Solemnity of All Saints
The origin of the Feast of All Saints goes far back into the history of the Church. In fact, it goes back as far as the persecution in the early church. The persecution of Christians at the hands of the Roman Empire gave birth of many, many martyrs. These martyrs stood firm in their faith in Jesus Christ as they endured horrendous suffering and ultimately, death. When persecution ended with the conversion of Constantine in 314 AD, the church felt a great need to honor these martyrs. The church wanted to honor their striving toward godliness and faithfulness. As early as 379 AD, Pope Boniface of Caesarea called for a common day to venerate all the martyrs. After centuries of further development Pope Gregory IV (827-844) extended the celebration on 1 November to the entire Church and to include all the saints, known and unknown. Today, I feel very proud and privileged to be part of this long tradition in the Catholic Church. I feel proud, not only because of the history but also because of what the feast stands for – honoring the striving for godliness and the fidelity it takes to get there.
Today, I would like to keep the history of the Feast in mind as we reflect on the readings. The first, second, and gospel reading contain words, phrases, and ideas that are similar. The first reading speaks of the “hundred and forty-four thousand marked with the seal”; the second reading refers to “children of God”; and the third refers to the “blessed.” Thus are the “marked,” the “children,” and the “blessed.” These words can easily called synonyms for “saints.” In fact, these three words help us to understand the Feast of All Saints.
1. Those “Marked” with the Seal. I began my homily by tracing the origin of today’s feast to the martyrs. In fact, persecution and martyrdom is also the best way to understand today’s first reading from the book of Revelation. This book is often misunderstood as the book that describes the end of days. Far from it, this book is meant to give hope to a people suffering persecution. In fact, John himself was suffering in prison when he wrote this book. There are all kinds of suffering in the world. People suffer from illnesses, from natural death, from misfortune, and from natural disasters. But there is yet another kind of suffering – the suffering of those who strive hard for godliness. It is the suffering of those people who undergo suffering because they choose to be like Christ and stand for what Christ stood for. There is also the suffering those people who endure every suffering in the same way that Christ did. The book of Revelation and today feast is an invitation to all the baptized to live like Christ. At baptism, we too were “marked with the seal” of the Holy Spirit. Our striving for godliness especially in the midst of suffering is a profound act of worship and witness. In our striving to live like Christ and suffering for it, we join all the angels and saints who worship and bear witness to God saying “Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving, honor and power, and might to our God forever and ever, Amen.” The suffering of the baptized is an act of worship and witness. It not only unites us to the saints but makes us saints.
2. That We May be Called the “Children of God.” Today’s second reading contains one of the most profound, consoling, and poignant verses in the writings of John. He says, “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so we are.” There is often doubt expressed whether the author of the book of Revelation is also the author of the letter of John. As a people of faith, let us assume that it is. From this perspective, those “marked with the seal” and “children of God” are the same people, is it not? It is in baptism that we become the sons and daughters of God. Our baptism gives us a dignity and an identity. In many ways, a saint is someone who strives to live out their dignity and identity as the sons and daughters of God. To those of you who are parents, you know how deeply you love your children. You remember how you strived to nurture them as babies, as little children, as young people and into adulthood. You would do anything for them. The greatest joy your children can give you is to strive to live out the values, the lessons, the goals that you taught them; that they can love you back in return. When John says, “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God,” Joh is asking us to stay true to our identity and our dignity. Today’s feast is an invitation to strive to live out our dignity and our identity as children of God. It is a profound invitation to love God back in the same way that God has loved us. Sainthood is a fruit of love.
3. “Blessed.” What does striving for godliness look like? How can we be modern day martyrs? How can we Christ-like? How can we live like the children of God? Today’s gospel reading gives us the answer to these questions. To be a saint, to live like those “marked by the seal,” to be the “children of God” is to be poor is spirit, to mourn with those who suffer, to be meek, to hunger and thirst for what is right, to be merciful, to be clean of heart, to be peace makers. This is also the best way to be Christ-like. As we look at the world around us, it seems so urgent that we stand for what Christ stood for. For example, amidst the racial, religious, economic and social and political violence what does it mean to be a “peacemaker?” As insensitive judgements and decisions are made against the poor, the immigrants, and the refuges, what does it mean to be merciful and to mourn with them? Can we be clean of heart and be less judgmental? Can we be meek, humble and poor of spirit in this very individualistic and egoistic generation? To strive to be like Christ can bring about modern-day persecution. Perhaps, this is modern day martyrdom.
Today, let us accept the invitation the invitation to be “blessed’ and join all the saints, known and unknown, in their striving for godliness.
- Fr. Satish Joseph