Many of us strive with all of our might to become a saint, but then fail and are tempted to despair.
We may think to ourselves that holiness is simply not possible and that all the rosaries in the world could not save us.
Yet, St. Claude de la Colombiere shows to us that holiness is possible, and it is much simpler than we might imagine.
Founded on a friendship with Christ
St. Claude de la Colombiere joined the Jesuits in the 17th century and was a true student of Ignatian spirituality.
He immersed himself entirely into St. Ignatius' Spiritual Exercises and yearned for a closer relationship with Jesus Christ.
St. John Paul II explained in his homily for St. Claude's canonization that the secret of his holiness was in his deep, personal friendship with Jesus Christ:
Fr. Claude forged his spirituality in the school of the Exercises. We still have his impressive journal. He dedicated himself first of all to "meditating a great deal on the life of Jesus'' (Ibid., n. 33). Contemplating Christ allowed him to live in familiarity with him so as to belong to him totally: "I see that I absolutely must belong to him'' (ibid., n. 71).
In order to draw closer to Jesus, St. Claude meditated on his life as much as possible.
It is a simple exercise, yet it can have a profound impact on our spiritual life.
This intimacy that St. Claude had with Jesus allowed him to weather any storm, knowing that Jesus was his friend, as St. John Paul II relates:
He attained the perfect freedom of one who gives himself unreservedly to the will of God: "I have a free heart'', he said (ibid., n. 12): trials or sacrifices he accepted, "thinking that God only expects these things of us out of friendship'' (ibid., n. 38). His whole taste for friendship led him to respond to God's friendship with a loving zeal renewed each day.
It was fitting that he would eventually encounter St. Margaret Mary Alacoque and the private revelations she had of the Sacred Heart.
The Sacred Heart devotion only cemented what he had already cultivated, a deep and personal friendship with Jesus Christ.
St. Claude knew that Jesus loved him with an intense fire and he wanted to return that love with a similar zeal.
His example of holiness should make us look at our own spiritual lives and to see how often we mediate on the life of Jesus and if we see him as our friend.
Jesus is not a distant god of the clouds, but an intimate God, one who knows us and reveals to us his Heart.
