Called As We Are

Robert Ellsberg said this of St. Teresa of Avila: “She could be at turns charming, imperious, irreverent, and impossible, depending on the circumstances and the provocation.” We don’t tend to think of saints as being imperious, irreverent, and impossible. However, as Ruth Burrows notes, “Union with Christ does not mean becoming someone different, renouncing our gifts, changing our temperament; but putting everything we have into our love for God and opening everything we have to his transforming influence.”

Attaining sainthood does not mean becoming a Stepford wife—an unthinking, unchanging, colorless automaton. On the contrary, it is through our humanness that we can appreciate and respond to the struggles of others, as Jesus did. I also suspect that the people Jesus encountered were able to hear and trust his message not because he projected an image of perfection but because of his very human wit, impatience, devotion, unpredictability, and generosity.

For some reason, it is difficult for us to grasp that God truly does delight in our individuality. Yes, we have faults, but they have a hand in helping us develop courage, insight, and patience. When love of God is the basis of who we are, then everything—our gifts, our temperament, our limitations—works together to fashion a life of praise, service, and the joy of union with Christ. As Teresa herself said, “Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices.” Thanks to Jesus, our brother, we know that there is no one who does not have God—there is no one God does not embrace with love and mercy.