With great joy, as a universal Church, we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints on this first day of the month of November, the month of remembrance in our Catholic faith. The Church invites us today to reflect upon the great hope of our faith, a hope that is based on Christ’s resurrection and the salvation he brings us. The Saints that we celebrate today are great witnesses of this Christian hope, because they lived this hope fully, amidst the joys and sufferings of life.
Yet, Pope Francis reminds us, “To be saints is not a privilege for a few, but a vocation for everyone.” So, today we commemorate all the men and women who walked the earth just like us, we struggled with sin and temptation just like us, but who strived for holiness in the midst of their daily reality. In all their trials and challenges, they strived to live out their vocation of faith and God’s will for them.
In our reading from the book of Revelation, John has a vision of a great multitude, men and women from different nations, languages, and cultures who now live in the presence of the Lamb. These countless men and women have lived out their call to holiness as companions on the journey to spread the love of Christ throughout the world. We the Catholic faithful are called to this same mission.
We are to see ourselves as a part of the community of saints. By our baptism, we receive new life in Christ. Pope Francis calls us to let the grace of our baptism bear fruit on our journey to holiness. Our entire lives are to be open to God. We are to turn to him in every situation we face. We are to have hope on our journey, as the Holy Spirit is there to accompany us. In the end, our path to holiness will be a fruit of the Holy Spirit.
The Beatitudes in today’s Gospel are a reflection of the life of Christ. The lives of the saints are a reflection of that life. All of us are called to live the values of the Beatitudes on our daily journey of faith, but we are only able to do so if the Holy Spirit leads us away from our complacency, our selfishness, our weaknesses, and our pride.
May we continue to honor our deceased loved ones and family members during November, the month of remembrance. May we continue to strive toward a life of holiness, guided by the example of the community of saints.
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