In an effort to infuse this often somber season of Lent with a little humor and motivational pizzazz, one Episcopalian priest in Massachusetts has invented “Lent Madness.” Four years ago Rev. Tim Schenck started the initiative, which pits some 32 saints in a basketball-type bracket squaring off as rivals for the coveted “Golden Halo.” (I’d like to know what sort of award the Golden Halo actually entails.) For Schenck, Lent Madness is a way to put flesh and blood on often flawed and far too often idealized saints from church history.

John Wesley.

Catherine of Siena.

Harriet Beecher Stowe.

The contributions of these very real people come alive in a winning way that can inspire those of us struggling to live out lives of faith as saints and sinners all of us.

All of this leaves me wondering, which saints would you have in your line-up? And, if you had to bet on this year’s winner of The Golden Halo, who would it be?