AmericanCatholic.org has a web page titled Saint of the Day. It begins with this definition: Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint that the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts. God calls each one of us to be a saint.

These words remained with me after I read them, and reread them, and read them again. If God calls each of us to be a saint, then he must be calling me. Saint Lee Hunt? I don't think so! I'm not going to be in the Church's official list of declared saints.

But, I know that all saints aren't on this official list. Let's rethink parts of the definition from that web page. First, Catholic saints are holy people and human people. Well, all of us fit the human people part of the definition. There appears to be some hope for us.

The next part of the definition gets more difficult. Catholic saints are holy people. The word "holy" is more in the eyes of the people who see us as opposed to what we think about ourselves. By our actions, others think we are living holy lives. As individuals, we do not see ourselves as being holy because, as we seek holiness, the dimples in our perfection become large bumps. Perhaps it is our striving for perfection that makes us appear holy to others. Since people are called saints by others, not by themselves, there still remains hope for each of us to be a saint.

As we delve deeper into the definition of a saint, we may begin to squirm. The holy and human people lived extraordinary lives. Again, I propose that when we are doing something that looks extraordinary to others we are just doing what we have to do and what is actually ordinary to us. So, to others, we can appear to be holy people doing extraordinary things. This merely affirms that we are walking our talk.

 One part of the saint definition remains: Each saint that the Church honors responded to God's invitation to use his or her unique gifts. This is where the rubber must meet the road if we are to become saints. One might say that, "The ball is always in our court."

Matthew's beatitudes present us with examples of how to act to become saints. Megan McKenna offers retreats around the world. They resulted in her book titled Blessings and Woes. The first blessing is a showstopper in many retreats she gives in North America. People cannot get beyond the first blessing: "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God." This beatitude reveals a God whose concerns do not mirror ours and a world that is out of sync with the kingdom of heaven.

Poor in spirit means that we should be God centered and not self centered. Being highly educated or even having accumulated wealth in the meanwhile is not a detriment, as long as we are thankful to God for what we have received. But above all, we must understand that all these are of no value in God's eyes.

Mother Theresa might be someone we all recognize as having been poor in spirit. She could give impressive talks when necessary, but she is most known for being poor in spirit and focusing on the needs of others and not her own.

My local models of being poor in spirit are men and women in the Benedictine communities of Shawnee and Piedmont. Some of them are highly educated while being closely connected with God by the way they talk and walk the faith. They are the faces of Christ to those who get to know them.

Yes, I believe that all of us can become saints. The only thing holding us back is becoming more God centered and less self centered. We need to become poor in spirit so that the kingdom of God will be ours.