The Apologetics question of the week atHMS Blog is "How does one become a saint?" and Matt Pinto, of Belly Button fame, answers

A: One becomes a saint by doing the will of God, which is another way of saying loving God above everything else (Mt. 10:32–33, 22:37–40).


This type of life includes living a sacramental life, practicing the virtues, especially humility (Gal. 6:3, Mk. 10:15, CCC 1389, 2180), and daily prayer (1 Thess. 5:17). A sacramental life should include frequent Mass (at least on Sunday, if not a few times each week) and frequent Confession (perhaps once a month and immediately after serious sin).


A virtuous life includes striving for perfection in faith, hope and charity (1 Cor. 13:13, Rom. 15:13). Faith is believing in things not fully seen (Heb. 11:1); hope is trusting in the promises of our Lord Jesus (Heb. 3:5–6); and charity is the act of loving God and others (1 Jn. 4:7–8). Continual striving for perfection in these areas, along with living a sacramental life, will put you on course for sainthood (1 Thess. 5:14–22, CCC 1084).


You may also consider meeting regularly with a spiritual director. Meeting with an older brother or sister in the Faith such as a priest or religious sister will help you learn from another’s experiences and wisdom (1 Thess. 5:12–13, CCC 1269). In addition, by working with the same person on a regular basis, he or she will get to know you, your personality, your struggles and your strengths. You should then receive better and more specific recommendations on how to strengthen your walk with the Jesus.


Well, what does Ono think . . . you guessed right?

To be a Catholic saint does not necessarily have too, too much to do with virtues, but more to do with how good a Catholic you are. (Note that, in my position, CAtholic devotions and traditions do not a virtuous man make)Think about it, most Catholic saints promote the Church and her devotions and beliefs, it would be very difficult to find a saint in the past 400 years who was critical of the hierarchy, did not believe in the real presence or confession, etc.

The fact is that there are thousands of holy people who are not Catholic, who perhaps are opposed to many aspects of Catholicism, and whose virtues are unimpeachable, but we don't cannonize them because they are not Catholic. Catholicism, in sense of devotion to the Church, has the priority over virtues and the like in consideration for cannonization.

Another interesting point is that to be a Catholic saint requires mega bucks. Enough said.

The truth is that all Christians are saints, holy ones, people "called out" unto God. The tradition has taken us away from this understanding by virtue of specific developments, but it would be great if we could go back to that understanding that we are not all called to be saints, but that we all now are saints.