The saints are special because they are the ones who have fully accomplished their purpose of existence. As we learned in the Catechism, “Man was created to know, love and serve God in this life, and to be happy with him forever in the next life.” The men and women who, with the grace of God, did just that are the ones we now call “saints.”

What we call the spiritual life has to do with living the life of grace and the Sacraments in obedience to the directives of the Catholic Church. There are many different ways to do this. There is the Benedictine way, the Augustinian way, the Franciscan way, the Dominican way, the Jesuit way, and so forth. I have no idea of how many such “ways” have been approved by Church authorities over the centuries, but there are many of them. The purpose of all of them is to help individuals lead a life of virtue by following Jesus Christ and making the Gospel a reality in their lives.

Because of his many limitations, man has a tendency to make things complicated. It is important in the spiritual life, it seems to me, to keep it as simple as possible. Some, in their earnest desire to make progress swiftly in the ways of the spirit, make their life very complicated with a multiplicity of devotions, prayers, and religious observances. In that they resemble the Pharisees of old who were said to be bound by 613 rules or commandments.

In order to keep our spiritual life simple what we need is purity of intention, that is, to keep in mind that everything we do is for the honor and glory of God. St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits, said that we should try to find God in all things—in all things, not just in the good things that happen to us. Recently I read a biography of Venerable Solanus Casey, OFM Cap., who spent many years as a porter at St. Bonaventure’s Friary in Detroit. Hundreds of cures, both physical and mental, have been attributed to this humble, prayerful Franciscan Friar. What impressed me about his life was his constant awareness of the presence of God and his attributing all things, even suffering and death, to the goodness of God.

We live in a materialistic culture which is totally relativistic in its view of the world and which is dedicated to amassing wealth, pleasure and power. Our culture conducts itself, at least in public, as if this world is all there is, as if God does not exist, as if there will be no final accounting for our deeds to Almighty God, our Eternal Judge. Our culture is embarrassingly superficial. It teaches our youth by word and deed to prize the temporal over the eternal, the visible over the invisible, instant pleasure over self-control and future rewards.

Many of our fellow Americans, including a host of Catholics, waste much of their precious time on trifles and trivia. When or where can you find a TV program, for example, in the major media, that raises the ultimate questions that concern every person—questions about where we came form, why we are here on this earth, and what will happen to us after our death?

In order to grow spiritually we must keep God in mind as the Source of our being and as the goal or end to which we are traveling. St. Aloysius Gonzaga examined everything in light of this principle: What does this have to do with eternity? (Quid hoc ad aeternitatem?) That is an excellent motto for all of us.