I was scrolling through my memories on Facebook just now when I ran across a fantastic Brennan Manning quote on sainthood.

When most people think of saints, they think of some extraordinary person who did miracles and who rarely– if ever– sinned. These “saints” are beyond what most of us can ever hope to become or achieve.

Then I read this quote and am reminded that we who belong to Jesus are ALREADY saints. We are those who have been made holy not through our own efforts or actions but through Jesus’ taking our sin and giving us His righteousness.

So without further ado, here’s the quote:

“Thomas Merton, a saintly person in his own right, said: ‘A saint is not someone who is good. It is someone who has experienced the goodness of God.’ Going with Merton’s thought, saints are those have come to know deep, abiding grace. Saints understand that their failures and shortcomings do not disqualify them from receiving God’s love. Saints have learned that their grotesque, self-inflicted wounds, rather than alienating God, bring the divine to bear in their lives in unique and powerful ways.”