Word to the Wise
Monday, November 1, 2021 - Nov. 1 - All Saints
[Rev 7:2-4, 9-14; 1 John 3:1-3; Matt 5:1-12a,]See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God. Yet so we are......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. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure. [1 John]
Occasionally I end the sacrament of reconciliation with the words, "You're a saint now. Go in peace!" I usually get a smile if the penitent has sat in front of me, and an occasional reply, "We'll see how long that lasts!" I could reply, "a lifetime," but that would require a longer explanation than the situation would permit!! Perhaps the quip attributed to Oscar Wilde comes close to explaining it: "Every saint has a past and every sinner has a future."
The feast of All Saints is not just about those who have been "canonized." It is about all the "communion of saints," to which we belong by virtue of our baptism. Lord knows, it is a big infinitely varied crowd of people. It is not a club for the "perfect!" Yes, some members are better known, like the Blessed Virgin Mary and the apostles, but every soul is important. The First Letter of John from which today's second scripture is taken, assures us that "we are God's children NOW." Holiness is a matter of realizing what our baptismal calling is meant to be and living it faithfully. As that same Letter says, "Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure." That task is a lifelong challenge.
Someone once asked a "saintly" monk what he did all day. He replied, "I fall down and I get up!" The sinner falls down. It is the saint that gets up! AMEN