Fr. Leo Pabayo
THE recent canonization of Mother Teresa of Calcutta is a most welcome news. We badly need her exemplary life to show us what it truly means to be human. This is basically what canonization is for.
According to the Webster dictionary the word “canon” which is the root word of “canonization” was originally a Greek word which means “model or standard”. It has become part of Church language to refer to the norm or standard of behavior that is expected of a Christian. This norm is sometimes defined by Church authorities in terms of policies and laws. These laws are meant to help the faithful to live out their faith in practical in terms. In the Catholic Church the world “canonize” has acquired a more specified meaning. It refers to “heroic virtue” or the living of a life of love in an exemplary or extraordinary way.
The fullest form of “heroic virtue” would be that of the life of a saint because the saint has exemplified the kind of love referred to by Christ when he said, “no greater love than his that one gives his life for the sake of his brethren”. Mother Teresa fulfilled this saying of the Lord by dedicating her life to serving the poorest of the poor.
The lives of the saints like Mother Teresa of Calcutta are most needed in our time because there is so much in our time that characterized by a lack of love, mercy and compassion. We see this in personal relationships, politics, business, culture, etc.. There is instead so much selfishness, cruelty, pride, hatred and the other capital sins. The saints by their extraordinary or heroic virtues of love, mercy and compassion provide the antidote to this spiritual sickness.
In a sense we can speak of this sickness as the lack of order and balance in the lives of people. The present time is in many ways characterized by extremes. This evident in the way people work, play and eat. There is a saying in Latin that says, “in medio stat virtus” meaning to say that a virtuous life lies in in moderation.
Perhaps there are instances when being in the extreme may be good. There are times when one must apply extreme measures in order to eventually bring about balance in one’s life. This is applied when a person who is addicted to the extreme ways in life is helped by doing the opposite of the extreme for the purpose of learning how to have a balance in his life. Sometimes the way the saints do things may be regarded as extremes but it is a good kind of extreme because it brings about a balance to the life of man and society.
Certain kinds of extremes however do not bring about balance. Instead they lead to imbalance, loss of control resulting destruction in which case people are not able to attain their goals in life. We call such kind of extreme acts as “extremism” and those who perpetrate such acts as “extremists.”
The way that Mother Teresa cared for the poorest of the poor may be regarded as extreme. But what she did was to correct the extreme selfishness and lack of love and compassion in our modern world by making up for the lack. What she did would help bring about a balance in the lives of people and society.
The saints are extraordinarily balanced individuals. They are secure in their sense of what is true and good, right or wrong. They are like the proverbial house that is built on solid ground that strong winds and heavy rains cannot topple or sweep away. They can go to the limits in their virtues without losing control. When they are kind they are kind in extraordinary ways. So are their courage, patience, understanding, mercy, forgiveness, etc. extraordinary. “Extraordinary” or “heroic virtue” is the better word for their kind of life. By the example of their heroic virtue the weak are inspired to also live a virtuous life.
