Saints and Saints in the making ...

... I am a Protestant. I was baptized as an infant. As a child, my family observed the liturgical calendar. Each Sunday, we read responsive readings and recited the Apostles Creed. Years later, as an adult, I was baptized.  Today, I worship in a Protestant Church. Most importantly, labels aside, I am a Christian.

I even have a lifelong fascination with the Catholic Church. I think that may be natural since members of my family are Catholic. 

Today, I enjoy discovering truths about the Catholic Church. I often listen to the Catholic Station on Sirius/XM Radio while driving in the city. It is here, I hear a brief one-minute program called Saint of the Day. Today's Saint of the Day is St. Nicholas. Born in the third century in the southern part of Turkey, this is Saint is worth knowing.  

Why does the Catholic Church honor saints, according to one online source, this is the reason, 

"Catholic saints are holy people and human people who lived extraordinary lives. Each saint the church honors responded to God's invitation to use, his or her unique gifts.  God calls each of us to be saints." 

 The last sentence, makes me pause... God calls each of us to be saints.   Does that mean that each of us who are Christians are saints in the making? 

Years ago, I read the Fox's Book of Martyrs. This book is now available online.  These martyrs lived such extraordinary lives. 

Today, Christians are indeed dying for their faith in Christ. It is the Orthodox and Catholic Church in Egypt, Iraq and Syria that are facing fiery trials. It is my belief they may be Christian martyrs. 

So today's Saint of the Day, St. Nicholas, reminds me discover more about the character of the early Church Fathers. 

This figure looks more like a St. Nicholas