How to Become a Saint – A Guide

A friend of mine asked me if it was a good idea to make a plan, a checklist if you will, in order to become a saint. That is the goal right, to get to heaven? But can we really “checklist” our way into heaven? I know that we can’t “earn heaven”, we go there because of God’s grace, not because of anything we do, but this question got in my head so I had to think it out further. I can’t really picture some of the saints, at least the ones that I am familiar with, making an actual plan to become saints. But what if I am wrong?

I thought of a few examples like St Maximillian Kolbe, he was a priest that became a saint because he volunteered to die in the place of another prisoner at Auschwitz concentration camp. I don’t think he at any point thought to himself, if I do this, I will become a saint. He just said to himself, it is not right that this man dies today, I will give up my life in his stead. It took tremendous courage, but he did it out of love for the other (which is actually the real definition of love, because love is not a feeling, it is an action) without expecting anything in return.

Or what about St. Faustina Kowalska, the religious sister that Jesus kept visiting in her visions. She was asked by her superiors to write down her visions so they can determine if it really was Jesus, or if the devil was tempting her, or maybe that she was just going out of her mind. I don’t think she said to herself, Jesus is talking to me, heaven is assured!

What about St. Jerome? He spent over 20 years translating the Bible from the original languages into Latin for the very first time. That bible is called the vulgate if you are interested. While he was working on this translation, did he think, this is my doorway to heaven?! I doubt it. Why you may ask? Because he was an angry dude. He would carry around a rock that he would use to stop himself from lashing out at others. He had his imperfections just like most of us. But here we are, he is a saint. And a great one in my opinion.

In short, I think that there is no checklist to becoming a saint. There are thousands of saints and thousands of different circumstances of life that led them to become saints. But I do think there is a framework for becoming a saint. Not necessarily a checklist, but a way of living. We basically just have to follow Jesus’ advice when he tells us that we have to love God with all of our hearts, our souls, and our minds and we have to love our neighbors as much as we love ourselves. Super simple right? Easier said than done. So here is my attempt at creating a list on what WE need to do to become a saint based on Jesus’ advice.

You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the greatest and the first commandment. The second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. – Matthew 22:37-39

In order to love God the way he deserves to be loved, we need to:

1. Put God above yourself – Put God above everything actually. This is the hardest one in my opinion. I love myself like a lot 🤣. But that’s not what Jesus showed us on the cross. He was obedient to his Father even to His death. He died willingly because it was his Father’s will and he knew it was the right thing to do out of love for us. Putting God above yourself means making Him the center of your life. Just like you MAKE time to go to concerts, to attend family gatherings, to go to parties, and to plan your vacation, you need to MAKE TIME FOR YOUR CREATOR!
2. Spend time with God in Prayer – There is no getting around this one either. Our Faith revolves around having a relationship with Jesus. But as in any relationship, there has to be two way communication. And when the one we are communicating with is the creator of the universe, we need to pay close attention to what he has to tell us. That’s why the mass is important, that is why the Bible is important, because it tells us what Jesus wants from us and our lives. If you don’t go to mass and don’t read the Bible, then it is impossible to understand God.
3. Take part in the Sacraments – Go to mass regularly and on holy days of obligation. Go to confession at least once a year. Spend a little time in adoration each week. Jesus gave us the sacraments so we can partake of His divine life here on earth. In the Eucharist, Jesus is giving you Himself, there is no greater gift!
4. Trust In God’s mercy – There are so many people that don’t go to confession because they don’t think that God could possibly forgive them for what they have done. If this is you, check out the parable of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11) and pay close attention to what the father does when his son returns to him. He embraces his son that took half of his fortune and squandered it. He threw a party for him when he came back! Wrap your brain around that.

In order to love our neighbors as ourselves, we have to change the way we do things:

1. Put others above yourself – This one may be harder than putting God above ourselves. This is because God deserves our love, and sometimes the people around us are not so nice. But Jesus tells us that we have to love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). Not like them, love them! Man, this christianity stuff is hard. When this sounds like something close to impossible to do, just remember how much God loves YOU even with all of your imperfections. I am constantly surprised on HOW He loves me, despite me.
2. Be who God made you to be – Don’t compare yourself to others. Getting to heaven is not a competition, there is room for everyone that wants to go there. That’s why Jesus died on the cross for, remember. You don’t have to be in every church ministry in order to be saved, but you do have to do good works. But those works don’t have to be painful or big things for that matter. Look up St Therese of Lisieux if you want to understand what I mean. You will know what ministry is right for you because it will not feel like work (well maybe a little, lol), if you haven’t found your calling, keep looking (and praying), you will eventually.
3. If you are hurting others while you are “doing good”, you are doing it wrong – It really bothers me when I see people treating others badly in the name of God. Whether it be because of their sexual orientation, or political differences, or because they don’t subscribe to “MY beliefs”. Jesus spent all of his time with sinners, on purpose! Those are the people that needed Him the most. Yes, we need to get people to understand that they are doing wrong. But we have to do it gently, with patience and plenty of love (Colossians 3:12-14). Just like Jesus does it with us.
4. You need to be ok with others disliking you – I have a really hard time with this one because I like to be liked by others. But sometimes I have to speak certain truths to people that may not want to hear it. People don’t like being told they are wrong, even if they know they are hearing the truth. In order to become a saint you have to always speak the truth, BUT always remember you have to speak that truth with love.

I guess most of the stuff that we need to do to become a saint is difficult. That’s why we have to look to Jesus when we feel like giving up. He physically healed people, turned water into wine, brought back people from the dead, and what did he get for it? Death on a cross.

Whenever you complain that following Jesus is hard (I am talking to myself here), remember that Jesus had it worse. But the reward comes later. Because after the cross comes the Resurrection! Your reward is an eternity with Him in heaven! There is no happier ending than that!

Anyway, those are my thoughts. Please pray for me and I will definitely pray for you 😬!