Each year on November 1 we celebrate the Saints, canonized or not—those people who lived well and now live in heaven. They are our ancestors who show us the way, our friends in high places who pray for us. Luckily, just in time, my latest book was published: Destination Heaven: Daily Advice from the Saints. (Loyola Press) For each day of the year it offers a piece of wisdom from a saint, a reflection on those words, and a brief prayer. In some cases the saint is the one whose feast is that day.

Here are two samples from the book. The first sample fittingly is the page for November 1:

November 1   Bernard of Clairvaux

“Clearly if we venerate their memory, it serves us, not them. . . . Calling the saints to mind inspires . . . a longing to enjoy their company.”

                   Packing up books I was selling after Masses, I couldn’t find my keys. I searched each suitcase thoroughly with no luck. The priest, eager to leave, appealed to Saint Anthony with me. The keys dropped out of a suitcase. We hadn’t touched it!

                   The Church assigns saints tasks. Saints Jude and Rita oversee impossible cases, Saint Peregrine is patron of people with cancer, and Saint Gerard Majella is the go-to one for expectant women.

                   Knowing about the saints stirs you to imitate them. The Blessed Mother motivates you to say yes to God. Saint Vincent de Paul inspires you to care for the unfortunate. Saint Monica prompts you to persevere in praying for a wayward child.

                   The saints, your older siblings with a direct line to God, are happy to plead for you. If you bear a saint’s name, they are your patron saint. If not, adopt one. Celebrate their feast day, pray to them, display their image, wear their medal, and speak about them. An excellent way to honor a saint is to follow in their footsteps. Then someday you’ll have the joy of meeting your heavenly family.

 Jesus, thank you for graces that made saints. I ask for grace to become holy myself.

Here is an entry that I find particularly meaningful . . .

April 19 Francis de Sales

“There is nothing small in the service of God.”

                   Long ago for many years a Sister in Rome cut butter for the tables. To us, this ministry pales in significance compared to being a missionary in India or a university professor. But in God’s eyes, Sister’s work was as important and precious as any other because she did it for love of him.

                   It’s not what you do, but why and how you do it that count. In the morning you can offer everything you do in the new day as a gift to God, in a sense, gilding it. Emptying the dishwasher, shopping for groceries, greeting someone—become acts of adoration and love. Carrying them out with enthusiasm and joy increases their value.

                   The Blessed Virgin Mary was a housewife who cooked, did laundry, cleaned house, and sewed clothes. She is not famous for running a business, painting masterpieces, or exploring new lands. Yet, because everything she did was for Jesus, it was priceless.

                   Jesus pays attention to little things: a few loaves and fish, a widow’s two coins, a little man in a tree. He is aware of you picking up litter, letting someone go ahead in line, or biting back a hurtful retort. Living your daily life the best you can pleases him. Saint Margaret Mary said, “Great graces are often attached to what seems trifling.”

Lord Jesus, may my every thought, word, and deed, no matter how trivial, praise you.

Who is your patron saint?

Who is your favorite saint? What do you admire about him or her?

My new book can be purchased from Loyola Press or Amazon. Click here for the Amazon page

This song is new to me. It is not about the saints, but words that the saints (and us) might sing: