Living Holiness as a Student: Striving for Sainthood in Everyday Life

Contributed by a visiting university student from France

When Saint Thomas Aquinas was a student, his classmates nicknamed him the “Dumb Ox.” This meant that he worked hard but quietly, never seeking attention, appearing even slow and silent. His teacher, Saint Albert the Great, replied: “You call him the dumb ox, but one day he will bellow so loudly that his voice will resound throughout the world.” That prophecy came true: Thomas became the greatest of all scholastic theologians.

Do you know what Saint Aloysius (Louis) Gonzaga answered when someone asked him what he would do if he were to die within a quarter of an hour, while he was playing during recreation time? He simply replied that he would continue playing. Would we have answered the same way? Wouldn’t most of us have rushed off to confession?

Both anecdotes happened during the childhood of two great saints—both of whom are invoked by students for their studies.

So how can a student become a saint in today’s world? By building his life on three pillars:

1. The first pillar: the spiritual life

A Catholic today cannot live without a spiritual life if he wishes to resist all the temptations that surround him. This spiritual life should be built upon morning and evening prayer, Sunday Mass, and the Rosary. If possible, we should also add daily Mass and spiritual reading. Our soul needs to be nourished. The Samaritan woman asked Jesus for water: “Give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty. “That should be our attitude: we must draw strength from Our Lord. Let us also strive to sanctify our day through ejaculatory prayers—they help us to make the present moment holy. Saint Francis de Sales described them as “arrows of love.” They are short prayers such as: “Lord, I love you,” or “Sacred Heart of Jesus, I trust in you. “These will help us to maintain fervour throughout the day.

2. The second pillar: study

Study is our duty of state, and we must not fail in it. Let us remember the parable of the two sons sent by their father to work in the vineyard (Matthew 21):one refused but later obeyed out of fidelity to his father. The duty of state is what God asks of each of us, and for students, it is the faithful pursuit of our studies. Let us not be mediocre! Let us also take time to study what the Church teaches—for example, by reading the papal encyclicals. This year marks the 100th anniversary of Quas Primas, the encyclical of Pope Pius XI on Christ the King. By reading it, we can discover many concrete and practical counsels that apply even to us students. By following them, we can grow in holiness—and make good use of our time. When we arrive in Heaven, God will ask us to account for every moment of our lives: “How was your time spent? “What a grace it will be if we can render an account of time well used!

3. The third pillar: friendship

Student life is a privileged time to form true friendships. We will not go to Heaven alone.We must choose carefully the friends we spend time with. If they are good examples, solid Catholics, and help us grow in virtue, our path to Heaven will be much easier. But if, on the contrary, they drag us down, then we must part ways. A friend should be someone with whom we can relax in a wholesome way. Indeed, a student must have recreation—but he must do it well! A true friend will help him to do just that.