Reflection

On Thursday 1 November the Church celebrates the feast of All Saints. In the early Church the title Saint was given to the faithful, the members of the Church. In our times when we hear the word saint we think of the canonised Saints, those recognised by the Church and held up to us as models in the Christian life and those who have reached our destiny and eternal home – life with God in heaven.

The term Saint is also used for any person who has reached their heavenly home whether they are a canonised saint or not. The Vatican II document Lumen gentium talks about the universal call for all baptised people to holiness. We are all called to a life with God. In 2000 at World Youth Day in Rome St John Paul II (as Pope) said:

“Young people of every continent, do not be afraid to be the saints of the new millennium! Be contemplative, love prayer; be coherent with your faith and generous in the service of your brothers and sisters, be active members of the Church and builders of peace. To succeed in this demanding project of life, continue to listen to His Word, draw strength from the Sacraments, especially the Eucharist and Penance. The Lord wants you to be intrepid apostles of his Gospel and builders of a new humanity.”

This is the call on all of us – to be saints. As we celebrate the Feast of All Saints, we remember all those who have reached their heavenly home. Perhaps members of our family, people we loved, people we lived with, worked with, knew etc. They may not be canonised, but they may have loved, supported and helped us on our journey of life and faith and now enjoy the eternal banquet. On this feast we give God thanks and praise for all these people who have helped us on our journey and those quiet humble people who have helped and loved many.

We remember also that we ourselves have been created to be saints. St John Paul II gives us an idea of how we should live this journey and take some steps towards being the saints of the new millennium when he says to pray, to be generous, live our faith, listen to the word of God and draw from the Sacraments.

As we celebrate this feast may we joyfully praise God for all He has given to us in all the saints and also ask the Holy Spirit to guide us and Blessed Mother Mary to pray for us on our own journey towards holiness and we ask also that the Holy Spirit will raise up many new and inspiring saints in the Church.

Holy Family of Nazareth – Be our inspiration and our guide

Jesus of Nazareth – Help us to grow in faith, wisdom and knowledge