So, hopefully you are on the edge of your seat wondering, “I am reading a blog by a someone with real superpowers”. (If you have no clue what I mean, you obviously did not read part one. You are excused. Go read and come back when you are done.)

Yes, I have superpowers. Sadly, I often do not use them.

(You might sense this coming…)

The thing is, you have these same powers, too. We all do. That is the awesome thing about it.

My superpowers come courtesy of my faith. (Do I hear the collective groan of a dissapointed crowd? Hang on, dear friends. Don’t bail out now. I think it will be worth it.)

Faith comes with a whole arsenal of superpowers - prayer, the sacraments, Scripture, the Communion of Saints, community, and on and on. See what I mean yet?

Let us say that I find the whole world a difficult place - injustice, economic inequality, rudeness, and coldness. What power does one person have against the rage of the world? Well, on my own I am pretty much beaten into a pile of mush. However, when I pray not just for myself, but for the needs of those around me, I join my prayers to the prayers of the universal church, and they all just zip up to a God who is all-powerful and perfect. What more could anyone want?

And the Communion of Saints? Whoa baby! Bill Gates could only wish we had such wealth and connections! Need help selling a house? Ask St. Joseph. Lost something? Try St. Anthony of Padua (He and I are goooood friends). St. Frances de Sales for us writers, St. Luke for all the painters out there.

Let me tell you a little story ’bout that. My sister was pretty saintly. Patient, full of faith, loving, forgiving - her whole life was testament to her God. She was 10 years older than me, the oldest sibiling in the family, and being her only little sister, she always spoiled me.  In May of 2004 my husband and I decided we needed to move out of a rapidly deteriorating neighborhood. Three young children and homeschooling do not a clean home make! I toiled and tried, but month after month went by with no takers on the house. Hubby and I changed realtors, made small improvements, but no luck. During this time, my lovely sister suffered from terminal cancer. It was an unspeakably difficult time, full of sadness. She passed into heaven in February 2005.

The day after she died, I woke up and it hit me: my sister had never been able to say no to me in life, why should that change now? After all, she had nothing to do now but frolic with the angels! I asked her very nicely that as soon as she got settled in her new life, could she please do something about our house?

Three days later, we had not one, but TWO offers. This, after nine months of not one single offer (not even a really bad offer).

Talk about friends in high places!

The truth is, we all have that - Direct connection to saints sitting at the feet of God, the chance to take Jesus into our bodies and our hearts, the power of prayer, the ear of God. The list goes on and on.

The sad thing is, how often do you use it? I know I do not take advantage of it. I mean, what good are superpowers if they are not used. If Superman uses his x-ray vision only to find out where the good money is on “Deal or No Deal”, that is not superpower, it is just really good eyesight. Likewise, if I use the powers of my faith only when I need something, it is not faith I am practicing, but narcissism.

Faith is powerful. We have the ability to use it for our own good, and for the good of the whole world. When we recognize this and accept our responsibility to become the faith-filled, praying, Eucharist loving, church-going, saint-name-dropping people God calls us to be, we begin to embrace our superpowers.

Use them for good, people. Now for a cool costume….