I was walking through our parish school yesterday and it would be hard to miss the preparation of the upcoming celebration of Halloween. The hallways, the doorways and the very little and excited bodies of the students screamed out the joy and fun that is anticipated on the night of All Hallows Eve. As Christians we would also note the reverence and veneration with which our 8th Grade students prepared the Day of the Dead Altar with photographs and memories of friends and relatives who had died.
The end of October and beginning of November is filled with life, death and the call to holiness that fills our lives. It is the time of year when as summer fades, fall takes hold and we look towards the winter of life. Our Catholic faith asks us to reflect upon both our purpose in life and in this purpose the ultimate goal of our life. It should be very simple to answer…right? Our purpose is simply to serve God…you know, the first and greatest commandments and yes the second too. And the ultimate goal? Heaven. Easy enough and now we get to live it and that’s the hard part.
This is where the All Saints and All Souls celebrations are found in our faith traditions. St. Bernard shares with us this wisdom, “Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself. We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, to join in the assembly of patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, ths, that is our purpose and our goal. To be loved and united in joy with God…this is what saints do…they celebrate the gift of life through serving God and the other. The great Russian author Leo Tolstoy put it this way, “There is only one thing in this world which is worth dedicating all your life. This is creating more love among people and destroying barriers which exist between them.” (Leo Tolstoy) If God is love, then there can only be this one holy and joy filled purpose. e council of apostles, the great host of martyrs, the noble company of confessors and the choir of virgins. In short, we long to be united in happiness with all the saints.” (St. Bernard, abbot from the Office of Readings, All Saints Day) He reminds us that we are all called to the joyfulness of holiness and greatness and the saints point the way to Jesus the ultimate goal where we are and will be united with Him in the Father and Holy Spirit.
We are all called to be saint
All Souls Day is a reminder of our mortality and the need to pray for those who have died. We profess each Sunday “I believe in life everlasting” as part of our Creed. We understand that no one will get out of life without the moment of physical death, but as followers of Jesus Christ, we also trust in the blessing of the eternal life of our soul. As St. Ambrose reminds us “What more should we say about his death since we use this divine example to prove that it was death alone that won freedom from death, and death itself was its own redeemer? Death is then no cause for mourning, for it is the cause of mankind’s salvation. Death is not something to be avoided, for the Son of God did not think it beneath his dignity, nor did he seek to escape it.” (St. Ambrose, from the Office of Readings, All Souls Day)
We pray for those who have died in the understanding of the need for repentance from sin and the purgation of the soul. The question we should always ask is not: “Do I want to die?” rather “Am I ready for death?” Have I, in Tolstoy’s formulation, allowed God to work in my life to destroy the barriers of hate and open the gate of love: Jesus Christ. If so then our purpose: “to be a saint” and our goal’ “to be in heaven” are always in front of us as we live within the heart of God’s love.
God Bless
Fr. Mark