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1st November 2022

Solemnity of All Saints’ Day

READ: (Rev 7:2-14; 1Jn 3:1-3; Matt 5: 1-12)

REFLECT: Saints are simple, have sanctity and set beatitudes as standards of life…

Dear friends, today we celebrate the solemnity of All Saints day. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops defines saints as “persons in heaven who lived heroically virtuous lives, offered their life for others, or were martyred for the faith, and who are worthy of imitation.”

Yes, on the Solemnity of All Saints day, we the Church celebrate those who achieved spiritual maturity and have reached heaven. It is a day to venerate all the holy men and women who have been canonized by the Church.  The Catholic Church has set each day a saint or two as per the celebration. Throughout the year, we commemorate the feast day of saints. The only day we pray commonly for all the saints is all saints day. Their sanctity, courage, standards of living, setting up of principles and values, life-struggles, life-achievements become an eye-opener and a motivation to be and become saints and saintly. The celebration of All Saints’ Day stems from a belief that there is a powerful spiritual bond between those in heaven (the Church triumphant), and the living (the Church militant). In Catholic theology, the day commemorates all those who have attained the beatific vision in Heaven.

The solemnity “All Saints Day” traces back its origin in May 609, when Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin Mary. In the eighth century, Pope Gregory III changed the date to November 1 when he dedicated a chapel at the Vatican in honor of all the saints, and Pope Gregory IV later extended this celebration of all saints to the universal church. We all of us know and are aware that whenever we participate in the Holy Mass or recite rosary we pray the Apostles’ Creed, I believe in the communion of saints.  The communion of saints includes the living and the dead, whether they are with God in heaven or undergoing a process of purification. The communion of saints comprise of both men and women. Our hope in Jesus Christ and the sacrament of Baptism we received have been adopted as sons and daughters.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church gives ample explanation about the belief in the “communion of saints.” The Church is a communion of saints refers first to the “holy things” (sancta), above all the Eucharist, by which the unity of believers, who form one body in Christ, is both represented and brought about, (CCC. no. 960). The term “communion of saints”" refers also to the communion of “holy persons” (sancti) in Christ who died for all, so that what each one does or suffers in and for Christ bears fruit for all,” (CCC. no. 961). Further, we believe in the communion of all the faithful of Christ, those who are pilgrims on earth, the dead who are being purified, and the blessed in heaven, all together forming one Church; and we believe that in this communion, the merciful love of God and his saints is always attentive to our prayers (CCC. no. 962).

So based on the liturgy of the word and solemnity of All Saints Day, I would like to share with you three points of reflection.

1. Saints are simple human beings:

“Every saint had a past and every sinner has a future,” says St. Augustine. This quotation just reminds each one of us that saints are not born extra-ordinarily from heaven rather like any one of us has been born on earth. But the life that they lived is extra-ordinary. That’s what Pope Francis very beautifully says, “Saints do not come from a ‘parallel universe’ but are believers who belong to God’s faithful people and are firmly grounded in a daily existence made up of family ties, study, and work, social, economic, and political life. In all these settings, the saints strive constantly, without fear or hesitation, to carry out God’s will.”

In the first reading at the end of it we hear from one of the elders addressing, “who are these clothed in white robes and from where they have come?” and the answer is given, “these are the ones coming out of tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb.” Yes, it shows that saints honoured by the church are not extra-ordinary persons by birth but simple and ordinary persons, who have gone through joys and sorrows as part of life. But even in the ordinariness and simplicity of life, they strived to carry out God’s will in all the ways possible.

Today we need to aspire to be saints by simple life-style, accepting human conditions of life, doing God’s will within the limits of what we are and who we are. God loves simplicity of life from us human beings with the purity of heart and mind, body and soul. So let our aim be as simple and ordinary as possible, God will raise us to great heights of life.

2. Saints are persons of sanctity:

The inevitable path where every saint of the Catholic Church had followed is the path of sanctity and holiness. This holiness is not limited to few individuals but to all. As St. Francis de Sales would say in his book “Introduction to Devout Life,” that “all are called to be holy and practice holiness.” Saint Teresa of Calcutta would say as well that “holiness is not the luxury of a few people, but a simple duty for you and me.” So everyone is given an opportunity to be and become saints. No one is labeled or certified as saints as soon as one is born. But our dispositions to God’s will and ways to follow God make us holy and pure before God and one another. Therefore, we are all called to become saints and accomplish that saintly life by striving to follow God’s commands and being united with Him in love, allowing God to live his life in us, making the message of God manifested by the life we live on earth.

The second reading from first letter of St. John we hear that a kind of love that God the Father has given to us is that we should be called as children of God and so we are. The world did not know us because it did not know God. But we know that when God appears we will be like, because we shall see him as he is.  And whosoever hopes in God purifies himself as he is pure. Yes, we are God’s children and are called to be children of God. To be children of God would mean that we are without spot or stain or sin. To be without sin would imply that we are pure, holy and blameless.

Today, the world gives, teaches and shows many ways, where holiness of life is ignored or avoided, taken for granted or not taken into consideration. But Jesus tells each one of us, “Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect,” (Matt 5:48). The perfection of life is possible by the path of sanctity and the sanctifying grace of God. Only God and God’s ways can make us holy and worthy. That’s why Pope Francis would say, “Holiness is not a human achievement, it is a gift we receive: we are holy because God, who is the Holy One, comes to dwell in our lives. For this we are blessed.” So let us persevere to be holy and allow the Lord to sanctify our lives.

3. Saints set Beatitudes as standards of living for us:

Saints are so simple and holy but they remain a model for all of us to follow the path of sanctity. They have walked the way Christ has taught us to walk. They have made known the world the messages and values of Christ to the world. They have set certain standards of living from beatitudes, by which we can obtain or make our standards of living better. The standard of living that they have set for us is the beatitudes or the Sermon on the Mount presented to us by Christ in today’s Gospel reading.  The beatitudes need to become normative or performative acts for the standard of living on earth like Saints.

We all know that the beatitudes are the basic attitudes of Christ. The basic attitudes of Christ become the basic attitude of every Christian, because we are followers of Christ. Therefore, we need to set before us beatitudes as a pattern for the standards of our living. The passage concerning the beatitude is perfectly suitable for all Saints because all the saints without any exception and excuse have experienced joy and happiness in the midst of sorrows or sufferings in life. The saints followed the path sanctity and holiness presented in the Beatitudes. The saints were blessed and have been a source of blessing to us in and through the grace of God.

The saints are blessed because, they made themselves poor for the sake of the kingdom of God; they mourned in life so that others be comforted; they humbled, so that they shall be exalted and inherit the earth; they hungered and thirsted for righteousness so that they are satisfied in life; they were merciful, so that they could obtain God’s mercy; they were pure in heart, so that they could see God and God in all things; they were peacemakers so that the peace of  Christ remain in the world and be called as sons and daughters of  God; they underwent persecution for the sake of  righteousness, so that they become part of the kingdom heaven and  make others as well part of God’s kingdom.

Yes, if we follow the path of beatitudes in our lives, we shall have every chance to be called as living saints and living examples on earth. Our every attempt to live the beatitudes will contribute to building up the kingdom of God here on earth. Today, God gives us through the Catholic Church ample opportunities to grow in the path of faith and sanctity. It is up to us today whether we would like ourselves to be called as ‘saints’ or ‘sinners.’ But God never discriminates rather gives us chances to become and be called his children. So, let us make use of this  opportunity that God offers us.

So on this All Saints’ Day what shall be our contribution? It could be drawing some inspiration and insights from the life of saints by reading books of their life-history or journey; naming children in Baptism after the names of saints; choose a favorite saint whom you like and seek special intercession from saints whom preferred or chose as favorite ones; use media for sending messages or quotes of saints to encourage living a life in communion and union. Friends, the power of saints and their intercession is indeed great. That’s why St. Dominic before his death said, “Do not weep, for I shall be more useful to you after my death, and I shall help you then more effectively than during my life.” It reveals the power of being in company with angels and saints of God to pray for each one of us to be saints and become saintly on earth.

In line with the above, Pope Francis would say that “All Saints Day is a family feast, because the saints, our truest brothers and sisters, love us, know what our true good is, help us, await us and want us to be happy with them in heaven.” So Let us celebrate All Saints’ Day with joy and happiness that our brothers and sisters in the Lord are constantly praying for us to holy, safe and secure in the hands of God.

RESPOND:

Do I follow the simple life-style of Saints? Do I aspire to be saints?

Do I follow the path of Sanctity to be holy? 

How far beatitudes of Christ have become part of our lives?

Let us believe in the simple life-style of saints, their extra-ordinary life of sanctity and beatitudes as their standards of living to move towards God and be called as blessed ones of God. May God bless our humble efforts to be saintly and live as saints on earth. Amen.

“Saints have excelled, each in one’s own way, in one virtue or another, and have attained sanctity in a variety of ways. Indeed sanctity exists in as many varieties and blend of holiness as there are saints.” (AE VI 353, Conf. 19, Taken from Spoon full of Honey III by Fr. Suresh Baby MSFS, p. 59)

Wish you a happy feast. 

God bless us all! Live Jesus