So who is the Saint Next Door?

Most of the saints who populate heaven are completely unknown to us, their lives lost to history, but not to God. Evil always wants to strut in the limelight and take centre stage. Good is quietly at work in our communities, in our counties, in the world. However, we often ignore or do not see what is happening around us, a bit like how we look at God in our daily life. If something big is not happening, then we tend to think that all other efforts have no importance. 

We tend to overestimate the power of Evil while underestimating the power of God. Those who strive to do good in the name of Jesus are never alone. One of the biggest failings of humanity today is - not being present to each other. We meet people all the time, yet we make no effort to be present to them and what is happening in their lives. We are often so consumed with our own daily living and want the other person to listen to our lives and issues. Before the other person has finished a sentence, we already have our own life story ready to unload.

That is why we call those who can be truly present to others the Saint Next Door. What they personify is how we should live our lives. That it is all those around us who need kindness, love, support, and friendship, that is everyone. That is what God is in our life, truly present, loving us with a love we cannot experience with anyone else. He is there waiting to help us, every moment of every day. We are not standing in a massive crowd of people looking up at a stage where God is giving a lecture. We encounter Him - 1on1. There is no gap between you and God. He is not looking over your shoulder at the person behind you. He is looking and talking just to you. The opposite of Love is not Hate it is Apathy; give time to the next person you meet. Hear them, their life events, their issues. This might be the single most important thing you can do them in their struggle to live in this world and feel needed and important.