Solemnity of All Saints
“Who’s your favorite saint?” Has someone ever asked you that question or have you asked it of others? Whenever I ask people about their favorite saint and the reasons why, they usually say they admire a particular quality or characteristic of that saint. Today’s feast, the Solemnity of All Saints, invites us to reflect on the saints we admire and the meaning of sainthood itself.
In the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles, there are tapestries along both sides of the nave (the main interior part of the church) depicting saints—known and unknown—facing forward and appearing to walk toward the altar. They remind me of today’s first reading, in which John wrote:
“After this I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, 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.”
(Revelation 7:9)
This vision is similar to that of Fr. William Joseph Chaminade, founder of the Marianist Family*, who imagined the faith communities and religious orders he established as a “spectacle of saints.” In post-revolutionary France in the 1800s, he founded Marian Sodalities—faith groups dedicated to Mary, composed mostly of lay people—and encouraged them to offer this “spectacle of a people of saints” to an indifferent and de-Christianized society. Since we live in a similarly challenged world, I wonder what it means for us today to be a spectacle of saints.
What’s notable about both John’s and Fr. Chaminade’s visions is that they portray the saints as a community—not just one person, but many. Today, we often think of saints individually, as solitary figures in their relationship with God. Yet in heaven, there will be countless souls from every part of the world and every moment in history. In that light, it’s good to reflect on how we relate to one another here and now—our relationships, our collaboration, and how we live as people of faith in a society that can feel so polarized.
The saints remind us that holiness is not lived in isolation but in community—with family, friends, coworkers, and neighbors. Every time we dialogue with others and have mercy and compassion for them, we contribute to the communion of saints. Together, may we be the “spectacle of saints” our world needs today
—Sr. Emily Sandoval, FMI
*The Marianists are a Catholic religious family made up of Lay Marianists; Daughters of Mary Immaculate (Marianist Sisters), a religious order of Sisters; and the Society of Mary (Marianist Brothers and Priests), a religious order of Brothers and priests. Sr. Emily is a Marianist Sister.