Today as I was perusing social media, I saw that today in the Catholic church, we celebrate the Memorial of St. Clare. She has always interested me – mostly because I know she worked closely with St. Francis of Assisi. I wonder what it must have been like to make unpopular decisions, be counter cultural, and live only to do the will of God. Sometimes I feel like I don’t even know what God’s will is for me. I look up to the saints and the way they lived their lives. I feel like living to that extreme is completely out of reach. A friend of mine shared words of Pope Francis, “To be a saint is not a privilege for a few, but the vocation of everyone. Saints aren’t supermen and they weren’t born perfect. They are people who, before attaining glory in Heaven, lived a normal life, with joys and pains, struggles and hopes. But when they knew the love of God they felt it with all their hearts.” These words gave me so much comfort. I do know the love of God. He has lifted me up from difficult situations. I have realized improvements in my own attitudes and how I try to treat others. I am by no means perfect and have plenty of growing to do. And I know that when I am best connected to God by spending time in His presence, I make the best decisions and have inner peace and joy. I know I need to persevere and not get discouraged.

I Found God today in encouragement to keep striving for sainthood.