Many people have asked me, “What are you going to do after The Saint Challenge is over? Will there be a Year 2?”

It’s an excellent question, and a quite legitimate one.

There are far more than 366 saints, so in theory it would be possible to do at least a Year 2 and Year 3 with saints that were “passed over” in favor of some other saints. I admit, it was hard some days deciding which saint to choose for an episode. Some days there were two or three saints that each had a fantastic story to tell, so choosing only one was difficult.

There are three good reasons why there won’t be an immediate release of a “Year 2”:

First, The Saint Challenge is about both building holy habits as much as it is doing great things for God and neighbor. Building any habit—good or bad—takes time, and if you look at the lives of the saints, the one thing they all had in common was that they were habitually holy. As long-time subscribers will note, many of the challenges are the same: go to Confession, say the Rosary, pray for someone’s conversion, develop a devotion to the Sacred Heart of Jesus, pray for the Holy Souls in Purgatory, et cetera. These habit-builders are the “easy challenges”. But many of the saints, in addition to their habits of holiness, also did great works. They wrote, read, preached, served, built, donated, and organized. These challenges… these are the ones that many people found difficult. So there’s no need to put out a “Year 2” if some people are already struggling trying to complete “Year 1”.

Second, I don’t want to create a “bad sequel”. Many movies have fallen victim to this phenomenon, leaving the creator and the audience both regretting the release. Thus, I feel it prudent to wait and pray about if a Year 2 is even necessary and what form it should take if it is.

Finally, the work involved in The Saint Challenge was considerable. On average, every day’s release took at least an hour of work to prepare. Sure, some days were easy to write. But others fell into two groups: either there was too much information about the saint and condensing it down to a simple episode was a challenge in and of itself, or else there was only a scant amount of information available and dredging up enough information for an episode was difficult. In the end it was thoroughly enjoyable work, but there are other projects we have in the works that need attention in their own right.

So instead of a “Year 2” we will be re-running Year 1 on Substack. This will give people the opportunity to continue to make forward progress toward the achievable goal of completing all 366 challenges without feeling “left behind” by the release of a second year. It will also give us the opportunity to advance other projects and discern the next steps for The Saint Challenge.

Daily episodes will continue to be released here on Substack. It will give everyone the opportunity to revisit old challenges, become reacquainted with our “old friends”, and build those habits of holiness. Being a saint and living a holy life isn’t the process of a day or a week or a year, but the process of a lifetime of learning the skill of self-mastery and of chiseling away at defects one day at a time.

Many thanks to all the people who have been around since the beginning, and welcome to all the new subscribers. If you’ve enjoyed The Saint Challenge, there are two things we’re asking you to do. First, share it with a friend. Second, support us financially with a one-time donation, a recurring subscription for as little as $5 a month, or by buying a copy of The Saint Challenge book that we just released on Amazon and giving it a review.

No matter what, be sure to stay subscribed, as there are some very exciting things in the works for 2024 that you won’t want to miss. Until then… Be motivated. Be holy. Be a saint.

Born into a family of Italian nobles in the 11th Century, Gerard grew up a man of piety and high culture. After moving to Potenza, he saw a need for apostolic work and began to preach. His austere lifestyle, works of charity, and passioned preaching made him beloved by the people of the town, and when the bishop died, the town’s clergy and the people elected him to be their new bishop. Gerard was humbled by this appointment, and he became more diligent and virtuous. Several miracles were attributed to him, including restoring a man’s sight, bringing a young boy back to life, and changing water into wine. He held his see for eight years, until he died in 1118 of natural causes.

CHALLENGE

St. Gerard of Potenza didn’t move to a new town looking to preach the gospel, but when he saw a need he felt a calling to use the gifts God had given him to fulfill the need. You are alive right now and given certain gifts by your Creator because you are needed, today, to do work for him in his vineyard. Look around you. What needs to be done? How has God equipped you to do the work? Will you answer his call?

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Ruggero and Teresa Badano spent 10 years praying to be blessed with a child, and in 1971, their prayers were answered when they welcomed Chiara into the world. From as young as four, Chiara’s piety was clear, and she seemed to be gifted with supernatural charity that shone through, even in her most stubborn childhood moments. She visited the elderly and other children when they were sick, and invited the less-fortunate to her house. At 17 she was diagnosed with a rare form of cancer that did not respond to treatment. Chiara said, “If this is what You want Jesus, so do I.” She refused morphine and suffered with joy, and said she didn't want people to cry at her funeral but to sing “with all their hearts.” She died just shy of her 19th birthday.

CHALLENGE

Blessed Chiara Badano’s short life showed us how best to live for the forsaken Christ: she gave everything away, even herself. Toward the end of her life, she said, “I have nothing left, but I still have my heart, and with that I can always love.” Today, go to Eucharistic adoration, and while you’re there write at least one letter to someone, and tell them how much you love them with all of your heart.

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