Pope Francis reminded us also that holiness is not clerical, although most of the saints who have been canonised have been either priests or religious. We’ve had three popes canonised in the last few years, so it does give us the impression that priests and monks are going to be a little higher on the ladder of holiness than the rest of us. Well, holiness is not clerical. And it’s not about celebrity. A saint isn’t a celebrity. A great majority of saints of course have never been canonised. They’ve lived hidden lives in a way. They just raised their families, they dealt with the problems of life. They tried to love people because they know they were loved, and maybe they are remembered with great love by their families, remembered for a couple of generations anyway. These are the great communion of saints, not the celebrities only. The celebrities, some of them were no doubt really holy of course.
( Christian Life in the Light of Christian Meditation 2, Laurence Freeman )
