Word to the Wise
Monday, November 1, 2010 - All Saints Day
[Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; 1 John 3:1-13; Matthew 5:1-12a]Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. [John]
I love the old story about the pastor who visits a catechism class at the parish school to speak to the children about the saints in preparation for All Saints Day. He asks the class, "Who wants to be a saint?" All hands except one little boy's go up. The pastor looks over at the child and says, "Why don't you want to be a saint?" The boy replies, "Because they're all dead!" The boy's response should make us pause for a moment. The point that he makes concerns "canonization" more than sainthood! That process is a matter of official church recognition of the holy life of a person or group of persons. One does have to have died in order for a process of canonization to take place. But sainthood is not a matter of official recognition of personal holiness. That official recognition of the lives of some outstanding (and occasionally very strange) Christians is a reminder to us that we have all received the baptismal call to holiness. Sainthood is within the reach of everyone! Furthermore, one does not have to have died to achieve that holiness! White robes and golden harps are images from tradition but not necessarily required! If we are God's children now, as the Letter of John says in the quote above, we participate in the holiness of God. We are called to be worthy of that holiness by the way in which we love God and neighbor. The officially "canonized" saints are individuals who showed themselves to be worthy of that holiness. They are obvious members of the "communion of saints." Our lives may not be recognized as theirs are, but we can be members of that "communion" just as they are! All saints are alive! AMEN
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