THE SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS

         Revelation 7:2-4.9-14, 1 John3:1-3, Mathew 5:1-12a

Theme: A Call to Holiness of Life

Today our Holy Mother the Church celebrates the solemnity of All Saints. This solemnity gives us the opportunity to celebrate all the saints, both those that the church has canonized and those not canonized by the church. It is a celebration that unites the church militant (That is, all those who are still alive, like you and me), the church triumphant (Are the saints we celebrate today), and lastly the church suffering (They are all those in purgatory). The prayers of the church militant in this month of November will attract the mercy and compassion of God to the suffering church and can make them members of the church triumphant. To get this plenary indulgence, we need sacramental confession, reception of the Eucharist, praying for the Popes intention and lastly praying in a cemetery.

 

Our Ancestors in faith that we celebrate today are great men and women who lived at one time or the other and are no longer present with us. It is important to point out the fact that the people we celebrate today were not perfect people. They had their challenges and weaknesses like you and me. But we celebrate them today because at a point in time in their lives, they became more concerned about living their lives in a way that is pleasing to God and embraced holiness of Life. We see human weakness in the lives of our Ancestors in faith, people like Moses, Abraham, St. Augustine of Hippo and so forth. Even in the genealogy of Jesus, the names mentioned were not all holy and blameless people. A very important thing that we need to understand in the lives of the saints was their desire at a point in time in their lives to lead a life that is pleasing to God. In the same way, we are all encouraged to imbibe the spirit of the saints by striving after holiness of life.

The fact that we celebrate these saints today simply shows that if we work hard like they did, we can also become saints too. This is very true, taking into consideration the fact that some people we know have been canonized recently by the church. For instance, Pope John Paul second was recently made a saint, Mother Theresa of Calcutta also was recently made a saint too, and some others. This simply shows that we are all capable of becoming saints if we are ready for sincere repentance and embrace the call to holiness of life. Like the saying goes, nothing good comes easy! We must be ready to pay the price. The price could involve letting go of some of the things we enjoy doing, which may not be pleasing in the sight of God. The good news dear friends in Christ, is that the price we must pay is small, compared to what we stand to gain; that is eternal life. Today’s celebration is a call to holiness of life. Resolve to accept this invitation today and be on the path to sainthood. May God grant us the grace to live good and holy lives. Amen. Peace be with you!

 

Solemnity of all Saints year A, by Fr. Jude Ifeanyi Ifezime, C.S.Sp