The faithful must learn to unite their will to God's divine will, the director of Faith Formation for St. Mary and St. Michael Parishes in Stillwater told parishioners.

“During this chaotic and uncertain time in our country, we must consider how we're becoming Saints. If we desire to be great Saints of heaven someday, we must learn to unite our will to God’s divine will. What are the active and passive will of God that St. Thomas Aquinas speaks of?” Corey Manning said in the church bulletin. 

God actively causes good to happen, such as when he gives us grace through the sacraments. He also has a passive will in which he allows certain things to happen. This is what we get when we have free will, which most individuals agree they want. 

Free will is a gift that we are given but there is also the tendency for us to make mistakes and use our free will with poor judgement, resulting in negative consequences. 

“Saints-in-training must learn to surrender to God’s active and passive will," Manning said, the bulletin reported. "As St. Alphonsus de Liguori explains, ‘The essence of perfection is to embrace the will of God in all things, prosperous or adverse.'"

In times of prosperity, even sinners can easily unite themselves to the divine will. When things go wrong and are painful to self-love, it takes saints to unite themselves to God's will.

The faithful's conduct during those times is the measure of our love of God, Manning said. 

As we embark on this life, let us remember that we are responsible for how much we cooperate with God and how close we grow to him. He always desires that we come to him and cooperate with his will, but he will not force us to come to him. Rather, we are expected to cooperate freely, making good use of the free will which he has bestowed upon us.