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Commentary

By Liz Quirin

Look Close to See the Heroes Among Us

If you ask a child who their favorite action figure, movie or video star is, he or she can tell you immediately. Then, they would probably give you a play by play of their latest heroic feats, a short biographical sketch and perhaps an upcoming movie, video or show with that person taking the leading role.

If you ask a child who their favorite saint is, the answer might be a long time coming if at all. Young people who have been confirmed do have some information about saints. They chose the name of a saint for their confirmation. Then, the person who is being confirmed researches that saint to find out about his or her life and whether that fits with an idea or story about that person. Why choose that saint over another. It takes time to make that decision, more so than whether an action figure can measure up. Besides, action figures don’t usually come with saints’ names.

Besides learning about saints so that good decisions can be made for confirmation, finding out about their lives can make for some good reading and research. Since saints began their lives as ordinary people without “superpowers” attributed to action figures, we have a better chance of emulating them and becoming more like them than say “The Green Lantern” with his power ring or Harry Potter with his wand or say the Incredibles, a whole family of cartoon people with special powers. It’s easy to blur the lines between reality and fiction, especially when these people seem so real. At first “suspending belief” to become absorbed in some scenario may be difficult, but eventually we can be pulled in, at least for the duration of the book or the movie.

If we become engrossed in the life of a saint, we’re actually looking at a real life, lived well, of someone offering their special gifts and talents to God to be used as God sees fit. They don’t have rings or wands, but they do have extraordinary faith and some truly amazing stories. If summer reading appears on anybody’s “to do” list, jumping on the internet and googling Catholic saints can yield a treasure trove of stories. These are ordinary people, just like the rest of us, but they have lived extraordinary lives, contributing to the faith of those with whom they lived and beyond, to our lives as well.

And while saints have been recognized and canonized by the church, we live in a world where ordinary people live extraordinary lives every day. Look at your own family, the people you know and the people you may just read about. Someone who lives with a debilitating or life-threatening illness, yet does not succumb to despair as he and she face each day; a soldier who does not lose hope even though he or she may have lost a limb in service to our country; a parent or grandparent who has lost a loved one and still looks for joy in each day; these are the heroes of our time in this place where we, too, can make a difference each day.