When I first began investigating Catholicism back in college, I remember the Catholic chaplain talking about November as a month of remembrance, and I loved that, in part because the rhyming of November and remember appealed to my poetic side, but in part because I love the whole idea of dedicating a whole month to the task of remembering. we had a book that stood at the back of the church during mass, in which we wrote down the names of those we wanted to remember that month.  Any new names added each week were read during the intercessions.  I loved the idea of remembering loved ones in that way.  In some small way, our loved ones who had passed away became part of the crowd celebrating mass on those days,  even though they were not physically present.

 

Beginning with today's feast, we are treated all month long to many different ways of remembering and today's scriptures help us begin this month well.

 

In today's first reading (Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14), we see a glimpse of some saints - people in white robes, waving palm branches and singing.  We find out at the end of the verses that these are the people who have been washed in the blood of the Lamb, who "survived the time of great distress" and who now wear white.  All Saints' Day is a day dedicated to remembering all the saints throughout the ages who have "survived the time of great distress."  Especially in the twenty-first century, we should be aware of those in our own day who have "survived the time of great distress."  Independent think tanks that study religious violence have suggested that about 80% of contemporary religious violence in the world today is directed at Christians; there have been many, many, many Christian martyrs in the last three centuries.  So this is not simply a New Testament/early church celebration of martyrs - it is a reminder to remember those among us, even now, who suffer and die for their faith.

 

Today's first reading gives us another sense of "remember" too.  The white garments that the saints wear are very much meant to remind us of the white garments we receive at our baptism.  At our baptisms, we die a death like Christ's in order to have a life like Christ's, similar to the saints. Baptism is also about being made a member of the Body of Christ.  We become "membered" into the Body of Christ through baptism - so a feast day like today's is a cause for remembering our baptisms and the call our baptisms place on us.

 

Today's gospel (Matthew 5:1-12a) invites us to meditate on the vocation we receive in our baptism, by focusing on the Beatitudes.  "Blessed are the merciful", "blessed are those who mourn,"  "blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you...."  The Beatitudes are not simply blessings Jesus bestows on the people who are poor, they are a call to be peacemakers, to be merciful, to mourn over the sadnesses of our world, and even to live for Christ in such a way that other people might insult us.

 

The Beatitudes ask us to remember what it means to be a disciple of Christ, in other words.  This year of focusing on the Eucharist calls us to think about remembering in still another way, a way that is also linked to baptism.  In the Eucharist, we receive the Body and Blood of Christ so that we can become the Body and Blood of Christ ourselves.  In the Eucharist, we become "re-membered" as a member of the Body of Christ.  We are meant to recall what it means to be a disciple and go and do just that.

 

On today's solemnity of All Saints', let us pause to remember all those saints who have gone before us, and let us strive like them, to be fully members of the Body of Christ.

 

- Jana M. Bennett