Kneading Faith
By Fran Lavelle
I got a text from our great nephew Drew the other day inquiring, “How would I request Billy Graham as a saint?” He is 11 years old and a cradle Catholic. But growing up in Mississippi he has had his fair share of friends of all faith traditions. His simple question really stirred my thinking.
I have avowed for many years that young people are telling us their truth. We saw it recently with the school walk out. The question is as adults, catechists, teachers, pastors and parents are we able to hear them? In Matthew 19:14 Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.” I think of the young people in my life. I think about how they are yearning for authenticity, meaning and purpose.
All generations are a product of the family and the culture. As catechists and adults responsible for the faith formation of our young people, we are called to engage and inspire our youth to live the Gospel. Hopefully they are being shaped and formed to reflect the love of God on Earth. It baffles me that adults make generalizations about an entire generation without reflecting on their own youth. Sometimes we speak of young people like they were delivered by an alien spaceship and we don’t quite know what to make of them. Or they attribute these generalizations to the “culture.” Guess what folks, we formed these young people and we are part of the culture.
That takes me back to our great nephew Drew. Drew is all boy. He goes 100-miles an hour and stops for air, food and sleep only when necessary. He loves visiting his grandparents in the country. He loves fishing, playing sports and hanging out with his family. But he is also very deeply introspective, funny, thoughtful, and smart.
A few years ago, before he made his First Communion, we were at the family pool and I asked him to tell his Opa what the epiclesis is. Without skipping a beat, he placed his hands in the proper posture and said, “It’s when the priest calls down the Holy Spirit to change the bread and wine into Jesus.” He was very matter of fact about it. But, in his casual reply you could tell that he not only knew this intellectually, he perceived with the eyes and heart of faith.
To his parents’ credit all three children are bright, kind, caring and faith filled young people. It is obvious that somewhere in their day they find time to think about important questions, have thoughtful conversations and are present to one another. After all, he was inquiring if I knew how one goes about getting Billy Graham canonized. This kind of thoughtfulness comes from a place where questions and inquiry are encouraged. He has not grown up in a place where everyone he meets is Catholic, far from it. And, because of that, it is entirely possible for him to see people of other faith traditions as good, holy, and virtuous examples of faith.
In my response to Drew I told him that the formal process of canonization took quite a long time and is a very detailed process. While a non-Catholic has not been formally recognized as a saint it is far from me to say it could never happen. What is most telling about his inquiry is that Drew did not question if a Southern Baptist preacher could be a saint, he wanted to know how we could go about making it happen. I assured him that the Church recognizes countless people who are uncanonized saints, those faithful Christians who have entered into the presence of God for all eternity. We see this clearly referred to in Revelation 7:9, as the “great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.” We have reason to hope that we know a lot of souls in the canon of saints. I think of my Dad and my grandparents as saints. Billy Graham too.
Drew, as well as his siblings and parents, remain in my prayers of thanksgiving. They remind me that we are not lost as long as we keep seeking God in all things, asking good questions, and looking for truth with the eyes of faith and love. “Dear young people, please, don’t be observers of life, but get involved. Jesus did not remain an observer, but he immersed himself. Don’t be observers, but immerse yourself in the reality of life, as Jesus did.” — Pope Francis, July 27, 2013 Youth Prayer Vigil at Rio. Keep asking good questions, Drew. It’s one of the best ways to stay immersed in the reality of life.

(Fran Lavelle is the director of Faith Formation for the Diocese of Jackson.)