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This past September, the Young Adult Ministry of the Cathedral of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus had their annual fall retreat. To prepare for the coming of the fall season, the topic of this year was "The Saints."

Trinity Pominville opened the retreat with a captivating description of what a saint is and how people become saints in the Catholic Church.

Shaun Brennan continued with a strong and inspiring call to action, specifically a call to be the light in the world by pursuing the virtue and holiness embodied by the saints.

Following this, Nathan Keeble offered a thought-provoking reflection on immense love by using his favorite saint, St. Francis of Assisi, as a living model.

Christian Young ended the speaker portion of the retreat by sharing the impact of St. Frances Cabrini on his own life. Particularly, Christian elaborated on how St. Cabrini’s sacrifices impacted his own faith journey.

The main theme that connected all these talks was the premise of what true love looks like and what it motivates you to do. Saints became saints because of the way they loved and their obedience to what God asked them to do regardless of the hardship of the circumstances. Hence, for us to become saints, we have to love well. Saint Thérèse professes that love is the vocation that includes all others. Whether it is the small sacrifice or the seemingly irrational outpouring of yourself, “in the twilight of our lives, we will be judged on love alone” (St. John of the Cross). 

As is tradition for the fall retreat, there was a service component. To be saints in today’s world, we need to act. In other words, we need to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and pray with those who are suffering. Split into teams, the young adults planned and purchased items to create gift bags for those we tend to avoid the most – the homeless. These people, as Rick Grinstead likes to remind us, are constantly avoided at stop lights or parking lots. These bags are an opportunity to see the need for love and be able to fill it. Many young adults at the retreat filled their bags with items such as socks, rain ponchos, water, crackers, prayer cards, and other practical things for individuals who do not live in the best possible conditions.

More than giving the bags, we are challenged to take time to listen and pray with the people. They, homeless people, are our brothers and sisters in Christ. By giving them not only a bag of items but also our time and prayers, we allow the love in our hearts to begin changing us, and we start to become like saints. This call to sainthood seems daunting, but it all comes down to the concept that we owe no one anything except love (Romans 13:8).