Ave Maria Meditations
On the Desire to be a Saint:
“When I spoke of you as a “chosen soul”, or words to that effect, I did not mean to imply that you were a saint–you have a long way to go yet. What I intended to imply was that I thought God had special designs on your soul and very great graces in store for you if only you will co-operate with Him in the work of your sanctification.
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With the record of much want of courage and generosity there is running through your life an undercurrent of earnest desire to be a saint. Not that desires alone will do the work: barren desires are most dangerous to a soul, making one content with intentions only; yet without a big ardent desire nothing will be done.
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“If thou wilt be perfect,” Our Lord once said, implying that sanctification is largely a question of good will. This, then, is the first grace you must pray for: the desire to be a saint.”
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Fr. Willie Doyle (1917)
