An Invitation to Become a Saint

By Rebecca, on mission in Peru

Sra. Anastasia lives near our mission house; around the corner and on the side of a very steep hill. She is 96 years old, hard of hearing and fragile. Although she walks and talks very slowly, her mind is alert. She has the most patient and humble eyes. As we visited her and her great-grandchild, I could not help but notice a woman in front of me, softened by her life-experience and circumstances. She patiently let her grandchild talk, and she did not get frustrated when she could not follow the conversation. In front of me, as I was braiding her hair, I realized her physical reality has invited her to become humble, to become simple, to learn obedience to the Father, and to realize her dependence on the Lord. Perhaps this is what the Lord means when he calls us to be like children, “And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18, 2-4) As we sat there, praying a decade of the rosary, I looked up and saw a woman deep in prayer, eyes closed, and reverent. I felt closer to heaven just by being in her presence! She helped me realize that the gift of our circumstances, whether it be old-age, pain or suffering, can be an invitation to become a saint.