Theory 2 Action Podcast
Theory 2 Action Podcast
CC#42--What if Sainthood Is Always Within Your Reach?
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Have you ever felt that sainthood is impossibly out of reach? Mary Ann Budnick's refreshing perspective in "You Can Become a Saint" shatters this misconception, revealing that holiness isn't reserved for spiritual superstars—it's precisely what God created you for.
The book's central message hits like a thunderbolt: "The best kept secret in the world is that God created you to be a saint. That is the only purpose for your creation." Through practical guidance, Budnick dismantles the barriers we place between ourselves and holiness, offering what she calls the "ABCs of becoming a saint." Rather than presenting sanctity as something abstract or unattainable, she provides a concrete roadmap that begins with bringing order to your life—creating the spiritual and practical foundation where virtue can flourish.
Prayer forms the cornerstone of this journey. Drawing from St. Thomas Aquinas's simple answer to what makes a saint—"Will it"—and St. Joan of Arc's motto "God served first," Budnick crafts a compelling formula for sanctity that feels genuinely achievable. She demystifies heroic virtue as not about occasional grand gestures but consistent excellence in ordinary tasks. "Heroic virtue is not doing something nice or difficult every now or then," she writes, "It's being heroic each day, in every task that we undertake." This perspective transforms our understanding of holiness from spectacular achievements to quiet, persistent choices made moment by moment.
Whether you're a devout Catholic or simply curious about integrating authentic spirituality into your daily life, this accessible 316-page guide challenges you to see that holiness isn't just possible—it's the path to your most fulfilled life. Ready to discover how your unique vocation serves as your personal path to sainthood? The journey starts with a single act of will.
Key Points from the Episode:
• God created you to be a saint - this is your only purpose for creation
• Sainthood requires both dying in a state of sanctifying grace and living a life of heroic virtue
• Heroic virtue means being heroic each day in every task, not just occasionally
• The "ABCs of becoming a saint" provide a practical roadmap to holiness
• Prayer is non-negotiable - even Pope John Paul II prioritized prayer during critical situations
• Bringing order to your life creates the foundation for hearing God's voice
• Small, consistent acts of faith can transform your relationship with God
• Using your vocation as your path to holiness rather than just pursuing worldly success
Keep fighting the good fight and remember that God's grace makes holiness possible for everyone.
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How to become a saint. Is it a goal out of reach, or are we our own worst enemies let's talk about on this Catholic Corner?
Speaker 3:Welcome to the Theory to Action podcast, where we examine the timeless treasures of wisdom from the great books in less time, to help you take action immediately and ultimately to create and lead a flourishing life. Now here's your host, David Kaiser.
Speaker 1:Hello, I am David and welcome back to the Theory to Action podcast and to this Catholic Corner segment, where we pull our Catholic faith from the corner and integrate it back into our lives. Today we are diving into a book that has been on my mind lately. It's a favorite of mine. It is you Can Become a Saint by Mary Ann Budnick, and if you're like me, the word saint might bring up images of larger-than-life figures such as St Francis of Assisi and St Therese of Lisieux. It might seem just absolutely untouchable in their holiness, but this book, it flips that idea on its head and it says, hey, sainthood isn't just for the superstars of spirituality, it's for you and for me and anyone who's willing to take up the journey. So with that, let's unpack what this book is all about and why it might just change how you think about your faith. Let's go to our first pull quote to kick this whole thing off.
Speaker 1:The best kept secret in the world is that God created you to be a saint. That is the only purpose for your creation. You were not born to shop or to achieve political power, or to accumulate great wealth, or to achieve world-renowned prestige in your field of expertise. You were born for a higher calling, you are called to be a saint. Your vocation is your path to holiness, not the sole purpose of your life. Use your profession to grow in holiness. Use it to become a saint. If, by excelling in your vocation, you should achieve political power, great wealth or prestige, these are additional responsibilities given to you by God, not for your own benefit, but to beends, to use our powers if we don't spoil his plans by ours.
Speaker 1:Now, does sainthood sound too fantastic of an idea? Well, we recall that the mystical body of Christ consists of the saints in heaven, the souls in purgatory and the church militant on earth, that's us. The only people who populate heaven are the saints. If we plan to go to heaven, we have to strive for sanctity, holiness, while we are on earth. Heaven doesn't open its gates to just anyone. There are criteria that must be met. The criteria for membership among the saints are twofold To enter heaven upon death, we have to die in the state of sanctifying grace Our souls cannot be soiled by mortal sin and we have to have lived a life of heroic virtue on earth. And here's our key nugget of wisdom Heroic virtue is not doing something nice or difficult every now or then or when we feel in the mood. It's being heroic each day, in every task that we undertake or are asked to undertake, as Archbishop Sheen wrote to do. God's will until death. That is the inner heart of all holiness. In other words, how we live our lives on earth decides whether we will go directly to heaven, stop off in purgatory or, unfortunately, end up in hell.
Speaker 1:So Budnick's core message is that becoming a saint isn't some lofty, unattainable goal reserved for a select few. It's a universal call, it's for everyone, in all nations throughout the world. She leans into the Catholic teaching here, pulling from Vatican II and the Catechism to remind us that God's grace makes holiness possible for everyone. And we can understand this a little bit more deeper in the Catechism of the Catholic Church when we read points 2013, where we read all Christians, in any state or walk of life, are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity. All are called to holiness. Be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect. Matthew 5, 48. And let's keep going on point 2013. In order to reach this perfection, the faithful should use the strength dealt out to them by Christ's gift so that doing the will of the Father in everything they may wholeheartedly devote themselves to the glory of God and to the service of their neighbor. Thus the holiness of the people of God will grow in fruitful abundance, as is clearly shown in the history of the church throughout the lives of so many saints.
Speaker 1:So I love how she frames it in the fact that you don't need to perform miracles or live in a monastery. Sainthood, she reminds us, is about living your everyday life with intention, with faith, with charity and with a commitment to grow closer to God, namely in the virtues. It's refreshing also because it takes this intimidating concept and makes it feel frankly doable. You know the book structure is built around what Budnick calls the ABCs of becoming a saint. It's just not a catchy phrase, it's really a practical roadmap. She starts with the basics understanding God's love for you and your vocation and whether you're a parent, a teacher, a student or whatever, and she's big about bringing order into your life, which honestly hit home for me. I'm always guilty of letting my days get chaotic and her point is that creating structure spiritually and practically sets the foundation for holiness. It's like if your life's a mess it's harder to hear God's voice, you know. So prayer is a huge focus in this book, and Budnick doesn't hold back in reminding us why. Go on to the book.
Speaker 1:The great theologian St Thomas Aquinas was asked this question what does it take to become a saint? By his curious sister. His answer was simple will it? Holiness begins with God's grace being accepted by our will. The motto of St Joan of Arc completes this formulation God served first. These two quotes taken together give us a concise formula for sanctity.
Speaker 1:To serve God first, before ourselves and others, is a life of heroic virtue. Such a life is not something that is just infused into our nature at baptism. At baptism we are given the graces necessary to live such a life, but we have to struggle every moment to imitate Christ, his mother and the saints. If you set your mind to this goal, it is completely attainable. If we struggle each day to be faithful to our God by doing his will rather than our will, if we strive to grow in the various virtues during our lives on earth, if we unite ourselves to God in prayer and work to carry on the apostolic tradition of bringing souls closer to God, then we will be numbered among the saints in heaven when we die. She says, if we unite ourselves to God in prayer. That's the first step. That is the heart turning back to the Creator. We are the creatures. He is the creator.
Speaker 1:Budnick makes prayer a non-negotiable. It should be part of your day, morning, night, everything in between. Now she does have practical suggestions, like daily mass for the Catholic, if you can. I travel five states and I'm on the road a lot, with many conference calls in between. So daily mass is a struggle and it's out of the window for me. But I do what I can by getting up early on Saturday mornings to make that mass, because my weekends are not nearly as chaotic as my days, and I follow that by a great men's fellowship group. That man Is you Shout out to those guys. So there's a thought. That is a thought of how you can be creative with your schedule to find other ways to get to daily mass outside of Sunday, and for some it's merely a very early morning mass, for others it could be a Wednesday kind of in the middle of the week type of structure to keep them grounded in focus.
Speaker 1:Budnick also mentions some other devotions, the rosary, spiritual reading, which can feel intense if you're trying to juggle a busy schedule, and I'll admit when she talks about spending hours in prayer. I was like Mary Ann I've got emails to answer and other responsibilities. But her point isn't to overwhelm you. It's to show that even the small, consistent acts of prayer can transform your relationship with God. Sometimes the prayer that God is asking you to come to him with is not so much for the person or the event or whatever it is that you're praying for or to or about. Sometimes the prayer is really to change your heart and your soul.
Speaker 1:Now, marianne has a great knack for balancing these high ideals with real-world application. Let's go back to the book to hear her thoughts on that. But to simply follow the whims of our own wills, to only do what feels good or enjoyable, to neglect our prayer life, to have an attitude of live and let live towards others means, in essence, that our life is not only pointless, but it's a complete failure in the eyes of God. What a waste of time, what a waste of a life. Make your life meaningful. Blaze a trail of holiness through your work and activities. Set the hearts of those around you on fire. With the love of God, as an individual, you can make a profound difference in the world. So there is a funny part in the book that I had to just share because I actually laughed when I read it, and these are kind of heady things. So we occasionally just want to take a step back and make sure we're keeping good perspective on ourselves. Yes, we want to become holy, but sometimes we ought not to take ourselves too seriously. But this is a funny part of the book and I just have to share it.
Speaker 1:Going back to the book, look at the Holy Father, pope John Paul II. No one is busier than he, and yet he keeps up an intense prayer schedule throughout his day and night. As part of his routine, he prays from 9.30 pm until 2 am on many nights. One such evening there was a crisis and Secretary of State Cardinal Sedano tiptoed into the Holy Father's chapel to inform him of the situation. In a whisper, he interrupted the Pope Pardon me, holy Father, can I please speak with you? Is it important? Yes, holy Father, is it very important? Yes, holy Father, is it very important? Yes, holy Father, it is very important. Is it critical? Yes, holy Father, it is critical. Then I must continue to pray. You know, cardinal Sedano was probably like okay, and steps out and then is sitting outside the chapel, waiting on the Holy Father to complete his prayer on what he doesn't know anything about, but he's certainly talking to our Lord. And then, eventually, probably, john Paul II came out and said what is it?
Speaker 1:And Cardinal Sedano is finally thinking okay now we can address the practicality of what we need to talk about. I just found it absolutely hilarious. I hope you enjoyed it too. So in today's Catholic Corner, budnick's wonderful book you Can Become a Saint is a book that's very accessible to all of us. It's for regular people moms, dads, workers, students who want to grow in their faith but don't know where to start. It's 316 pages of practical, no-nonsense advice. There's even a workbook if you want to dig deeper. I didn't know there was one and found it on Amazon.
Speaker 1:So whether you're a Catholic or just curious about the Catholic faith at a very practical level or some form of spirituality to begin your life of faith, this book will challenge you to see that holiness is real and a tangible goal that we can all can reach, and that is unlike what the secular and post-Christian world is telling you. So I highly recommend this book you Can Become a Saint by Mary Ann Budnick. It's a call to action for all of us. It's a reminder that God's grace is enough, and yet it is a mystery on how we receive that supernatural grace, and this book is, frankly, just a wonderful guide to always ground you in the basics, especially if you're a Catholic, in your Catholic faith. It's grounded in the basics, with challenging you and encouraging you to love and to visit the sacraments often, and it is just a wonderful encouraging book. So let me close with what I believe Mary Ann Budnick would encourage us to do and which I am always reminding you and me to do as always, let's keep fighting the good fight.
Speaker 3:Thank you for joining us. We hope you enjoyed this Theory to Action podcast. Be sure to check out our show page at teammojoacademycom, where we have everything we discussed in this podcast, as well as other great resources. Until next time, keep getting your mojo on.