ALL SAINTS DAY
Today, November 1st is All Saints Day. This day, we honor the life of every Christian who walked the path of Jesus. Some of them were canonized; others were not. Some of them were popular; others were not. Some of them were simple people but lived their lives with a passion for Christ. We celebrate the memories of all of them today.
Who were these people? Who are these Saints? These are the ones who lived the Beatitudes. This is the reason why we are invited to reflect on the Beatitudes (Mt 5ff)on this All Saints Day. Beatitudes are not a substitute for the 10 commandments. They are the spirit behind the 10 commandments. They are in fact the reflection of Jesus’ own life.
Beatitude means blessedness or happiness. The desire for happiness is natural to every living being. No one can survive without it. Finding the true source of happiness and discovering the right means to obtain it make one’s life genuine, holy and real. The beatitudes offer both. In fact all the eight beatitudes have two parts: Promise of a blessing and the condition to obtain that particular blessing. For example, in the first beatitude, the promise is the Kingdom of God and the condition to attain the Kingdom of God is poverty of spirit. Saints are those who discovered the true source of happiness. They realized that true happiness is finding God. They also discovered the restlessness of heart without God. (Augustine).
Many of us know the source of happiness. The dilemma is that often we get confused with the multiple choices. Saints are those who discovered the true path to happiness. The second part of the beatitudes spell out the means to obtain these blessings. Have a look at the first beatitude. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.” To come under the reign of God, one has to empty one’s self. One has to make space for God, casting out all other rulers from one’s heart. This is the first commandment. Remember Jesus’ instruction to the rich young man, “If you want to enter the Kingdom of God, sell the property and share it with the poor.” (Mk 10:21). Abraham had to give up everything and threw his life in the promise of God (Genesis 12:4). When Jesus emptied His Self God raised him up (Philippians 2:8-9). Liberation from the bondage material ambitions is the foundation for holiness.
Holiness is not limited to any particular group or individual. Anyone who is open to God’s call is holy. For this matter any baptized Christian is a saint. Since baptism make us part of the Body of Christ and members of God’s Family, no one is outside of holiness. St. Paul understood this truth and addressed every Christian Saint (1Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 2:19). The same reason inspired the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council to emphasis on the Universal Call to Holiness. This was a remarkable change from the traditional view on holiness. For centuries people understood holy life as something reserved for a chosen race! The fact that most of the canonized saints were either from priestly and religious class or from royal and elite class reinforced this belief. Consequently ordinary people were even scared of dreaming to become a saint. Vatican Council corrected this view on holy life and restored the biblical understanding of holiness.
Living a holy life or beatitudes does not require extraordinary talents or gifts. Remarkable and spectacular works have nothing to do with holiness. Good works may not always reflect holy life. Holy life, however, always bears good works. It is not success but faithfulness that matters for God. Martin De Porres was a humble servant in the monastery. John Viany struggled to complete his seminary studies. Little Therese never ministered outside the convent. Sr. Alphonsa was sick all the days of her life. They were ordinary people from ordinary parents. All of them became great saints. We don’t need great talents to feed the hungry or to visit the sick or to clothe the naked or to welcome a stranger. We need only a heart of Christ. We all have the basic ingredients to make a great saint out of us.
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As every Saint had a past, every sinner has a future.
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ALL SOULS DAY
We know the story of St. Augustine. He struggled a lot in his life to find happiness. He tried several things in his search for joy. Finally he found happiness in the presence of the Lord. After his conversion experience, he made this beautiful statement. “O Lord, you made me for yourself. Until I find my rest in you, my heart remains restless.” Every saint has the same message for the world. As we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the goal and purpose of our life is to know God, to love God and to live in the presence of God, seeing his face, eternally.
Who will see the face of God? Jesus himself answered this question. In Mathew chapter 5 verse 8 Jesus says: “Blessed are the clean of Heart, for they will see God.” The beatific vision of God belongs to the clean of heart. In other words we need continuous transformation until we are totally conformed to Christ. People who reached this stage are saints and they enter the Kingdom of God immediately after their death. According to the Fathers of the Church they become part of the Glorified Church.
Those who do not experience that transformation, need further purification before they are to be admitted to heaven. They go through a stage called purgatory. To purgate means cleansing from the effects of sin. The Fathers of the church call them the suffering church. On All Souls’ Day we remember all the departed who need further assistance.
According to Scripture, a person in purgatory cannot do anything for himself or herself, we, the living, can. That is why we need to pray for them. Some times people say: “I have been praying for a particular person for a long time. How long do I need to continue? The answer is: Our prayers never go in vein. If that particular person already reached heaven, then our prayers goes to someone else who needs our prayer. We are a corporate entity. We are the Body of Christ.
Our challenge! Do not conform to the values of the world, even though at times they may have glittering appearances. But they are deceptive. They are empty promises. Our call is to choose between the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of darkness…the Kingdom of life and the Kingdom of Death. It is hard. Hence, Fathers of the church called the Earthly church a Militant Church. It is possible to have a successful fight because God has given us grace at baptism; God has given us guidelines to follow in the form of Commandments and beatitudes. The saints had proved it. And finally we are not alone in this fight; Jesus is with us.
Today, November 1st is All Saints Day. This day, we honor the life of every Christian who walked the path of Jesus. Some of them were canonized; others were not. Some of them were popular; others were not. Some of them were simple people but lived their lives with a passion for Christ. We celebrate the memories of all of them today.
Who were these people? Who are these Saints? These are the ones who lived the Beatitudes. This is the reason why we are invited to reflect on the Beatitudes (Mt 5ff)on this All Saints Day. Beatitudes are not a substitute for the 10 commandments. They are the spirit behind the 10 commandments. They are in fact the reflection of Jesus’ own life.
Beatitude means blessedness or happiness. The desire for happiness is natural to every living being. No one can survive without it. Finding the true source of happiness and discovering the right means to obtain it make one’s life genuine, holy and real. The beatitudes offer both. In fact all the eight beatitudes have two parts: Promise of a blessing and the condition to obtain that particular blessing. For example, in the first beatitude, the promise is the Kingdom of God and the condition to attain the Kingdom of God is poverty of spirit. Saints are those who discovered the true source of happiness. They realized that true happiness is finding God. They also discovered the restlessness of heart without God. (Augustine).
Many of us know the source of happiness. The dilemma is that often we get confused with the multiple choices. Saints are those who discovered the true path to happiness. The second part of the beatitudes spell out the means to obtain these blessings. Have a look at the first beatitude. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of God.” To come under the reign of God, one has to empty one’s self. One has to make space for God, casting out all other rulers from one’s heart. This is the first commandment. Remember Jesus’ instruction to the rich young man, “If you want to enter the Kingdom of God, sell the property and share it with the poor.” (Mk 10:21). Abraham had to give up everything and threw his life in the promise of God (Genesis 12:4). When Jesus emptied His Self God raised him up (Philippians 2:8-9). Liberation from the bondage material ambitions is the foundation for holiness.
Holiness is not limited to any particular group or individual. Anyone who is open to God’s call is holy. For this matter any baptized Christian is a saint. Since baptism make us part of the Body of Christ and members of God’s Family, no one is outside of holiness. St. Paul understood this truth and addressed every Christian Saint (1Corinthians 1:2, Ephesians 2:19). The same reason inspired the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council to emphasis on the Universal Call to Holiness. This was a remarkable change from the traditional view on holiness. For centuries people understood holy life as something reserved for a chosen race! The fact that most of the canonized saints were either from priestly and religious class or from royal and elite class reinforced this belief. Consequently ordinary people were even scared of dreaming to become a saint. Vatican Council corrected this view on holy life and restored the biblical understanding of holiness.
Living a holy life or beatitudes does not require extraordinary talents or gifts. Remarkable and spectacular works have nothing to do with holiness. Good works may not always reflect holy life. Holy life, however, always bears good works. It is not success but faithfulness that matters for God. Martin De Porres was a humble servant in the monastery. John Viany struggled to complete his seminary studies. Little Therese never ministered outside the convent. Sr. Alphonsa was sick all the days of her life. They were ordinary people from ordinary parents. All of them became great saints. We don’t need great talents to feed the hungry or to visit the sick or to clothe the naked or to welcome a stranger. We need only a heart of Christ. We all have the basic ingredients to make a great saint out of us.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
As every Saint had a past, every sinner has a future.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALL SOULS DAY
We know the story of St. Augustine. He struggled a lot in his life to find happiness. He tried several things in his search for joy. Finally he found happiness in the presence of the Lord. After his conversion experience, he made this beautiful statement. “O Lord, you made me for yourself. Until I find my rest in you, my heart remains restless.” Every saint has the same message for the world. As we read in the Catechism of the Catholic Church, the goal and purpose of our life is to know God, to love God and to live in the presence of God, seeing his face, eternally.
Who will see the face of God? Jesus himself answered this question. In Mathew chapter 5 verse 8 Jesus says: “Blessed are the clean of Heart, for they will see God.” The beatific vision of God belongs to the clean of heart. In other words we need continuous transformation until we are totally conformed to Christ. People who reached this stage are saints and they enter the Kingdom of God immediately after their death. According to the Fathers of the Church they become part of the Glorified Church.
Those who do not experience that transformation, need further purification before they are to be admitted to heaven. They go through a stage called purgatory. To purgate means cleansing from the effects of sin. The Fathers of the church call them the suffering church. On All Souls’ Day we remember all the departed who need further assistance.
According to Scripture, a person in purgatory cannot do anything for himself or herself, we, the living, can. That is why we need to pray for them. Some times people say: “I have been praying for a particular person for a long time. How long do I need to continue? The answer is: Our prayers never go in vein. If that particular person already reached heaven, then our prayers goes to someone else who needs our prayer. We are a corporate entity. We are the Body of Christ.
Our challenge! Do not conform to the values of the world, even though at times they may have glittering appearances. But they are deceptive. They are empty promises. Our call is to choose between the Kingdom of Light and the Kingdom of darkness…the Kingdom of life and the Kingdom of Death. It is hard. Hence, Fathers of the church called the Earthly church a Militant Church. It is possible to have a successful fight because God has given us grace at baptism; God has given us guidelines to follow in the form of Commandments and beatitudes. The saints had proved it. And finally we are not alone in this fight; Jesus is with us.
Hi Father Sebastian,
ReplyDeleteI want to let you know that I enjoy reading
your reflections. I am a Eucharistic Minister to the Sick and I like to print them
out for them to read. They enjoy reading them as well. The problem I am having is that the different colors you are using in the text is giving my printer difficulties. No matter how hard I try the color will not stay black. Is there some way you can add a
printable black text?
Thank you, Mary Ann Berntsen