Beloved Parishioners,

Last week I started reflecting on the meaning of All Saints and what that means to us as Catholics who profess our belief in the Communion of Saints. I shared in the first part that we have seen the example of Blessed Carlo Acutis who was born in 1991 and who died in 2006 that will soon be canonized at a later date that will be made known to us by the Holy See this year.

His example shows us that even in the 21st century, the call to holiness is not outdated.

Second, this feast is an invitation for us not only to celebrate the lives of the saints as though it has no concern to us but as Hebrews 13:7-8 reminds us that as we reflect on the outcome of their lives, we must imitate their faith because Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today and forever. Again Hebrews 12:1-2 urges us thus: “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a huge crowd of witnesses to the life of faith, let us strip off every weight that slows us down, especially the sin that so easily trips us up. And let us run with endurance the race God has set before us. We do this by keeping our eyes on Jesus, the champion who initiates and perfects our faith.” This is a call to exemplary mirroring of the lives and examples of the saints we celebrate today by especially having a personal relationship with and a personal conviction about Jesus.

Thirdly, this feast invites us to live in hope knowing that our struggle here on earth is temporal and our destination and resting place is in heaven, where Christ has prepared for us. We are not earthbound rather we are “fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God” (Ephesians 2:9). “Our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (Philippians 3:20-21). As Church on mission or Church militant, we know that one day we shall unite with the Triumphant Church.

We ought to understand that saints are not just historical figures from the past, but they are our role models and our intercessors who are examples for us. The first reading from the Book of Revelation tells us that John saw a great multitude no one can number from all the nations, from every tribe and tongue and peoples who were standing before the throne of God who were saints. This underscores that everyone of us can be a saint because the saints we celebrate today are people who faced the same struggles we are facing now during their own time, but they cooperated with the grace of God at work in them. We must understand also that holiness is not perfection but progress in cooperating with God’s grace. Every sinner has a future, and every saint had a past, so we must not be discouraged by making the effort to be holy. Our patron saints are cheering us on and interceding on our behalf and we must not let them down.

In the same vein, being a saint does not imply doing extraordinary things, rather it consists of doing ordinary things in an extraordinary manner. Just like St. Theresa of Lisieux highlights to us when she says, “I will spend my heaven doing good on earth”, let us not ignore the works of mercy. In the Gospel, Christ highlights the various criteria for attaining blessedness and most of them center on doing works of mercy and standing upright. Let us be inspired by the Gospel of today.

Let us unite our prayers with those of the saints asking for their intercession and strength. May their lives inspire us to live boldly in faith, to seek holiness in the ordinary moments of our lives, and to share the light of Christ with the world that is in need. Amen.

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