"In dreams, prayers, meditation, and ecstatic apparitions, the saints are with us. They are our spiritual ancestors, returning to be guides and teachers. Like the ancestors in many indigenous cultures, the saints are among the revered dead who continue to help us reach our goals, whether that entails acquiring divine perfection or simply making a good life for ourselves. The saints have known both goals. They are our ancestral past, the rich reservoir of wisdom we tap into to make sense of our lives and to find the spiritual consolation for which we hunger."

To Practice: Call upon your favorite saints and let these spiritual ancestors be your teachers of enthusiasm.

Tom Cowan in The Way of the Saints