Homily on the Solemnity of All Saints, 1 Nov 2023, Provincial House
Today on this first day of November, we gather to celebrate the triumph of the Church in all the saints. How many of them do you really know? Here is a simple test you can take (write your answers on a piece of paper):
- He was a carpenter and married a virgin who became the Mother of God.
- He was a fisherman, the brother of St. Peter, and his feast is celebrated on Nov 30.
- She was a sister of Lazarus and welcomed Jesus into her home.
- She was a mother who prayed for the conversion of her son Augustine.
- He was a deacon in Rome and was martyred by being grilled alive.
- He was a French priest known for his gentleness and converted many people.
- She was a young woman who became the patroness of the missions.
- She was a young girl who bravely stood up for her beliefs.
- He was a young Filipino catechist who was martyred in Guam.
- He was a teenager who made a strong commitment to his faith.
I hope you passed the test. If you did at least you know ten of the many Saints the Catholic Church is honoring today. (The answer key is at the end of this homily.)
Would you have any idea of how many the saints really are all in all? The first reading from the book of Revelation gives us a seemingly definite number: one hundred and forty-four thousand. According to St John this is the number of the servants of God marked by the seal on their foreheads. They were all coming from the tribes of Israel, twelve thousand for each tribe.
However after that revelation St John also had another vision. He saw a great multitude which no one could count, and they were from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands and singing hymns of praise to our God. These are the ones whom we, Catholics, call the Saints.
So who exactly are these Saints? They were sinners just like us. However, while they were still on earth these people struggled to keep their faith, persevered in following Jesus, our Lord, and did their best to live like him. Some of them suffered terribly under the hands of persecutors and eventually died as martyrs. Others had to endure a long and painful illness. Some died at a very young age after learning to offer their lives entirely to Jesus, while others died in their old age after having served the Church faithfully for many years. While some of them were lay people who chose to live the ordinariness of family life extraordinarily well, others chose to dedicate their lives entirely to God as monks or religious, and still others chose to serve the larger Church as ordained ministers, whether as deacons, priests or bishops. Amidst all these differences and diversity these saints have one or two things in common: (1) they tried to live the Beatitudes proclaimed by Jesus in the Gospel we heard today, and (2) they are the ones who, according the book of Revelation, have survived the time of great distress; they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.
Brothers and sisters, for the past two thousand and twenty-three years our Church have always given a special recognition to these Christians who have followed Jesus by living holy and heroic lives. And so today we are not only celebrating their victory together but we are also giving them the honor and glory they all together deserve. We believe and are convinced that by honouring them, we also honor, praise and glorify Jesus Christ, whose life they tried to imitate.
Furthermore, it is so important for us to know that in this festivity we also honor the holy people who are not publicly known; not officially recognized by the Church through what we call “canonization.” They are also called saints written with a small letter ‘s’ because by God’s goodness, grace and mercy they are now enjoying the eternal happiness of being with God forever.
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 today, tomorrow and in 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, we continue to enjoy the bond of communion with each other and with the Holy Trinity, the ultimate bonding 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 sila na siguro yon, ginigising na nila kayo.
Dear brothers and sisters, the feast we are celebrating today highlights, therefore, both the glorious triumph of all the saints and also the Communion of all Saints.
I conclude with an advice coming from St. John Bosco. 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 one, Bl. Carlo Acutis.
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:
- St. Joseph
- St. Andrew
- St. Martha
- St. Monica
- St. Lawrence
- St. Francis de Sales
- St. Therese of Lisieux
- St. Maria Goretti
- St. Pedro Calungsod
- St. Dominic Savio
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