“We have this sense, even as Catholics, that the saints are ‘those perfect holy ones,’” said Dominican Father Bonaventure Chapman, describing on a recent Catholic radio program how all people can become saints.
Father Bonaventure Chapman
“They don’t have any struggles,” Father Chapman said. “They’re not ordinary people. They’re totally different. They were just called and plucked out by God to live a particular life.
“And I kind of muddle along. And … if I do better than the guy standing next to me, I’m good to go.”
But Dominicans and others explain that saints do struggle, and anyone can become a saint if they devote their lives to God, Father Chapman says on the 9 p.m., Jan. 8 Practicing Catholic radio show, produced by Relevant Radio and the Archdiocese of St. Paul and Minneapolis and broadcast on Relevant Radio 1330 AM.
“Dominicans right away say, no, you’ve got all the grace possible through the sacraments, through prayers and all this,” he said. “And you can live in this particular way of holiness that we’re all called to.”
Father Chapman, a member of the Dominicans’ eastern province who lives at the Dominican House of Studies in Washington, D.C., gave the example of Jesus’ family, with “the heights of sanctity” of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the “ordinariness of sanctity” in St. Joseph.
“Because if he can be a faithful, holy and sanctified person in the carpentry life and in just the ordinary life, then I can find that, too,” he said. “So, the Holy Family is the entire spectrum of the call to holiness and provides a backstop and a goal with, of course, Christ above ordering all these things.”
A doctoral candidate in philosophy at Catholic University of America in Washington, and a contributor to the podcast Godsplaining, Father Chapman said many people think about holiness and the moral life in terms of the Ten Commandments, often first and foremost. But the “thou shalt nots” are negative commands — kind of a low bar, he said.
“To live the life well is not to check off (boxes) and say, ‘I didn’t do this, now I’m free,” he said. “But true freedom is about developing the capacities of the rational soul, developing human … what’s called virtues.”
To hear more of Father Chapman’s thoughts on how the faithful can live a saintly life, listen to the full interview at 9 p.m. Jan. 8 at Relevant Radio 1330 AM, or on Spotify and SoundCloud. Each week’s show is rebroadcast Saturdays at 1 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Or visit the show’s archives page to listen on demand.
Other guest interviews on the Jan. 8 show are Ryan O’Hara, who discusses the Ascend Conference, and Father Tom Margevicius, who talks about Christ’s baptism and its significance.
Listen to their interviews after they have aired:
soundcloud.com/practicingcatholic
Practicing Catholic on Spotify
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