Today, we celebrate the feast of All Saints, a day to recognize those men and women, known and unknown, who now enjoy the happiness of Heaven. Originally, a day to commemorate all martyrs, that is, those who laid down their lives for the faith, it has been extended to celebrate all of those who have the reward of eternal life with God, and to demonstrate to us the solidarity that we have with them.
For, these men and women remind us of something very important, that every single one of us here have that great potential within us of becoming a saint. It may sound strange to put it that way, but, regardless of our particular state in life, we all share a common vocation, and that is to achieve holiness.
For, while we are often tempted to see it as an ideal or an unachievable goal, it is these saints, known and unknown, named and unnamed that show us that within us, their same desire dwells.
Yet, if you have every read any lives of the saints, you know that the experience can be both beautiful and painful, frustrating and awe-inspiring.
For, these men and women remind us of something very important, that every single one of us here have that great potential within us of becoming a saint. It may sound strange to put it that way, but, regardless of our particular state in life, we all share a common vocation, and that is to achieve holiness.
For, while we are often tempted to see it as an ideal or an unachievable goal, it is these saints, known and unknown, named and unnamed that show us that within us, their same desire dwells.
Yet, if you have every read any lives of the saints, you know that the experience can be both beautiful and painful, frustrating and awe-inspiring.
Reading the saints, we see people that could perform countless miracles, could pray at every moment of every single day, and, sometimes, even experience the most extraordinary of events and, as a result, fee as though it might be easier to stop reading their lives thinking it impossible to live up to the same.
Yet, if we persevere in this task, that is, of reading the saints, something becomes quite clear, we are not meant to be that particular saint, but, rather, only imitate what it is they practiced. God calls each of us individually, and our response is, therefore, individual as well, the saints shared many common traits, but no one can be St. Pio, St. Faustina, St. Louis De Montfort or any of our favorites.
However, we can imitate them and emulate them, by being responsive in the way that God calls each and every one of us and to ask their intercession to help us in this great task.
The saints are those men and women who unfold before us the very essence of holiness, they show us, by word and example how to be children of God, as it says in our readings, how to live with the hope of Heaven always before us, but with the reality that the line between sin and sanctity is still quite thin.
For, as St. Gregory the Great explains it: “The victories of the saints give our spirits wings through the joy they cause; their failures give us pause through fear.”
And, despite what many might think, to be a saint we do not have to be crazy, instead, like them, we must have such a great and undying love for God that, like them we will stop at nothing to make it known and to preserve that love.
St. Josemaria Escriva puts it well, he says: “The saints were not abnormal beings: cases to be studied by a ‘modernistic’ doctor. They were—they are—normal: of flesh, like yours. And they won.”
For, their life was, indeed, no different than ours, they lived like we did, some even sinned greatly before they were saints, but they stand the test of time not of their own accord, but of God’s, their holiness was merely a reflection of their love, and they stopped at nothing to love God and, as a result, wanted Heaven more than anything else.
For, St. Bernard says it well, he says: “Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself.
Because, in the end, holiness is merely a fancy term for one who desires Heaven, for one who constantly wants to be in the presence of those same saints and, with them, behold the very face of God, and, truly, who, among us, does not desire the same?
Yet, if we persevere in this task, that is, of reading the saints, something becomes quite clear, we are not meant to be that particular saint, but, rather, only imitate what it is they practiced. God calls each of us individually, and our response is, therefore, individual as well, the saints shared many common traits, but no one can be St. Pio, St. Faustina, St. Louis De Montfort or any of our favorites.
However, we can imitate them and emulate them, by being responsive in the way that God calls each and every one of us and to ask their intercession to help us in this great task.
The saints are those men and women who unfold before us the very essence of holiness, they show us, by word and example how to be children of God, as it says in our readings, how to live with the hope of Heaven always before us, but with the reality that the line between sin and sanctity is still quite thin.
For, as St. Gregory the Great explains it: “The victories of the saints give our spirits wings through the joy they cause; their failures give us pause through fear.”
And, despite what many might think, to be a saint we do not have to be crazy, instead, like them, we must have such a great and undying love for God that, like them we will stop at nothing to make it known and to preserve that love.
St. Josemaria Escriva puts it well, he says: “The saints were not abnormal beings: cases to be studied by a ‘modernistic’ doctor. They were—they are—normal: of flesh, like yours. And they won.”
For, their life was, indeed, no different than ours, they lived like we did, some even sinned greatly before they were saints, but they stand the test of time not of their own accord, but of God’s, their holiness was merely a reflection of their love, and they stopped at nothing to love God and, as a result, wanted Heaven more than anything else.
For, St. Bernard says it well, he says: “Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself.
Because, in the end, holiness is merely a fancy term for one who desires Heaven, for one who constantly wants to be in the presence of those same saints and, with them, behold the very face of God, and, truly, who, among us, does not desire the same?
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