Dear Friends
Today we celebrate the feast of “All Saints.” Saints have played a central role in the growth of the Church. They were people who dared to live the life of a Christian. We honor them today, who in the words of Revelations, Stand before the throne and before the Lamb, dressed in long white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.” Rev.7:9) We join Jesus in the gospel and call them “blessed” because in their own way they were poor in spirit, hungered and thirsted for what was right, showed mercy to others and were peace makers.
Today’s Feast is for all the saints: canonized and memorial Saints. The canonized saints gave up everything, material possessions and yet they said that they possessed all. For you and me, cross is to be avoided for it is a punishment but for them cross is to be embraced for it is a blessing: for you and me, painful experiences teach what one cannot do but for them, they teach what one can do; for you and me, death is a sunset but for them death is sunrise; for us self is first. but for them self is last. For us God is a giver but for them God is a lover. Therefore they were special models for discipleship.
But there are also countless number of uncanonized Saints in heaven. Who are they? They were men and women of flesh and blood like anyone of us. They had the same weaknesses, faults and failings as we have and yet they never forgot God and never gave up trying to live a good Christian life. They went through turmoil’s, ups and downs of life as we do and yet they died in peace with God. Today we venerate them too as saints of God. This means that all of us living today a good Christian life, will one day be Saints in heaven.
We could one day be saints in heaven if we decided to live by the norms of the beatitudes that Jesus proclaimed in today’s gospel. (Mt. 5:3-11) Eight beatitudes are eight keys to unlock the treasures of Christian happiness. They are invitations from God our Father to the destiny of peace and joy.
The month of November is dedicated for the departed souls. Let us therefore pay our tribute by praying for these souls so that they will be rewarded with eternal happiness and peace.
May God bless you all
Fr. Chris
