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"Don't be like your older brother!" Such are the words of many parents whose younger children always seem to imitate their older siblings in every way. This can often be a frustration, unless the older sibling is a saint!
In that case, parents will heartily say, "Be like your older brother!"
Throughout history there have been countless examples of sibling saints, brothers and sisters being inspired by each other's saintly example, choosing to follow Christ with their whole being.
Older siblings can be especially influential, as younger siblings always look up to them for guidance.
This doesn't always happen in a family, but when it does, it gives great comfort and relief to their parents. Instead of worrying about their children, parents can rest assured that they are influencing each other in a positive way.
Sibling saints
It's how siblings are meant to influence each other, growing together in an intimate bond of holiness. Outside of their parents, siblings are the most influential people in a person's life and can have a profound impact that will endure throughout their entire lives.
St. John Paul II wrote about the beauty of this communion in his encyclical, Familiaris Consortio:
The love between husband and wife and, in a derivatory and broader way, the love between members of the same family-between parents and children, brothers and sisters and relatives and members of the household-is given life and sustenance by an unceasing inner dynamism leading the family to ever deeper and more intense communion, which is the foundation and soul of the community of marriage and the family.
The more siblings grow together in holiness, the closer they will get in spiritual communion.
Here are a few examples of such positive influences, showing how holiness can spread within a family.
Click "launch the slideshow" in the image below:
