Solemnity of All Saints
The Solemnity of All Saints is a public testimony that we Christians believe in eternal life. The apostle Paul said: " If for this life only we have hoped in Christ, we are the most pitiable people of all" (1 Cor 15:19). Already at the beginning of the Church, it was precisely faith in eternal life that was a source of strength and motivation for believers in Christ to endure the hardships and persecutions that faced them.
Stay with Christ also in persecution, the apostle Peter encourages the faithful. "In this you rejoice, although now for a little while you may have to suffer through various trials, so that the genuineness of your faith, more precious than gold that is perishable even though tested by fire, may prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. Although you have not seen him you love him; even though you do not see him now yet believe in him, you rejoice with an indescribable and glorious joy" (cf. 1 Peter 1: 6-9). Let us put deeply into our hearts these words that the purpose of faith is to save our soul.
The Lord Jesus proclaimed the promise of eternal life clearly and very often. “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and decay destroy, and thieves break in and steal. But store up treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor decay destroys, nor thieves break in and steal” (cf. Mt 6:19f). This is one of his many teachings on this subject. "rejoice because your names are written in heaven." (cf. Lk 10:20). The words "Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven" (cf. Mt 5:12) and similar words appear many times in the Gospels. On the other hand, facing the death of his friend Lazarus, the Lord Jesus said the memorable words: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live” (cf. Jn 11:25).
Jesus warns us many times that if we do not convert, we will not enter eternal life. "I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter into the kingdom of heaven." (cf. Mt 5:20). "Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven,* but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven" (cf. Mt 7:21).
There are people, sometimes even Catholics, who find it hard to believe in eternal life. It seems to them somehow unreal and impossible. The Solemnity of All Saints is a good occasion to consider from where does this resistance to believing Jesus that He is Resurrection and Life and has the power to give us eternal life come from?
Jesus once said that where your treasure is, your heart will be. To believe in eternal life, we must carry in our heart at least a little fascination with God, at least a little longing for God and that He would become someone truly loved by me. "Where your treasure is, there is your heart," said the Lord Jesus. If you have placed all your treasure in this mortal life, do not be surprised that eternal life seems unreal to you. It is hard for someone who does not pay attention to God's commandments to seriously believe in eternal life.
This day is called the Solemnity of All Saints, which means that many, many who have left us are completely holy and filled with God. They have already achieved the full and imperishable meaning of their lives. We read in the Book of Revelation that these saints are "a great multitude, which no one can count, from every nation and all tribes, peoples and tongues." Thanking God and praising Him that He has given so many people salvation and made them His friends forever and ever, let us renew our hope for our own salvation and contemplate our life as pilgrimage to eternal life. If something in our life needs to be improved, let us do it now, because later it may be too late. It would be terrible if any of us were not to achieve eternal life.
Countless Saints owe their salvation to Jesus Christ. The author of the Apocalypse will say in symbolic language that this incalculable crowd of saints is "clothed in white garments", and therefore the saints' robes are white because they have "washed and made them white in the blood of the Lamb" - the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world, of this Beloved Lamb who gave his life for us, and after being buried in the tomb, rose again.
Yes, the Feast of All Saints allows us to realize once again that if it were not for Christ, if not for His death and resurrection, no one would be saved. That is why He died on the cross, to bring to His Father the innumerable crowd of the saved - to make the innumerable crowd of sinners God's friends and saints.
Therefore, it is worth remembering that all of us - including you and me - are called to holiness. " This is the will of God, your holiness: that you refrain from immorality" said the apostle Paul (1 Thess 4: 3). Already baptism - as St. John Paul II reminded - "is a true inclusion in the holiness of God", therefore we must not "accept our own littleness, be content with minimalist ethics and superficial religiosity. To ask the catechumen: "Do you want to be baptized?" Means to ask him at the same time: "Do you want to become a saint?" These words were written by John Paul II at the beginning of the new millennium in the apostolic letter Novo Millennio Ineunte.
What a baptized person needs to do to become a saint? We will find the answer to this question in the Sermon on the Mount. "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Blessed are those for whom God is all their riches, who put all their hope in God.
" Blessed are they who mourn " - who mourn because they cannot yet love God with all their heart; blessed are those who grieve that in our world there is still so much anxiety, hatred, harm, sin - who dream that a ray of God's presence may light up what is dark in our world; who actively try to contribute to making our earth brighter and more divine.
" Blessed are the meek " - blessed are those who believed in the power of love, who believed that faithfulness to God's commandments is a hundred times more powerful than force and violence. Blessed are those who believe that the weak truth will eventually prevail and the mighty lie will be humiliated.
“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness " - who truly desire justice. For both history and modern times are full of evil desires for justice. Let us not forget that the criminal Bolshevik revolution was carried out by people dreaming about a system of social justice. Likewise, if today different people demand legal approval of abortion, euthanasia, it is not because they want evil, but because these demands seem right to them. "Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness" - true, God-flowing justice, and they desire it in such a way that they actively seek it and, if necessary, are ready to suffer for righteousness.
" Blessed are the merciful " - merciful towards single women and merciful towards the conceived child. Merciful also for lost people, people suffering from despair, for people tempted by attractive models of meaningless passage through life. Mercy is probably even the main feature of the portrait of Jesus. He bent over the leper and took pity on the harlot. He was constantly surrounded by the sick and needy, and he took pity on the crowds that they were like sheep without a shepherd.
" Blessed are the clean of heart." Blessed are those who distinguish between pure and dirty love, who accept their masculinity or femininity as a gift of God and a spiritual task. Those who work on their straightforwardness and selflessness. Those for whom the words "I will not leave you until death" mean "I will not leave you until death."
It is those who try to open to the Spirit of Beatitudes who will inherit God's kingdom and will see God.
until Tomorrow
fr. george