Today is the twenty-fourth Sunday in Ordinary Time
When I was a kid living in Jacksonville, FL my father had a relationship with the big country music radio station there. For a few years he got comped tickets for the shows they put on. In that time I saw a lot of the stars of the time. That’s when I first encountered Dolly Parton in person.
In those days she was a pretty standard singer and songwriter. She wasn’t yet the larger than life persona she would become. She had great talent but not yet the megastar we think of today.
I’ve been thinking about her since her recent death and because I’ve read a number of articles about her. Here’s an example: https://www.wordonfire.org/articles/dolly-partons-christian-witness/
One article asked the question if Dolly was a saint. I can’t answer that, of course, but she certainly put her money where her heart was. She supported the people of East Tennessee, where she was raised, as well as children around the world.
St Thomas Aquinas famously wrote about the things we try to fill ourselves up with that aren’t God. Wealth was right at the top of his list. There’s nothing wrong with wealth per se; it’s more our relationship with money and things that’s the problem sometimes. Dolly seemed to understand that to those who have been given much, much is required. She was happy to share her wealth with others.
There’s certainly a lot of talk in the Social Media world about Dolly as a saint. Not so much about official canonization, but more of a secular saint. A saint for the people so to speak.
It’s clear Dolly was a believer but who knows what that really looked like. What we know is she appeared to love God and people. She was also careful about judging others. Those are certainly attributes worthy of aspiring to.
As I think about this question of Dolly’s sainthood I wonder how it would be with any of us. If we were to pass would people wonder if you and I were saints? While few of us have the platform, or resources, Dolly had, we have our own sphere of influence and whatever resources God has blessed us with. We are called to model Christian witness to others and to love and serve others. That’s about the best most of us can hope for.
I hope for all of us that when we pass those who knew us will wonder if we were saints. We should aspire to live like it whether we get to true sainthood or not.
That’s it for now. Thanks for reading.
I hope you have a great week.
Peace, Bob
