According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church, “Their (the saints’) intercession is their most exalted service to God’s plan. We can and should ask them to intercede for us and for the whole world.”

If we choose to invite the saints into our daily lives as young Catholics we will fully experience the great things they can do for us.  

I first realized how the saints could be relevant to me as a young Catholic when I started reading about them. I read about St. Therese of Lisieux, a young girl who entered the convent at 15, who showed a loving dedication to God, but also weakness through her dry prayer life and falling asleep during prayer — things that I often struggle with.

I also began to learn about St. Maria Goretti. Maria was young, but had a deep love for Jesus and was very excited to receive the Eucharist.

After learning about St. Therese and St. Maria Goretti, I was inspired. Although they were only young women, their main goal in life was to show their love for God, and I found myself with the desire in my heart to become a saintlike.         

Saints can be our role models on our journey to sainthood. We know we’re not perfect and doing God’s will can seem like an overwhelming, unattainable goal.

Angelique Arnauld, a Benedictine Sister from France, said, “Perfection consists not in doing extraordinary things, but in doing ordinary things extraordinarily well.” Saints are no more extraordinary than anyone else, they simply lived out their daily lives with great love. We might think that because we have so many faults we are not holy enough to become saints. But saints can give us hope that it is possible to do God’s will despite our weaknesses. As is often said, “Saints are just sinners who keep on trying.”

Saints are more than just people who are enjoying heaven; saints can have a powerful influence in our lives as young people. We can have personal connections to our patron saints; they can be friends who we can talk to and ask to pray for us.

Reading about the lives of the saints can inspire us to live a life of holiness and virtue. We have a whole army up in heaven of holy souls who are just waiting for us to ask for their help. Why would we not seek the help of those closest to God? Today, in a world full of sin and darkness, a world that pressures youth to live a life contrary to that of God’s will, we need all the extra help we can get.

(Walsh, 21, is a primary and elementary education student at Memorial University in St. John’s, Nfld.)