All Saints' Day
The feast of All Saints can be understood in a variety of ways.
Sometimes it is presented as the day on which we thank God for all those men and women whom the Church has declared “saints”. We give thanks for the model, the example of following Jesus which they offer us. Sometimes this feast is presented as the day on which we give thanks for the life of heaven, a present-day reality in which one day we hope to share. There’s much in the texts for the mass of All Saints that speaks to us of the life of heaven. As the preface for the mass before the “Holy, holy, holy” says, “Today, by your gift, we celebrate the festival of your city, the heavenly Jerusalem, our mother”. And in the first reading from the Book of Revelation, we catch a glimpse of the liturgy of heaven as all those gathered praise and worship God: “Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.”
My preferred understanding of this feast, however, brings us closer to home. On this day, we can celebrate the men and women we have known who during their lives showed us how to live the life of Jesus and his Beatitudes. All those who taught us what it was to be merciful and gentle; who were peacemakers, who were hungry and thirsty for what is right; whose lives in some way were given over to the service of others. In confidence we believe, that having lived the Gospel of Jesus here on earth, they will live with him forever in heaven.
Who might these people be? Many of us, I suspect, will think first of our parents who devoted themselves to the good of their children, who in so many ways sacrificed themselves for us. We might think as well of a teacher at school who encouraged and believed in us. We might celebrate someone who introduced us to Jesus or another who strengthened our faith in him. We might be remembering someone who was outstanding in their service of the poor or another who cared for many years for a family member with a mental health issue or who was suffering from an addiction. We might be thanking God for the example of someone whose life was subject to one difficulty after another but who taught us never to give up hope.
These and many others are the “All Saints” whom we celebrate, as the Book of Revelation puts it, “a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language”.
Perhaps too, we can look around at some of the “saints” who walk our streets today. Those who care for men and women sick from the virus. Those who mourn their loved ones. Those searching for an effective vaccine. Those who go from house to house caring for the sick and elderly or who give up their time to help the homeless. Those who use their experience and expertise to mentor the young. Those working for peace and reconciliation in our communities and those who use their wealth and positions of influence to serve the common good. As the second reading from the first letter of St John says, “Just think of the love that the Father has lavished on us” – lavished on us by giving us so many people whose lives are broken and poured out in love for the sake of others.
We can also pray that each one of us might live his or her life in such a way that in so many years’ time people celebrating All Saints might think of and give thanks for us.
There is so much uncertainty around at present. Who knows how long we’ll be living under restrictions? Who knows what the economic effects will be for our country and for us and our families? Will we be able to celebrate Christmas as we’d like? Who knows what our future after leaving the European Union will be like? Living with uncertainty is always unsettling and many of us will be feeling that way. Our celebration of All Saints can be especially welcome this year for whatever the uncertainties today, we look forward to a bright future full of promise.
May this prospect enable us to walk together through these strange times, to make the most of the opportunities which come our way to live the Gospel, to be of service to our brothers and sisters and to encourage each other with hope.
Fr Michael Holman SJ