Honouring All the Saints.

_(Friday 1^st November 2019. Read Revelation 7:2-14, Psalm 24:1-6, 1st John 3:1-3 and Matthew 5:1-12)_

_“Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven.” *(Matthew 5:12)*_

Today is a very special day for the Catholic Church. It is the day that is dedicated to all the Saints. Today, we celebrate in a special way the unnamed saints, the unsung heroes of our faith, the millions of holy men and women who we believe are now in heaven. As the Daniel prophesies: “many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake… And those who are wise shall shine like the brightness of the firmament; and those who turn many to righteousness, like the stars forever and ever.” (Daniel 12:2-3). Today is like a combined birthday celebration because we are honouring a whole multitude; holy men and women who have “washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).

One of the greatest attacks against the Catholic Church hinges on the issue of our devotion to the saints. Why do we honour ‘dead’ people? Why do we ask them to pray for us when as Paul says, Jesus Christ “there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus”? (1 Timothy 2:5). Our belief in the intercession of the Saints stems from our belief in the existence of heaven as a place where the souls of righteous live forever.

To refer to the saints as simply dead people is to claim that Jesus Christ was lying when he said: “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.” (John 11:25-26) Of course, in the book of Revelations, John did not call the people he saw dead. As one of the elders told John, “they before the throne of God, and serve him day and night within his temple, and He who sits upon the throne will shelter them with his presence.” (Revelation 7:15). This is the same reason we ask the saints to pray for us; because having prayed for us while alive, they wouldn’t refuse to help us now that they are before the throne of God.

The same St. Paul who told Timothy that Jesus Christ is the one mediator between God and men wrote to the Ephesians saying: “Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me. (Ephesians 6:18-19). When we argue that Jesus Christ is the only mediator between God and men, we tend to forget that Jesus is not a personal assistant to God. Jesus Christ himself is God. The saints are less than God, but being in God’s presence; they intercede to God on our behalf just as we intercede for our fellow human beings by praying for them.

Bear in mind that what makes the church refer to anyone as a saint is the evidence of miracles that have occurred by the power of God through the intercession of that saint. This is why despite the millions of holy persons who have lived saintly lives, there are only a few who have officially canonized as saints. If it was something evil to ask the saints to intercede for us, God will not honour such prayers by allowing miracles to happen through them.

Nevertheless, the main reason we honour the Saints is not that we cannot pray to God directly, it is because as human beings, we need role models. The saints are a constant reminder that it is possible to live out the beatitudes (we hear in today’s Gospel passage), that one doesn’t need to have two heads to be holy, that we can be fully human and fully Christ-like. The saints are the greatest encouragement we need to live out our Christian virtues knowing that if we imitate their lives, we too shall be honoured after our death. As the book of Hebrews says: “Remember your leaders, those who spoke to you the word of God; consider the outcome of their life, and imitate their faith.” (Hebrews 13:7)

The Saints having obeyed Christ’s mandate to preach the Gospel to the whole world continue to preach the Gospel today with their biographies. Are you looking for a boost to your faith? Tired of scandals all around you? Do you seek to know what true Christianity is like? Pick up any Book of Saints and start reading, you will shed some tears, you will realize how far you have been from Christ, you would see that the saints were not extraordinary persons but just ordinary persons like you who followed Christ closely. The saints are the ancestors of our faith. The memory of their lives help us maintain our moral sanity and offer us guides to practical discipleship.

The saints are also a true reminder of the history of the Christian Faith, they are special gifts of the Catholic Church, the rock Christ founded which the gates of hell cannot prevail against. Dear friends, we cannot talk about the saints without us developing a strong feeling to become saints ourselves. The only aspiration worth pursuing as a Christian is Sainthood. Remember that dreams come true. If you desire something enough, it will soon be yours. You too can be a saint. I look forward to seeing you in heaven.

Let us pray: Lord Jesus, bless my aspiration for Sainthood. Amen.

*Happy New Month. Be Happy. Live Positive. Have Faith. It is well with you. God bless you. (Solemnity of All Saints. Bible Study: Revelation 7:2-14, Psalm 24:1-6, 1st John 3:1-3 and Matthew 5:1-12).