My Suggestion For Saints!

The Catholic church is celebrating the recent cannonization of a new saint, Beglium-born Jozef De Veuster, better known as Father Damien. For any of you not aware of him, Father Damien is best known for his work with leprosy patients in the colony of Kalaupapa, Molokai, Hawaii for 16 years before dying of leprosy himself. While I am not a Catholic (although I grew up as one, attended catholic schools, was an altar boy and yes.....even once considered attending a seminary to become a priest! Those of you that know me can stop laughing so hard now.....) I applaud their efforts to bring attention to anyone who is or has been a follower of my Savior, Jesus Christ and as such has given greatly of themselves to save and/or help others. While my firmly held belief is that those of us who love, trust and have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior are all saints according to the Bible, I do not seek to diminish the actions of the Catholic Church which decrees that one must be cannonized in order to become a saint. I also have great respect for the sacrifices and devotion of Father Damien.
In the cannonization ceremony, the Pope is cited as having said, "The new saints had heeded Jesus' call to the 'heroism of sanctity, sacrificing themselves for others without calculation or personal gain." That sounds good to me. However, while reading these words, it struck me that if this is the definition of what it takes to become a saint, then there a whole lot of people out there that aptly deserve to be cannonized as saints.
A shining example of this is United States Marine Corps Corporal Jason Dunham. The following is taken from the American Patriot's Almanac by William J. Bennett and John T.E. Cribb and is the entry for April 14th in the book.
"One day, as Marine Corporal Jason Dunham and his buddies swapped talk in their barracks in Iraq, the converstation turned to the best way to survive a hand grenade attack. The corporal suggested covering a grenade with a Kevlar helmet. 'I'll bet a Kevlar would stop it,' he said.
Dunham, raised in the small town of Scio, New York, was a 22-year-old with a natural gift for leadership. He'd been a star athlete, setting a Scio Central School baseball record for highest batting average. Now a rifle squad leader, he'd extended his enlistment to stay with his comrades in Iraq.
On April 14, 2004, Dunham was on his way to help a Marine convoy that had been ambushed in western Iraq when an insurgent leaped from a car and attacked him. As two Marines rushed to help wrestle the man to the ground, they heard Dunham yell, 'No, no, no-watch his hand!' Before they realized what was happening, Dunham threw his helmet and his own body over a live enemy grenade.
The sacrifice helped contain the blast but left Dunham mortally wounded. He died eight days later at the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland.
In January 2007 President George W. Bush awarded the Medal of Honor posthumously to Jason Dunham. 'Corporal Dunham saved the lives of two of his men, and showed the world what it means to be a Marine.' the President said. He was the first Marine to earn the Medal of Honor for service in Iraq.
Journalist Michael Phillips, author of The Gift of Valor, wrote that shortly before leaving for the Persian Gulf, Dunham told friends of his plans to extend his enlistment.
'You're crazy for extending,' a fellow Marine had said. 'Why?'
'I want to make sure everyone makes it home alive.' Jason Dunham answered."
While Jason Dunham saved two of his men through his completely selfless actions, it will be argued that Father Damien saved more. This may be true.....but is the point to count numbers or look at the selflessness of their acts? It is also safe to say that Corporal Jason Dunham completely fits what the Pope stated regarding the saints "heeding Jesus' call to the heroism of sanctity, sacrificing themselves for others without calculation or personal gain." How does the saying go???? "No greater love hath one than to lay down his life for his fellow man".....that others may live. It applied to Father Damien and it applies to Corporal Jason Dunham and so many others like him. Is there a Saint Jason??