All Saints Day, Nov. 1, 2013
Fr. Joseph Eddy, O. de M.
Today is All Saints Day. It is one of the greatest Solemnities of the Church, when we celebrate all the Saints, known and unknown, especially those who suffered martyrdom for Christ. We should recognize today that heaven is full of many faithful people who are rejoicing in their communion with God. For analogies’ sake we could say it is some ways like a class reunion.
Check out the new Mercedarian friars’ video of Pope Francis’ pro-life homily, given before he was Pope, below. The homily is heard against the exciting backdrop of World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro recently.
Yes, every 10, 25, or 50 years our High Schools welcome us back for a time of rejoicing in the past and catching up on the present. These reunions can be special because we are all bound together by something. In this case it is our memories, our age, and the common experiences that we went through in our formative years. Reunions are an exciting time, but they can also be surprising. We may think to ourselves: “This person has changed so much!” or “That person is not someone I ever got along with, but now we really ‘hit it off’.”
All are invited
Today’s readings introduce us to a much grander gathering of all the blessed in heaven. St John sees “a vision of a great multitude which no one could count from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” They are wearing a common white garment and praise God for bringing mankind to salvation. This is, of course, a scene from the book of Revelation, the 2nd Coming of Christ. Jesus, the Lamb of God, has returned, bringing fulfillment and justice to all things. Those standing in “white robes” have been purified by the blood of the Lamb. Not everyone comes to this gathering, but all are invited. God gives everyone sufficient grace to achieve salvation. We are given “God’s own life” while we are on earth. How one responds to this gift determines whether they will be present rejoicing with all the blessed forever.
Who will be there at the end of time? We do not know, but we do know that all are invited. No one can know the heart of a person. The fourth Eucharistic Prayer speaks of those “who seek you (the Father) with a sincere heart.” As Catholics, we recognize that all can be saved whether they are Christian or not, but their salvation comes through and by the Cross. It is only through the merits of Jesus’ Passion, Death, and Resurrection that anyone achieves eternal life.
Not all want heaven
Jesus has thrown open the doors to heaven, but not everyone desires to walk through. God respects our freedom so much that he allows us to not chose him if we wish. It may seem crazy that anyone would not want to be in heaven, but this is the distortion and glamour of sin. Sin is a lack of love. It is to turn in on oneself. Those who do this enough over a period of time find it very difficult to respond to the grace to live in true selfless communion with God and others. As crazy as it sounds, some people don’t want to be united with God and others, but instead chose to live life on their own twisted self-seeking terms. They cannot rejoice in true joy or worship the One Loving God.
The blessed, however, have spent a lifetime seeking God with a sincere heart. They are baptized by a real desire to serve God who is Truth. Some we know are in heaven since they have been formally declared as Saints by the Church. These are heroic figures who give us all a model of union with the Divine. But, most are unknown to us. Anyone who has been purified enough to enter the Kingdom of Heaven is a Saint. These may be our relatives or friends, but many are people that we never met.
The greatest of parties
If we are so blessed as to get to heaven, we will experience a gathering that is beyond any party on this earth. Each person will be so united to God that they will also be united in an inexpressible way to the other person. How joyful it will be to share the story of our lives with all these holy people! We will be quite surprised by how God has worked in the lives of people from all backgrounds and experiences. The experience of a reunion will come as we recognize that we share a common love for all that is True, Beautiful, and Good. Even the pain and suffering of this life will be a source of joy for us as we realize how God brought great good out of evil. Sharing our common love we will rejoice with all the angels and Saints in our Great God forever. This is the real reunion day. It is not All Saints Day, but God’s Day since he is the source of all that is good. In a miraculous way, He has allowed us to enter into the life of the Trinity for all eternity.