Francesca looked at me and declared: “Look Father, there are saints and then there’s us, regular ordinary people.  There is no middle ground.”  I responded “No, they are the same. “ I continued:” Saints are truly, ordinary people who live ordinary lives,  but with a certain attitude.  ” That certain attitude is looking at what’s on their plate for that day, accepting it and then trying to make it all work.   “With this Plus and it is a big Plus:  trusting God to do the rest,” I added.

Life has no shortcuts when it comes to present moments.  The only way  forward is through them. When we know this and do it,  the end product is usually a “halo.”

Our difficulty with understanding saints’ lives is the exact moment we meet them. It is usually when they have already put on the halo.  Thus we forget they had a life before the halo. We forget how they lived or what challenges faced them in each present moment before the big title “Saint.”

Truly they were ordinary people who met their difficulties and their pain trusting in God’s promise that he loved them and their lives mattered.  Living  each present moment with this approach gave these “saints to be” safe passage until that final present moment brought their halo and title.

Pope Francis seems to support this Image of God.. “We simply have to hold onto this wonderful image.  God is faithful to us always and ask that we be the same to Him.”

During this month of November we are encouraged to  ask the saints who have “their halos” to help us get ours. With their prayers we can live our ordinary lives listening  for God’s voice until our final halo moment at last comes.