There is a beautiful line that says: “Aspire to inspire before you expire.”
Before our time on earth ends, let us live in such a way that our life becomes a blessing to others.
When we were children, people often asked us: “What do you want to be when you grow up?”Doctor, teacher, engineer, businessman, priest.
But has anyone ever asked us:
“Do you want to become a saint?”
Ako? Saint? Murag di gyud na mahitabo!
Yet today, on All Saints’ Day, the Church reminds us that sainthood is the calling of every Christian. “You must be Holy because I, the Lord your God, am Holy” (Leviticus 19:2).
And in today’s Gospel, Jesus gives us the roadmap to holiness: the Beatitudes.
Blessed are the poor in spirit.
Blessed are the meek.
Blessed are the merciful.
Blessed are the pure of heart.
Blessed are the peacemakers.
This is what a saint looks like.
So remember three simple words: Desire it. Believe it. Live it.
Desire it.
Jesus says: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness.”
We hunger for many things: health, success, security, a good future for our children.
But do we hunger for holiness?
Can we honestly pray: “Lord, make me the person You want me to be. Make me holy.”
Léon Bloy, the French Catholic novelist, once said: “There is only one real tragedy: not to be a saint.”
Because someday our titles will disappear. Our positions will end. Our possessions will belong to somebody else. What remains is the person we have become before God.
So do not ask only: “Am I becoming successful?”
Ask: “Am I becoming more like Jesus?”
Desire it.
Believe it.
Maybe you are thinking: “Me, a saint? Impossible!”
But Jesus never said, “Blessed are the perfect.”
The Beatitudes are for people who depend on God, choose mercy, make peace, and try to do what is right.
I like this simple description: “Saints are sinners who keep trying to do good.”
Saints struggled. They failed. They fell. But they kept returning to God.
A saint is not someone who never falls. A saint is someone who keeps getting up with God’s grace.
So never say: “Ing-ani na gyud ko. Dili na ko mausab.” You can still forgive. You can still reconcile. You can still begin again.
God is not finished with you yet.
Believe it.
Live it.
The Beatitudes are not simply beautiful words. They are meant to be lived.
“Blessed are the merciful.” So forgive.
“Blessed are the peacemakers.” So stop spreading division.
“Blessed are the pure of heart.” So live with integrity.
“Blessed are those who hunger for righteousness.” So do what is right—even when it costs you.
This is how saints are made: through ordinary choices to love and do good.
There is another beautiful saying:
“When you were born, you cried and the world rejoiced. Live in such a way that when you die, the world will cry and you will rejoice.”
The question is not only: “How long will I live?”
But: “What good will I do with the life God has given me?”
Live it.
If
Let me end with a little story.
A priest and his sacristan were walking through a cemetery after blessing the graves. They saw an unusual tombstone.
Instead of R.I.P., there was one large word:
IF.
Below it were these words: “If I could live my life again, I would spend more time with God in prayer and more time helping those in need.”
Final Words
Perhaps this person reached the end of life with many regrets. Maybe he realized too late that he had spent too much time on things that did not really matter.
And so, he left those words on his tombstone—not simply as a regret, but as a lesson for those still living.
And that includes us.
The person buried there could no longer begin again. But we still can. We are still alive.
We can still pray.
We can still forgive.
We can still serve.
We can still change.
We can still become saints.
So let us not reach the end of our lives with a heart full of “ifs.”
Remember the question I asked at the beginning: “What is the one thing you really want before you die?”
Perhaps today we can add one more answer: “Before I die, I want to become a saint.”
And while God still gives us time, let us begin. Desire it. Believe it. Live it.
Desire holiness.
Believe that, with God’s grace, holiness is possible for you.
And live holiness every day, right where God has placed you.