God’s ‘All-Stars’ and our help and inspiration

BISHOP KEVIN J. SWEENEY

Earlier this month, Major League Baseball held its Mid-Summer Classic, or what we commonly refer to as the All-Star Game. Interest in (and television ratings for) the All-Star Game is not what it used to be. But for most baseball fans, it is exciting each year to find out which players are selected as All-Stars and then to root for the American or National League.

As with other sports, when an individual player is named an All-Star (or All-Pro), it means that they have reached the highest level of performance. They are considered the best of the best. For baseball fans and other team sports, there is a lesson to be learned: as important as it can be to have as many all-stars on your roster as possible, the accumulation of the most individually talented players does not always result in having the most successful team. Many fans of team sports have come to appreciate the importance of good, dependable role or bench players. Team chemistry can be as crucial to a team’s success as the contributions of the All-Stars.

What does the All-Star Game or team sports have to do with our lives of faith? There have been at least a few books written on the topic. Still, I mention the All-Star Game at the moment because, in the Church, we are at a time in our Liturgical Calendar when we celebrate several individuals who, I believe, can be called “God’s All-Stars,” even though we more commonly call them saints.

Here is a list of some of the saints and blesseds whom we commemorate in the last two weeks (10 days) of July and the first two weeks of August:

• July 22 St. Mary Magdalene
• July 25 St. James the Apostle
• July 26 Ss. Joachim and Anne
• July 28 Blessed Stanley Rother
• July 29 Saints Martha, Mary, & Lazarus
• July 30 Blessed Solanus Casey
• July 31 St. Ignatius of Loyola
• Aug. 1 St. Alphonsus Liguori
• Aug. 3 St. Peter Julian Eymard
• Aug. 4 St. John Vianney
• Aug. 8 St. Dominic
• Aug. 9 St. Theresa Benedicta of the Cross
• Aug. 10 St. Lawrence
• Aug. 11 St. Clare of Assisi
• Aug. 12 St. Jane Frances de Chantal
• Aug. 13 Blessed Michael McGivney
• Aug. 14 St. Maximilian Kolbe

This is not even a complete list. As I have done many times before, I highly recommend the "Franciscan Media — Catholic Saint of the Day” website where you can find out more about some or all of the “Spiritual All-Stars” listed here and many, many more. There is literally a Saint (or Blessed) for every day.

I would like to comment on a few of my personal favorites on this late July/early August list. Arguably, the most important Feast Day of Saints on this list are the married couple we celebrate on July 26, Ss. Joachim and Anne, the parents of Mary, Mother of God and our Blessed Mother, and the grandparents of Jesus. They are also the patron saints of grandparents. Thank God for our grandparents and all grandparents!

On this year’s World Day for Grandparents, our Holy Father, Pope Francis, noted that grandparents: “are the link between generations, passing on the experience of life and faith to the young.” Our grandparents and our “All-Star Saints” unite us to the living faith of the gospel from which each new generation draws life.

Remembering Ss. Joachim and Anne and the importance of grandparents, we are also reminded of the importance of the domestic Church — that each family and each home is a place where God’s Love (and forgiveness) needs to be passed on and shared.

Another wonderful example of the importance of faith and family life and welcoming Jesus into our homes is the Feast we celebrate on July 29, now known as the Feast of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. Until January 2021, in much of the Church, July 29 was the Feast of St. Martha, but on Jan. 26, 2021, Pope Francis clarified that July 29 is the Feast of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus. In his decree, he explained his reasoning for clarifying to include all three siblings, “… considering the important evangelical witness they offered in welcoming the Lord Jesus into their home, in listening to him attentively, in believing that he is the resurrection and the life …” 

In the lives of Ignatius of Loyola, Alphonsus Liguori, Peter Julian Eymard, and Dominic, we see the impact of an individual responding to the call to holiness and, in the process, inspiring the foundation of a Religious Community (the Jesuits, Redemptorists, Blessed Sacrament Fathers, and Dominicans).

In Mary Magdalene, Theresa Benedicta (Edith Stein), Clare of Assisi, and Jane Frances de Chantal, we see the witness, leadership, and contributions of women of faith and holiness.

In John Vianney, the “Cure of Ars,” we see the model and patron of parish priests.

In Lawrence and Maximilian Kolbe, approximately 1,700 years apart, we see the “greatest of all Love” in the willingness to lay down one’s life for one’s friends in the witness of the martyrs.

As a group, they make quite an “All-Star Team!”

I would also like to highlight the three “blesseds” on the list. Someone who is declared “blessed” (or beatified) by the Church is potentially on the way to being “canonized” or officially declared a saint.

In Father Michael McGivney (founder of the Knights of Columbus), Father Solanus Casey, and Father Stanley Rother, we see three lives that are representative of the growth of the Catholic Church from 1852, when Father McGivney was born, to 1981, when Father Rother was martyred. Father Solanus was born in 1870 and died in 1957. They lived very different lives, in different times and circumstances, but they are each an example of a life of holiness, as they lived their shared vocation as priests.

If you want to do some summer reading, I recommend a biography of these three priests. The Shepherd Who Didn’t Run is a powerful testimony of the life, death, and courageous, generous, joyful spirit of Father Stanley Rother. There is also a well-done documentary about his life (Oklahoma Martyr — Father Stan Rother) available online.

Parish Priest is not lengthy, but it is a compelling account of the life of Father Michael McGivney, written by noted historian Douglas Brinkley. Many may be aware that Father McGivney founded the Knights of Columbus, but not as many are aware of the details of his heroic, although brief life — he died from pneumonia at the age of 38.

If you are ever feeling down and want to feel your spirits lifted, I recommend getting to know Father Solanus Casey. There are many biographies and other material available on his life and witness. I very much enjoyed reading, Thank God Ahead of Time: the Life and Spirituality of Father. Solanus Casey, by Michael H. Crosby, O.F.M. Cap.

Returning to the discussion of All-Stars and the make-up of a great team, there are times, in sports, when someone who was thought to be a back-up or role player, seemingly all of a sudden, in a big moment, becomes a star and a hero, helping his or her team to win a game or a championship.

When we get to know the lives of the saints, we learn that they each started as “ordinary people,” like you and me, but at moments in their lives (some at a young age and some when they were not so young) they came to know Jesus, responded to his call and became examples of living lives of faith, hope, and love. They are now called “saint” or “blessed.” They are given to us to be our friends, help, and inspiration.

The Collect for the Feast of St. Maximilian Kolbe prays that we may strive for God’s glory by “eagerly serving others.” Our commitment to faith, hope, and love through God’s grace makes it possible for us to be “All-Stars,” too. And these great “All-Star saints” are rooting for us.