(Homily for the Solemnity of All Saints)
As we celebrate all the saints
today both canonized and non-canonized, we
prefigure the celebration in heaven. Today’s feast reminds us of the
continuity and unity between the pilgrimage church on earth and the triumphant
church in heaven. The solemnity of All Saints is for each and
every one of us an invitation and a reminder to holiness of life, which is the vocation of all the
baptized. Our Eucharistic celebration today begins (Entrance
Antiphon) with the invitation to joy, which the Church as Mother and Teacher
directs to all of us, thus:
Let
us all rejoice in the Lord, as we celebrate the feast day in honour of all the
Saints, at whose festival the Angels rejoice and praise the Son of God.
In today’s first reading (Ap. 7:2-4.9-14), John recounts a
vision he received about that heavenly celebration of the saints. The words of
Apocalypse 7:9-10 are illuminating:
“I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race,
tribe and language; they were standing in front of the Lamb, dressed in white
robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted aloud, “victory to our
God, who sits on the throne and to the Lamb”. And he was equally told why they
are in heaven, “These are the people who have been through the great
persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the
Lamb” (Ap. 7:14). The saints in
heaven were faithful to God despite the many hardships and persecutions they
had to endure. Little wonder, they have
been crowned and graced with white robes. The saints won victory over trials and tribulations through their
collaboration with the grace of God. St. Paul captured the efficacy of
divine grace when he opined that “what I am now I am through the grace of God” (1Cor 15:10).
Furthermore, many a times, we are
confronted with the question, “why do we
pray to the saints?” We pray through the saints because they can help us on
our sojourn towards heaven, because they are already there. John saw an earlier
vision when he narrated that he “saw
golden bowls full of incense which are the prayers of the saints” (Ap. 5:8). So they can intercede for us, and they do intercede for us. The
prayers of the saints are powerful. In fact, before the beatification or
canonization of a saint there is always a preceding miracle.
A profound reflection on the Gospel
passage (Mt 5:1-12) reveals that the saints are men and women
of Beatitudes. Little wonder, at the heart of today’s Gospel the word
“Blessed” was repeated for nine good times. The beatitudes are proclaimed by
Jesus in a fascinating way. The choice of the Mount by Mathew for this sermon
is in line with his conception of these sets of teachings as the new law, which
corresponds with the old law given by Moses on Mount Sinai. For Mathew Jesus is the new law giver, the
second Moses. Though for Luke the Sermon took place on the plain. Indeed,
it has been often observed that the
beatitudes describe the life of Christ himself. And as such, in connection to ‘All Saints” it denotes
that all saints are those who manifested a Christ-like character as expressed
in the beatitudes.
Be that as it may, the road to sanctity or holiness is the road of the
beatitudes. Spiritual poverty or humility and detachment from the things of
this world, meekness and the rejection of every violence, bearing pains, thirst
for justice, comprehension and mercy towards ones neighbour, purity of heart,
spirit of peace: are the roads to holiness. And the saints we are celebrating
today teach us by their exemplary life that it is a road that can be plied by
all.
However, we may ask a pertinent
question thus: why are these categories
of people proclaimed blessed by Jesus? Not because to them Jesus assured
success and wealth, but they are blessed because the “Good News” of God’s
kingdom has been announced to them, and they were disposed to welcome it, from
here springs joy, happiness and blessedness. We too can be called blessed if we
welcome the Good news and all that it comports, for by so doing we will be on
the road to holiness.
Interestingly, the second reading (1Jn 3:1-3), invites us to aspire to be
were the saints are. So that, there
present can become our future. He reminds us that heaven is our destination, and this is the first message emanating
from this passage that we have to take to heart, “we are God’s children, but
what we shall be in the future has not yet been revealed. We are well aware
that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he
really is” (v.2). As such, St. John
enjoins us: “surely everyone who entertains this hope must purify himself, must
try to be as pure as Christ” (1Jn 3:3).
Above all else however, with the Solemnity of all Saints the Church
draws our attention to few paramount messages:
►That Heaven is our
destination, as St. John said, “Beloved we are now children of God, and it has
not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed we
shall see Him as He is” (1Jn 3:2).
Analogically, St. Paul expresses that “for now we see in a mirror, dimly, but
then face to face” (1Cor 13:12). Really the saints are beholding God face to
face. And we hope to do same too!
►The second message comes from
the first reading, the fact that we are all called to holiness. St. Peter
affirms this when he vehemently posited: “this is the will of God: your
sanctification” (1Pt 1:15-16). The
conciliar document of Vatican II reminds us equally of this universal call to
holiness (LG 40). We are not called
to an exceptional holiness, rather
we are all (the first reading talks about a great multitude from every nation,
race, people and language) called to essential
holiness.
Oratio:
We pray that the Saints may continue to intercede for us on our journey of
perfectibility, so that we too may become partakers of the saints in light!
May the Saints continue to intercede for
us!! Amen!!!
(Fr. Vitus M. C. Unegbu, SC)
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