I have grown into the notion of equating the call to greatness with the path of holiness. I am beginning to think of myself as a holy person, a bearer of the sacred, and to understand that becoming holy is a journey and not a destination.  

It was always easier for me to see the image of God in someone other than myself. The first image of a holy person that made a permanent impression on me was Mary, the Mother of God. I received a gift for my First Communion, a picture book of paintings titled "Mary, God's Masterpiece." I treasured this book as I treasured my relationship with my mother. When I think of the title now I am stunned by the word masterpiece. There was a power in that book I might now describe as "numinous." It was my first inspiration, a feeling of being drawn to something that enlarged me, that I could not get enough of, that left me with a sweet aching feeling, a knowledge that here was something perfect and beautiful, and it brought me out of myself.  I learned in Catholic school that I was made in the image and likeness of God.  The closest I could get to understanding what the image and likeness of God might look like was the Madonna and her baby.

Around the age of twelve I discovered the the lives of the saints, those friends of God who dared to dream big dreams. They were my heroes. I was drawn to them because they were originals in their times. So many children are living someone else's dream of them. The saints defied conventions.They inspired me to think outside the cultural prescriptions of American culture in the fifties and sixties. The Church encouraged us to think about what our vocation might be, especially if we were "called" to be a nun. We never considered our ordinary lives to be sanctified.  Being called meant meant being taken out of the ordinary into the exotic life of the convent. It was also an escape from the confines of marriage and motherhood as prescribed by Church and society. I briefly considered becoming a nun because I was looking for a mother. Some of the nuns that taught me were anything but saints, but many were also extraordinarily kind and generous. They inspired me to be like minded. I got part of it right.  The image of God that inspired me was feminine.  

I thought I had to be better than I was to be a saint.  How would I ever be worthy?  What was original about me in my times? I was the oldest child of seven in a family that was filled with contradictions.  My DNA was riddled with alcoholism and depression.  The image and likeness of God that was me came with a big overlay of shame.  My big dreams shrunk to fit the needs of my family.  My vocation had chosen me.  I thought of myself as a rescuer, a fixer, a problem solver. Those were inherited roles, my "fate" but not my destiny.

My destiny was waiting for me to claim it. It would take me years to come to see the authentic imprint of the Divine Image on my soul, and to feel entitled to choose my own path to holiness. I lost my way so many times but I never lost my inspiration.  In high school I heard God calling me in the poetry of Gerard Manley Hopkins.  I found my power in the freedom of an all girls' Catholic school. I found my truth in writing, and my originality in cooking and entertaining my friends.  I took up singing and acting. In college I found it in the theatre, in my friendships with my teachers and classmates. In adult life I was inspired by friends who faced death with grace and dignity, who suffered the indignities of Alzheimer's disease, who recovered from addiction and substance abuse,  I found it in witnessing my clients who overcame trauma to find a new sense of power, and a willingness to take another chance at love. 

My inspirations were a contretemps to the prescriptions of my family and culture.  They were the power of God flowing through me inviting me into the great task of co-creation. To see the image of God in me has been my life's work. It was also the secret of the saints. I no longer view the saints as extraordinary heroes. Now I see them more simply as the friends of God. They trusted their inspiration, often following an unmarked path, their great deeds the fruit of a sweet and stormy partnership with God that was the center of their lives. 

What does greatness mean to you? What inspires you?  What experiences have helped you to see the Divine Image in your own life? What does your own path to holiness look like?