I’m very thankful for this paper I’m writing on holiness for theology class.

While researching for it, I learned that a characteristic of saints is constant mindfulness of our need for repentance and conversion. That made me think:

How often to I think of myself as a sinner?
How many times to  I reflect on my need for conversion?

Lent is the perfect time to reflect on these questions, even if we have 1 more week to do so. Let’s make the most of it.

I think I’m obsessed with sainthood.

Okay, maybe obsessed is a strong word. But man, let me tell you:
I was born to be a saint.

I love a good story. I love listening to people share their own stories. I love listening to what others have to say, and what they think about God, life, love, evil. Ever since I was in elementary school, I’ve loved reading about the saints. Their lives have always fascinated me. Their words are so inspiring. At first, I think it was because they married storybooks and real life for me. When I was in the fourth grade, I realized that these beautiful faces in my Picture Book of Saints were real, beautiful people who had lived before me and were somehow connected to me now. Somehow part of my family and part of me.

As I’m writing this paper on sainthood and holiness in Graham Greene’s The Power and the Glory, I look around me. St. George is on the bookmark, Sts. Michael and Francis are on the desk, St. Brigid is in my backpack, St. Dominic Guzman is near my mirror, Padre Pio is on my mirror, Mom is near my window, and She and Her Husband are with their Child on my chest of drawers…

I surround myself with them. But really, God surrounds me with them. He surrounds all of us with them. St. Francis’ Brother Sun and Sister Moon visit us every day. Look at a rock and be reminded of St. Peter. Flip on the TV and St. Clare’s there. San Francisco, San Antonio, St. Louis, San Diego, Notre Dame…the list goes on and on.

But truly, when we see each other, we should see future saints. I wonder how many times in my life I’ve done that, let alone how many times a day. On my cell phone, I keep a note on my background: “Love every soul.” We are all called to love one another to a heroic degree. We are called to love souls as Jesus loves them. It is so difficult. But being a saint isn’t about being a pretty face in a picture book or a holy card. It’s about getting dirt under your fingernails, sweaty palms, calloused feet, and a broken pride. Holiness is embracing our cross. It’s persevering in the midst of an atmosphere of suffering. Being a saint means knowing that we are sinners, repenting, and taking Jesus’ hand once again…for the rest of our existence.

We all have the vocation to sainthood. In his book The Forge, St. Josemaria Escriva said, “Each day be conscious of your duty to be a saint. A saint! And that doesn’t mean doing strange things. It means a daily struggle in the interior life and in heroically fulfilling your duty right through to the end.”

You can just call me moley. ‘Cuz man…
I’m called to be holy.

Today was Thursday Adoration. (We also have Adoration on Sundays, but since I commute, I don’t participate then.)

It was probably the one that left me most joyful. I felt like I was exploding with Jesus/love during and after. I don’t know how many people particpated throughout the hour, since I was sitting in the first pew with my friends, but I’m pretty sure there weren’t very many.

I wonder if Thursday just isn’t a good day for people. Maybe it’s the time. Maybe we need to promote this more. With signs around campus. Maybe we need to re-do the outside bulletin board for University Ministry. It’s Lent - best time to do something like that, IMO.

At any rate, my brothers and I were thirsty for souls at the end of the hour. We prayed together as we always do, and it amazes me how Jesus speaks in such a unique way to each of us during the same amount of time. Every person always has something different to thank Him for.

Souls are beautiful things. Jesus wants to be the lover of our souls.

My name is Angela Santana.

i am a member of the John Paul II Generation. My full-time job is being a first-year student at St. Mary’s University in my hometown, San Antonio, TX.

i own an iPod, have a Facebook and a MySpace, attend Daily Mass, air drum to Led Zeppelin, and write love poems to Jesus. Most people might say that’s a unique combination. i believe they’re wrong.

Hidden among the souls in your parishes are young adults just like me. We want to be saints. It is the foremost goal of our lives. My best friends are living proof of that. One is from Ohio/Louisiana/Alaska/California and the other is from Arizona/Colorado.

It is my hope that this blog will give YOU a sense of what is happening in our world, what is going through the heads of the ardent JP2 Gen-ers.  See life through my lenses for a change.

You know you’re a JP2 gen Catholic college kid when…

-Someone asks you who The Rock is and you say, “Peter.”
-You get together with your friends on a Friday night and watch saint movies.
-Your friend text messages you to ask you if you have The Imitation of Christ by Thomas a Kempis.
-You name your iPod after a saint, like Dominator.
-You and your friends put your plans on hold because one of you has to go to Confession.
-You hang out in the University Ministry office more than your own room.
-One of the first things you do when you get to your new school is find a Rosary-Praying Accountability Partner.
-You and your friends go to daily Mass together.

Stay tuned, folks. The fun has just begun!

-angela-