors: Because we can turn to them, begging them to make their friendship with God count. Pope John Paul II has invited us to live holiness many times and tells us that to be saints we must pray, frequent the sacraments, listen to the word of God, recognize our smallness, not doubt God’s love and be ready to receive his graces.