All Saints & All souls
All Saints’ Day celebrates men and women in whose lives the Church has seen the grace of God work. All saints is an opportunity to give thanks for that grace, and for the wonderful ends to which it shapes a human life; it is a time to be encouraged by the example of the saints and also recall that sanctity may grow in the ordinary circumstances, as well as the extraordinary crises, of human life and living. The First Reading from apocalypse is a very vivid figurative expression of the victory of the risen Christ over sin and evil and his sharing of his glory with all those who have stood firmly in the faith despite difficulties and persecution. In the Second Reading we are told that God in his love for us has made us his children and our destiny is that we shall see him face to face as he really is.
The Gospel from Matthew is the beatitudes. This passage reminds us of Moses receiving the Law on Mount Sinai. Jesus, however, does not give a new version of the Law but rather a new key for the interpretation of the Law of Moses. The blessedness and the attitudes of the beatitudes are set out as signposts to the joy which Jesus came to give: their fruits are to be seen in the great number of saints who have complete joy in them. What must we do in order to join the company of the saints in heaven? We “must follow in Jesus footsteps and try to conform ourselves to His image as we seek to do the will of the Father in all things in this way, the holiness of the People of God will grow into an abundant harvest of good, as is admirably shown by the life of so many saints in Church history” The feast of All Saints should inspire us with tremendous hope. Among the saints in heaven are some people many of us may have heard about such as Pope Saint John Paul or Padre Pio who both lived in the last 100 years. But there are so many ordinary people who show us how to be saints by the way they lead their lives and all of have the universal call to holiness and that means all of us have the ability to be saints. May we draw inspiration from the lives and faith of the saints as we continue to struggle to be faithful and loving members of the Christian family.
After rejoicing on Sunday with the saints on All Saints’ Day, we then move on to All Souls Day on Monday. The Commemoration of the Faithful Departed celebrates our sisters and brothers who have died. It allows us to remember with thanksgiving before God those whom we have known more personally those who gave us life, or who nurtured us in faith, members of our families our friends and acquaintances. During the month of November, we remember in a special way all who have passed on to eternal life, family members, friends and all those who we know may they rest in peace.
