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St. John Viani spent 18 hours a day in the confessional.

St. Padre Apio bore the wounds of Christ in his body.

St. Mother Teresa picked up dying men, women, and children off the streets.

St. Maximilian Colby volunteered to die in the place of another man.

St. Francis of Assisi literally stripped himself of every earthly possession, including his clothes.

St. Thomas Aquinas produced the Sumo theologi in his free time. St. Teresa of Avila would lift

off the ground in ecstasy after communion. And you know stories that you could add to this list, and were captivated by the

saints. The saints live in a way that is evidently extraordinary. It's as if they were on a

completely different plane from the rest of humanity. And ontologically speaking, we know that this is simply what

it means to be a Christian. St. Paul says, I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live,

but Christ who lives in me. And this applies in some way to everyone who's baptized and has divine

grace in their souls.

And yet we know that simply possessing sanctifying grace and the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and charity

doesn't fully explain what is extraordinary about the saints.

To use traditional terminology, the saints illustrate for us not just the possession of virtue,

but the heroic practice of virtue, which means that they consistently, in all circumstances,

exercise virtue with ease and delight. And not only do they exercise virtue, every virtue,

the virtues are highly integrated in them,

so they exercise every virtue harmoniously in their lives.

We know from spiritual theology that this is because they are constantly under the influence of the gifts of the Holy Spirit,

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