All Saints’ Day

November 1, 2020

Matthew 5:1-12

Today the Church is celebrating the Solemnity of all saints. This is one of the ancient feasts in the Church that commemorates and honors all holy people who had gone before us and received their eternal reward, God Himself. We may recognize some of them, like St. Ignatius, St. Dominic de Guzman, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Catharine of Siena, but this is only a tiny fraction of the entire heavenly host. There are countless we are not aware of. The good news is that all of them are praying for us, and who knows, some of our departed beloved have been parts of this holy communion.

Speaking of the saints, the first thing that often pops up in our mind is that these are giants of our faith. Many saints, like the majority of the apostles, are martyrs. They offered their lives for Christ in gruesome ways. Many saints are performing unparalleled miracles. St. Benedict of Nursia was reported to raise a young man killed in an accident during the building of his monastery. Not only miracles, but some saints are also performing unthinkable deeds. A tradition says that St. Anthony of Padua decided to preach to the fish when the heretics refused to listen to him, and the fishes were giving their attention to the preacher of truth. When St. Vincent Ferrer preached, his voice could be heard even as far as 3 KM away. St. Catharine of Siena received the gift of stigmata, the wounds of the crucified Christ. St. Padre Pio of Pietrelcina had the gift to penetrate the depth of human hearts so that people cannot hide anything before him during the confession.

Looking at the lives of the saints, we may wonder, “Is sainthood for me?” I am afraid to die, let alone as martyrs. I do not possess super abilities; not even I can speak with my pets. Worse, I continue to struggle with my sins. Holiness is far from many of us.

However, the truth is all of us are created to become saints. Yes, the purpose of why God created us is to be holy, to be part of heaven, and to share His divine life. In fact, we have only two fundamental options in the final analysis: for God or against God. If we are for God, then our destiny is heaven, and membership in eternal joy is for the saints. Yet, if we refuse to be with God, then we are doomed to hell. Thus, our choice is only two: to be saints or go to hell. Tough choice!

Yet, the saints with marvelous stories are the only tip of the iceberg. The majority of the saints are living a simple yet faithful life. St. Martin de Porres lived his entire life as a simple brother, cleaning and taking care of the convent. St. Therese of Lisieux did not do any extraordinary things during her life, but sincere prayer to the Lord. St. Louis and Azelie Martin, a simple couple yet faithful parents, raised 5 nuns, and one of them is St. Therese. And, Beato Carlo Acutis was young and liked to play Playstation, but he was also recognized as a blessed one. We are called to holiness, and we are designed for heaven. We need to be open to God’s grace to work in us.

All Saints pray for us!

Valentinus Bayuhadi Ruseno, OP

photocredit: grant witty