Session 82 - Richard Meux Benson, Priest, and Charles Gore, Bishop - January 14, 2023

Session 82 - Richard Meux Benson, Priest, and Charles Gore, Bishop - January 14, 2023

“The knowledge of God is not an intellectual grasp of a sum of truths, but a conduct inspired by these truths.” The New Jerome Biblical Commentary p 274

Reading the Saints is a ministry which will help us to keep the memory of the saints and encourage us to look into the wisdom of their example and writings. A saint is an ordinary person, now born into eternal life, who has accomplished in their lifetime extraordinary outcomes as a result of their devotion in faith. We are encouraged by our tradition to celebrate their witness and contribution to the Kingdom of God in our midst.

Why take a up a study of the saints? To begin to answer this we need to understand who they were. At the very least such an effort grows out of our Christian make up by taking an interest in others. Behind that inclination is the belief that we are connected to these lives sometimes across centuries by shared principles and practices. Through this connection with these holy lives we join ourselves to eternity. This connection also helps us to lay down, surrendering the particularity of our selfhood. As we come to want the attributes of the saint, we come to see how their practices line up with our goals, even our desires.

Discovering our capacity to identify with individuals living in other times and circumstances also serves to give us a useful distance from our own. This distance could free our perceptions and emotions from becoming part of expectations and attachments that may disappoint or even be destructive.

It can give us an appreciation of the effect a devout Christian practice can have on a life. Becoming attuned to the details of the saint’s holiness we are better equipped to notice these same qualities in others in our midst. Sometimes these people may not understand how God’s activity in their life is resulting in a movement towards holiness.

Simply put, saints are ordinary people who accomplish extraordinary things by practicing their faith in the way God created them to practice. So, in most cases, saints are living their holiness, day in and day out in their regular life practices.

You may contact The Reverend Geoffrey Royce at [email protected]

Visit the Calvary Church website at http://www.calvarypgh.org