Many of us falsely assume that sainthood is attainable only for the holiest of holy people—those who have been canonized and to whom documented miracles are directly attributed.  In November, we remember all of the saints – those canonized and the myriad in Heaven who never will be.  We, too, are among those called to sainthood.  Each of our paths to sanctification is tailored to the journey we must take and the legacy the Lord desires that we leave behind.

The beauty of the communion of saints is that their stories and missions are so vast.  For every one of us, there is at least one saint with whom we can identify.  To the young and old, of every race and creed, through all tiers of socioeconomic status, and from varied personalities, we can find a saint who reminds us of ourselves.

The saints give us hope for our own path of sanctification.  When we become discouraged with ourselves or disappointed in the turn of events our lives have taken, we can always turn to the saints for encouragement and intercession. 

Because they are among the heavenly hosts, we know they long for us to join them.  Our prayers never fall on deaf ears, so the supplications we make to the saints – to assist us, guide us, and teach us – are heard.  As mentors and mediators, the saints and their lives have much to teach us in the way of attaining Heaven.  Let us turn to them in times of need and celebration.

St. Mary the Slave (Nov. 1)

She was among many slaves belonging to the Roman senator Tertullus, yet she was the only Christian in such a crowd.  Not much is known about Mary’s life, including exactly when she was born, but we do know that she was tortured and persecuted under Diocletian’s rule.  Undaunted by the threat of being burned alive, she never apostasized.  Mary did eventually escape a martyr’s death and lived the remainder of her life in quiet servitude to the Lord.  She died in the fourth century, in Italy.

What’s most inspirational about Mary is that she never faltered in her faith.  She is a bulwark for Christians who are under the threat of persecution and martyrdom today.  We can learn much from her wisdom: “The God whom I serve is with me. I do not fear your torments, which can only take away a life that I am ready to lay down for Christ.”

St. Martin de Porres (Nov. 3)

Born of humble beginnings, Martin’s entire life involved exemplary humility and service to the Lord.  As an illegitimate son of a Spanish nobleman and a mixed race (either African or Native American) slave woman, Martin certainly wasn’t viewed as a member of high society.  This never bothered him.  He pursued a life of extreme austerity and spent hours of prayer each night, even as a child.

After a stint as a barber, Martin longed to join the Dominican order.  He became a lay brother but was often derided by his fellow Dominicans as the “mulatto dog.”  None of this fazed him.  His humility was so deep that at one point when the convent was in debt, he pleaded, “Please sell me.  I am only a poor mulatto.”

The Lord worked through his beloved Martin, and many miracles of healing were attributed to his intercession, even during his life.  In addition to healing, Martin was known to bilocate, levitate, have a knack for communicating with animals, and carry miraculous knowledge.  His spiritual poverty matched the economic poverty to which he was accustomed, and he voluntarily abstained from meat and fasted regularly as acts of penance.

We can learn much from Martin’s courageous humility.  How many of us truly humble ourselves the way this legendary saint did?  Perhaps if we considered, or reconsidered, our lifestyles, we would see more clearly how beautiful the gift of spiritual poverty is and how it leads to humility, which ultimately leads us to Heaven.

St. Martin of Tours (Nov. 11)

Martin of Tours was born into a military family in the fourth century.  Known as a “spiritual bridge across Europe,” he was born in Hungary but grew up in Italy and eventually became Bishop of Tours, France.  Martin is well known for an incident in which he cut his cloak in half during the thick of winter in order to give the other half to a beggar.

Martin joined the Catholic Church against his parents’ wishes.  He had been recruited to join the Roman army, but after his conversion, he refused to bear arms as one of the earliest gestures of conscientious objection.  He proclaimed without reserve, “I am a soldier of Christ.  I cannot fight.”  Despite the subsequent objections to his claim, he was released from his military responsibilities and joined a hermitage under the direction of St. Hilary of Poitiers.

As Bishop of Tours, Martin spent the remainder of his life fighting against the heresies of his day, including Arianism.  Throughout the ages, he has been invoked as a powerful military saint and is said to have directly interceded against the anticlerical movement and during the Franco-Prussian War, both in the 1800's.

We can look to Martin as an example of heroic courage and fortitude.  Not only did he object to killing during war, but he also stood against the popular heresies of his day.  A true leader, we can turn to Martin when we find ourselves afraid to stand for Truth, when we encounter spiritual attack, or when we are called to speak and live courageously in times of turmoil and uncertainty.

St. Josaphat of Polotsk (Nov. 12)

Born as Ioann Kuntsevych in the late sixteenth century in modern-day Ukraine to parents who ascribed to the Eastern Orthodox Church, Josaphat experienced his childhood during turbulent times.  He was born in the thick of the Counter-Reformation, while the Orthodox Church remained loosely unified with Catholicism, but his parents encouraged him to grow in piety and religious instruction.  Not only did he read religious texts daily, but he also studied Church Slavonic, a type of liturgical language used in the Eastern Orthodox Church.

Eventually, Josaphat became interested in Catholicism, mainly due to the influence of an acquaintance who converted to the Byzantine Rite from Calvinism.  Shortly thereafter, Josaphat chose to enter a Catholic monastery and eventually became its prior.  He felt very called to bring unity to the schismatic denominations and the Catholic Church, but as his work toward unification increased, so did opposition against his efforts.  Josaphat was murdered by Lithuanian Protestants in a clandestine attack.   

Josaphat was very gifted theologically, but he also exhibited the ability to be a peacemaker among warring factions of Christian denominations.  Perhaps because he was born into such strife, he knew how important it was for reconciliation to occur and was willing to risk his life in order to pursue peace.  So must we live a life of peace and promote it in our own communities.

St. Brice (Nov. 13)

Brice was an orphan who was rescued by Martin of Tours and brought to the monastery at Martmoutiers as a child.  Notably different in temperament from Martin, Brice was willful, stubborn, and often emotionally volatile.  Yet he remained Martin’s apprentice and eventually succeeded Martin as Bishop of Tours.

Scandal surrounded him, however, likely because of his brash and harsh temperament.  Brice was known to succumb to worldly pleasures, but he protested innocence when a nun in his household gave birth to a child purportedly fathered by him.  To prove it, he carried a load of hot coals inside his coat to Martin’s grave, but the coat was never burned.  The people of Tours didn’t accept this miracle and forced his exile to Rome, where he had to profess remorse of his sins and be absolved by the Pope.

After this seven year exile, Brice returned to Tours as a new person.  His humility was so notable among all that he was almost immediately venerated as a saint after his death.  We, too, may encounter trials in our lives – perhaps unjust slander that harms our reputations – and we may be tempted to justify ourselves or prove our innocence.  Brice reminds us to allow God to restore us Himself, so that we may bear wrongs patiently.

St. Zachariah (Nov. 15)

The information we have about Zachariah is the famous Gospel story about his encounter with God while in the temple.  As a high priest, he was permitted to enter the Holy of Holies, but he wasn’t expecting to hear God’s voice.  His doubt at the words spoken to him about his aging wife, Elizabeth, who was believed to be barren, consequently struck him mute until the birth of his son, Saint John the Baptist.

What incredible witnesses of God’s miracles in this family!  Zachariah may have been silent for months during Elizabeth’s pregnancy, but this increased his faith that “what is impossible for man is possible for God.”  If we could have the faith the size of a mustard seed, we would see and hear miracles, as Zachariah did.

St. Albert the Great (Nov. 15)

A German Dominican friar and eventual bishop, Albertus Magnus (Albert the Great) is also a Doctor of the Church.  Some theologians even believe he was the “greatest German philosopher and theologian in the Middle Ages.”  St. Thomas Aquinas was one of his pupils!

One of Albert’s great accomplishments was making the writings of Aristotle accessible to scholars, thus creating an atmosphere of philosophical debate among Muslims and Catholics.  A natural and brilliant academe, Albert the Great was proficient in logic, theology, botany, geography, astronomy, astrology, mineralogy, alchemy, zoology, physiology, phrenology, justice, and law to name a few.

He left behind thirty-eight volumes of his writings on such topics, but his first love was studying and dissecting Aristotle’s philosophy.  Though not all of us are gifted academically or in high positions of leadership, Albert the Great serves as an example to us all, that we must cultivate our natural talents and spiritual charisms to glorify God and bring others to know, love, and serve Him.

St. Cecilia (Nov. 22)

St. Cecilia is said to be most famous among the early Roman martyrs, though much of her life is unrecorded.  It is historical fact, however, that she did live in the second century and was, indeed, martyred.  Legend remains that she secretly vowed a life of chastity before she was betrothed for marriage.  Her husband, Valerian, didn’t accept this, despite Cecilia’s warning that she had no intention of consummating the marriage.  She told him he would be able to see the angel at her side if he agreed to become Catholic. After he was baptized, he realized she was speaking the truth.  Valerian and his brother both became Catholics and martyrs because of Cecilia's strength and dedication to the truth.  She is the patroness of musicians, because she was believed to have sung a song to God in her heart on her wedding day.

What’s interesting is that Cecilia has been the subject of many fanciful romance tales.  Her name, with the Latin root Caecilli, which literally means “blind,” was eloquently translated by Chaucer to mean “lily of heaven; the way for the blind; contemplation of heaven and the active life; as if lacking in blindness; a heaven for people to gaze upon.”

We often think of chastity only relating to sexuality, but there are many forms of chastity.  In essence, chastity involves waiting for what does not yet belong to us.  Cecilia reminds us, through her life and martyrdom, that such sublime things are, in fact, worth waiting for.

St. Catherine of Alexandria (Nov. 25)

Catherine of Alexandria, once a princess and eventually a young martyr, is one of the voices St. Joan of Arc claims to have heard and received counsel from.  Catherine converted to Catholicism at the age of fourteen, and shortly thereafter she publicly admonished the cruel emperor Maxentius for his persecution of Christians.  Unfortunately, that marked her as a target for martyrdom.

Despite the subsequent scourging and imprisonment, Catherine’s courage inspired hundreds of people to convert to Christianity or refuse to apostasize if they were already Christians.  Even after Maxentius’ proposal of marriage, which Catherine of course refused, she wasn’t martyred easily.  After her beheading, however, she was buried – purportedly by angels – at Mt. Sinai.  When her body was discovered, her hair was still growing, and she had a constant stream of oil emanating from her body.

What we can glean from Catherine’s life is that God may call us to evangelize in difficult ways.  If we respond to His call, we will win souls for Him.  Even if we don’t know exactly how many people find hope and encouragement through our example, we can be assured that the effort itself bears fruit beyond our comprehension.

St. Vergil of Salzburg (Nov. 27)

Known as “the geometer” by his peers, Vergilius was born to a noble Irish family in the eighth century.  He founded a monastery in Bavaria and was shortly thereafter named abbot of the monastery.

Interestingly, Vergil clashed with St. Boniface over the issue of whether or not a priest correctly baptized someone.  Pope Zachary sided with Vergil, however, and the clash is viewed as a common misunderstanding.  Once Boniface was martyred, Virgil was assigned as Bishop of Salzburg, Austria.  Among his most notable accomplishments include the conversion of the Alpine Slavs and the commission of missionaries to Hungary.

Perhaps what we can adopt from St. Vergil’s life and legacy is charity – responding to others who disagree with us in kindness.  His charity was also evident in his evangelization of those who didn’t have the beauty of our Faith.  We, too, can reach non-Catholics and even non-Christians through words and actions of charity.

St. Catherine Labouré (Nov. 28)

After Catherine’s mother died, she reportedly picked up a statue of the Blessed Mother and said, “Now you will be my mother.”  From her childhood, she was known to be sensitive, intuitive, and somewhat romanticizing of her faith.  Her spirituality was definitely more mystical in nature.

A turning point in Catherine’s life, and the event for which she will be forever remembered, occurred when on the eve of the feast of St. Vincent in 1830, she heard the voice of a child calling her to the chapel, where the Virgin Mary said to her, "God wishes to charge you with a mission. You will be contradicted, but do not fear; you will have the grace to do what is necessary. Tell your spiritual director all that passes within you. Times are evil in France and in the world."

The Blessed Mother returned to Catherine and revealed the image of the Miraculous Medal to her, which was approved after some investigation of Catherine’s personality and intentions.  Our Lady revealed to Catherine that “all who wear the medal will receive great graces.”

Our lives are often uncertain, and there’s no doubt that we live in a broken world increasingly rife with violence, unrest, and division.  Like Catherine, we can turn to the Blessed Mother as our own spiritual mother, entrusting all to her protection and care.  When we surrender our lives to her, she cares for us and never leads us astray.  May our faith in God be as strong as the saints’!

What other November saints inspire you? Share in the comments below!