Matthew 5: 1-12
The Word: https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/110120.cfm
This Sunday we celebrate the Feast of All Saints – of all
the “holy ones”- and the Church reminds us of the universal call to be
holy. We remember those who throughout Christian
history have been formally recognized by the Church as models of Christian
holiness and heroic virtue. But we also
remember the “great multitude” we hear of in the first reading from Revelations.
All those who enjoy the vision of God in
Heaven. The Church in glory as it were.
The origins of this beautiful feast lie in the time of
the early Christians whose lives were very different than our own. Today we live, at least in a good part of the
world, in relative freedom. And
certainly in this Country, we have come to expect total freedom to exercise our
faith openly. The present day
restrictions due to this virus are painful for us but God remains in our midst.
Our Churches still thrive, our healthcare institutions
provide a significant contribution to American society, our educational
institutions identified as "Catholic" and we can openly wear
religious signs without fear of reprisal or arrest. Yet, those early
Christians, many of whom were martyred for their faith, found a courage and
trust that we too need to emulate. And
there we begin to remember our connection with those heroic Christians before
us.
We see them as members of our own family; a communion of
saints. That though they may be physically
no longer with us, they indeed were flesh and blood people who experienced life
in the same way we do. And now, they
live in the presence of God in Heaven and they continue to pray for us here as
great intercessors on our behalf.
But, what can our canonized Saints teach us; those most
immediately connected to this day? We may unconsciously at least, see them as
beyond us. As one’s whose holiness was beyond
our ability to imitate so we create a kind of aura around them to admire and
honor but not really connected to my every day human struggles.
We see holy cards, pictures, statutes of our saints. We pray to them through Novena’s and specific
prayers for certain intentions. And we
attach certain “patron saint of . . .” titles to them. Did you know there is a patron saint of
cancer? (St. Peregrine) A patron saint for lost items – St. Anthony. A patron saint of hopeless causes – St. Jude. A patron saint of the missions – St. Theresa
of Liseux, a patron saint for slaves – St. Martin de Porres. It seems every
part of our concerns and struggles is covered by some saintly sponsorship.
We pray to the saints for example, and believe, at least
hope, that our prayers are heard. We
aren’t just speaking in empty air or to walls.
They hear us and their prayer for us affect our lives here. Today, we remember this great community of
saints and the great ability to communicate to those gone before us. It isn’t
magic or sorcery. It is faith in action.
That is why prayer is so essential to our spiritual growth.
Pope Francis a few years back offered this beautiful
statement on the Saints: “The saints are
but people through whom God has passed. We
can compare them to the Church windows which allow light to enter in different
shades of color. The saints are our brothers and sisters who have welcomed the
light of God in their heart and have passed it on to the world, each according
to his or her own ‘hue.’”
I think that each of them were given a mission to carry
out by Christ and they knew that if they responded to God’s invitation he would
give them the grace to live out what they were asked to do. They allowed God to pass through them and to be lit up by that divine light in order to
shine it on those around them. Not to
call attention to themselves but to invite people to see through them to Christ,
the source of that light. The saints did not live in a Church all day, they did
not sit around all day doing nothing but praying; they actively responded to
needs around them for example. To hear the cry that others had ignored: the
poor, the rejected, the suffering, the ignorant, the lonely and forgotten. In
short they lived out the Beatitudes of Jesus and through the light that passed,
they became holy people.
Jesus words about “Blessed are . . .” though they may
sound tender and compassionate; almost poetic in nature, are really a most
challenging call to radical holiness but not beyond our ability, through God’s
grace. The blessings symbolize true happiness and connection with God – a way
to make room so that he may pass through us. But I think to follow them as a kind of blueprint
for daily living.
The “poor in spirit” are those who make room for God; who
are not attached to material things and clutter their lives with all kinds of
stuff that become near addictions for more and more. The “meek” are those who
never put themselves above others in a way that makes them the center of all
things. They are humble and recognize
their own need for conversion.
The “merciful” are those who think of others before
themselves and who try to shine the light of God’s mercy on others. The “clean
of heart” are those who keep themselves away from an attachment to sin and recognize
their own human limitations. And those who suffer for the sake of their faith
are those who recognize that God is greater than all things and are willing to
sacrifice for the greater good.
So, to me the Beatitudes are not beyond our reach, as
radical as they call us to become. The saints
are those who have won the race but who know that it is not easy and they
remain our cheering squad in heaven as it were.
As Jesus was poor in spirit, kind, humble, merciful, of a single- heart,
a peacemaker so too must we be as well.
Yet, like all the saints who stand as our cheering squad in heaven,
urging us to never give up on the Christian life and to embrace it with
boldness, we are called to do what God asks of us. But, we know, as well did those saintly
brothers and sisters, that only through God’s grace can holiness become active
in our lives. For those of us who feel so flawed and recognize our sin we have
hope that with God all things are possible. It is God's work, not ours, which
graces all of us according to his desire.
In the diversity of the saints from every walk of life,
including our youth and children saints, we see that we can be faithful to who
we are and what God has called us to be and to do: a saintly married couple, a saintly mother or
father, a saintly office worker, a saintly doctor, a saintly pastor or souls, a
saintly high school or college student or teacher, etc, etc. The call to holiness is not just for a few
who have been recognized but for all of us.
God’s light, just like the sun, does not discriminate who it shines on.
At the same time, tomorrow and for the entire month of
November, we remember to pray for all those who have died. Those who may yet be in a state of further
purification (purgatory) and are being prepared to enter the glory of union
with God; they are the Church in purification. Our prayer for them, we believe,
has an effect as all the good we do for each other brings benefit to the entire
Christian common good.
This is a feast of the entire Church those in this life
and those in the next. It is a
celebration of God’s desire to bring all to himself and a mark of God’s abundant
mercy that forgives and purifies rather than condemn.
We are all called to live holy lives; to form our lives
by the Gospel and to come to know, love and serve the Lord. Let us pray, with all the holy ones, our brothers
and sisters in Christ and let the light of God to pass through us to
others.
Almighty ever-living God,
by whose gift we venerate in one celebration
the merits of all the Saints,
bestow on us, we pray,
through the prayers of so many intercessors,
an abundance of the reconciliation with you
for which we earnestly long.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God for ever and ever.
(Opening Prayer for Mass)
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