I don’t mean a necessarily officially canonized woman or man. I mean a genuine role model. Not in the “My dad is my hero” or “my role model is Derron Williams” sense, but in the sense of something deeper. I suggest look into whatever it is that truly inspires you, whether it is social justice, art, philosophy, or whatever, and just look up influential people in that field. If you like music, perhaps Beethoven is your guy. If you like business, perhaps Warren Buffet is your saint. If women’s rights move you, Betty Friedan or Susan Anthony might be your saints.

Before you officially decide your “saint,” I would encourage you to read a brief biographical sketch of the person. This could be as easy as looking up him or her on Wikipedia. Pay particular attention to major decisions of his or her life and especially at the way his or her life was modeled. Think to yourself, “Is this the way I want to live?” If the answer is “Yes,” then you’ve probably made your match.

The purpose in doing this is not to have someone to pray to when times are rough. Rather, it is to have a person to inspire you to fulfill your potential. When times get tough, do you ask yourself, “What would Dr King have done here?” When you face an obstacle, do you wonder, “What approach would Mother Teresa have taken?” When you’re feeling down, do you ask “What would Bob Hope have done”

It might even be helpful to imagine a conversation between yourself and your “saint.” What counsel does he or she give you? What encouragement do you receive? What added insight is provided?

Years ago, “WWJD?” bracelets were all the rage among Evangelical Christians. WWJD stands for “What would Jesus do?” and was, essentially a call to consider the approach Jesus would have taken to a situation. In this case, I counsel, “What would your saint do?”

To provide a brief example, my personal “saint” is Dorothy Day, a woman who devoted her life to peace, serving the poor and fighting injustice. As I look at my projected path as a moral theologian, I often ask myself what Dorothy Day would have thought about a certain issue or problem. Granted, I don’t follow her example wholesale, but her memory and message provides a basic outline for me for how to understand contemporary issues of social justice.

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