Sunday, November 1, 2015

All Saints Day - November 1, 2015

Today we celebrate All Saints Day, an important enough feast that it takes the place of the regular Sunday celebration. Throughout the year, we celebrate feasts of saints who have been important figures in the history of the Church. Yet what about the many who have lived holy lives but in ordinary ways? What about those who have enjoy the perfect happiness of heaven but who are forgotten on earth? These countless men and women, including our own families and friends, are the saints we celebrate on All Saints Day.

Our devotion to the saints is a point that non-Catholics do not always understand. In trying to explain it to some friends, I found that myself relying on a prayer from the Preface of the Eucharistic Prayer for feasts of pastors – those saints who were popes, bishops or priests. That prayer, like most every prayer at mass, is directed toward Father through Christ in the unity of the Holy Spirit. That direction reminds us that all devotions to the saints should lead us closer to God. Then, as we remember the saint of that day, we say, “You strengthen [the Church] by the example of his holy life, teach her by his words of preaching, and keep her safe in answer to her prayers.”

First, the saints give us the example of their holy lives. They were real people who faced real issues, many of them the same as the ones we deal with. Many of them stumbled, and many of them faced real doubts. In looking at their lives, we can see hope for our own. And on All Saints Day, we may think of the struggles of our parents or grandparents and all they did to keep the faith alive in our families.

Next, they teach us by their words of preaching. Not every saint was learned, and not every saint wrote books or had teachings that others wrote down to remember. Of those who did, however, we can find some very inspiring words. And on All Saints Day, we may think of the times when we find ourselves saying things like “My father used to say...” Many people have taught us of the love of God, and for that we are thankful.

Finally, God keeps us safe in answer to their prayers. This point, in fact, is the crux of the matter. The saints are not merely historical figures who are cut off from us. Our faith teaches that we are brothers and sisters by being children of God the Father, and so we share the love of a family with one another. If that love is truly a reflection of God’s love, then not even death can break it. So while, St. Anthony does not literally find our lost items by himself, for example, he does continue to pray for us at our request. And on All Saints Day, we think of the all who have loved us enough to include us in their prayers. They continue to do so in heaven.

Speaking of saints, this Tuesday is the Feast of Saint Malachy, our patron. We will have a special school Mass at 8:45 that morning.

                                                                                      Father H