Don Bosco Philippines South Province

Homily on the 31st Sunday in OT; 3 Nov 2024, SJBP Church, Cotcot, Liloan

How many saints do you really know? Try to identify as many saints as you can based on the descriptions given below.

1. He was the last prophet of the Old Testament, the son of very old parents. He was supposed to minister at the temple but chose to live in the desert to prepare the way of the Messiah.
2. He was a fisherman, ambitious like his brother James. But he left his boat and his dad and followed Jesus until the very end. He was the only apostle who stood by the cross of Jesus.
3. This old woman was the wife of Zechariah, unable to bear a child for years but she was blest to become the mother of John the Baptist.
4. This woman was a mother who never gave up praying sometimes in tears for the conversion of her son (who later would be known as St.) Augustine.
5. This rich young man was supposed to inherit a big fortune and marry a beautiful lady. But he chose to become a priest, and then he became the bishop of Geneva. Known for his gentleness and kindness, Don Bosco chose him to be the Patron of the Salesian Congregation.
6. This young woman used to be a brat in the family. But she decided to be a Carmelite nun, and because she did little acts of kindness with great love, she became the patroness of the missions.
7. This man from Poland loved sports like skiing. But he chose to become a priest and then become Pope. He visited Cebu in 1981 and in 1995 he celebrated the 10th World Youth Day in Manila.
8. This young girl grew up fearing God and valuing the virtue of purity. She was martyred at the age of twelve, stabbed several times to her death for refusing to have sex with her suitor.
9. He was a teenage catechist who volunteered to go to the missions in Guam to assist a Jesuit priest. He was speared to death and became the first saint from Cebu.
10. He was an Italian teenager who at his first Holy Communion resolved “to die rather than sin.” He volunteered during the cholera epidemic in Turin and later died of a serious illness at 15.

I hope you passed the test (answer key at the end). If you did, congratulations! If not, at least you know ten more of the countless saints of the Catholic Church. If you recall, we just celebrated All Saints Day last November 1.

So who exactly are the saints?

The saints in the Church were sinners just like us. However, while they were still on earth they kept their faith, persevered in following Jesus, our Lord, and did their best to live just like him. Some of them suffered persecutions and eventually died as martyrs. Others had to endure a long and painful illness. Some died in their old age after having served the Church faithfully for many years, while others died at a very young age offering their lives entirely to Jesus. Some of them were simple lay people who chose to live the ordinariness of family life extraordinarily well, while others chose to dedicate their lives entirely to God as monks or religious, or ordained deacons, priests or bishops.

Amidst all these differences and diversity these saints have at least two things in common: (1) they tried to follow Jesus, our Lord and King, as faithfully as they could, and (2) they tried to live the two commandments proclaimed by Jesus in the Gospel we heard today.

At this point let us try to review some basic catechism. The universal Church founded by Christ consists of three large groups: (1) The first is called the Triumphant Church: the faithful departed who are already in heaven; (2) the Suffering Church: the faithful departed who are still being purified in purgatory; and (3) lastly, the Pilgrim Church: the faithful who are alive on earth and are still journeying towards our true home in heaven – we belong to this last group.

What is amazing is that for the whole month of November the Church is being given a much closer experience of communion among these three groups. What does this really mean? It means that the Triumphant Church, the Suffering Church and the Pilgrim Church are actually ONE, just one Church. And despite the sad reality of death that seemingly separates us from each other, we continue to enjoy the bond of communion with each other and with God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. This communion is the UBE or ultimate bonding experience which death can neither break nor destroy. This is precisely what we call the Communion of Saints, a very Catholic doctrine which we all profess every Sunday when we recite the Creed.

Moreover, the Church tries to live this communion through the sharing of spiritual goods. We Christians on earth look up to the Saints in heaven for inspiration and intercession. On their part the Saints who are in heaven have never really abandoned us who are still here on earth. They continue to remember us and intercede for us one with Jesus before God’s throne. They pray for us so that we may remain faithful despite the big trials we are facing, and so that soon we too may find ourselves one with them in the heavenly liturgy.

Furthermore we also share spiritual goods with the souls of the faithful departed especially those who might still be suffering and being purified in purgatory. We pray constantly for them especially in our Masses, Rosaries and other prayers, so that God may soon open for them the gates of paradise and welcome them into his loving embrace. On their part since they are benefiting much from our prayers, sacrifices and Holy Masses, they are willing to do certain favours for us too. Have you ever tried asking help from the poor Souls in Purgatory? Try it and you will see. You can, for example, ask them to wake you up at 4:00 a.m. and they will do it for you. The next day if you are awakened by something cold touching your legs or feet it would surely be a sign that the favour you asked would have been granted.

Dear brothers and sisters, this month of November the Church wants all of us to really give importance to the Communion of all Saints. Now I hope you understand better what this is really all about and are willing to live out this experience every day.

I conclude with a helpful advice coming from St. John Bosco, our patron. One night Don Bosco gathered his boys for a good night talk before sending them to sleep. He told them three points about holiness:

(1) It is God’s will for you to become saints; (2) It is easy for you to become saints; and (3) there is a great reward in heaven awaiting for those who strive to become saints.

One of the boys was so struck by what Don Bosco said that night so much so that the following day he approached the saintly priest and asked him a favor, saying “Don Bosco can you help me become a saint?” Don Bosco felt so glad about the teenager’s request, and so he showed him the youthful path to holiness. That boy’s name was Dominic. With Don Bosco’s guidance and direction, he soon stood out in virtue and holiness. Today he is venerated around the world as Saint Dominic Savio, a giant of sanctity, made a saint at only fifteen years old. And amazingly it was his holy life that inspired other teen-agers to live holy lives in their own unique and youthful way, among them Bl. Laura Vicuña, Bl. Ceferino Namuncura and the latest of them is no other than Bl. Carlo Acutis, who is due to be canonized a saint very soon.

Let us therefore pray in this Holy Mass that we all may be inspired by both the Saints in Heaven and the souls in Purgatory. And may this Eucharist empower us to be always in communion with them every day and every moment, so that one day we too may experience the ultimate bonding for real, the eternal joy of being one with God in the great company of all the Saints in our true home in heaven. GiGsss!

Answer key

1. St. John the Baptist
2. St. John the Evangelist
3. St. Elizabeth
4. St. Monica
5. St. Francis de Sales
6. St. Therese of the Child Jesus
7. St. John Paul II
8. St. Maria Goretti
9. St. Pedro Calungsod
10. St Dominic Savio

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