Why Study the Saints?

One of the things we do every week throughout the school is read about a saint. We read from books like Ethel Pochocki's Once Upon a Time Saints or her More Once Upon a Time Saints . We read picture books about some of our favorites saints -- books like Tomie dePaola's Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland or the book he illustrated about St. Benedict and St. Scholastica, The Holy Twins . We love to celebrate and learn about the saints. We spend at least three mornings a week reading about these holy souls for 15-30 minutes.

Why?

Here's why:

The saints must be honored as friends of Christ and children and heirs of God. Let us emulate their faith, charity, hope, zeal, life, patience under suffering, and perseverance unto death, so that we may also share their crowns of glory.
– St. John Damascene

Seems pretty straightforward doesn't it? I'd love to see my children wearing "crowns of glory" and what better way to show them the way but by learning from those who have trod the path. Those who have persevered in bad times. Those who didn't let others tell them "no" or "you must do it this way". Those who knew the "Good" and followed the "Way".

That's why -- that's why we're spending our Lent reading the story of Padre Pio's life and then on to St. Faustina's.