"Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face." – Psalm 24:6
You can be a saint. Yes, you. In fact, you’re supposed to be a saint – it is the reason for which you were made!How can this be? Well, look at the desires of your heart. You want to be happy, don’t you? And you don’t want just a little happiness, right? You want to be fulfilled with everlasting joy and unending peace. At the end of the day, no amount of cookies, or chocolate, or wine, or sex, or money, or friends, or followers will ever fully satisfy you. That’s because you were made for something more. You were made for heaven.
You were made to live forever in the bliss of perfect union with Almighty God. That is why the French novelist Leon Bloy wrote in his novel The Woman Who was Poor, “The only real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life, is to not become a saint.”
On this solemn feast of All Saints we celebrate the countless souls who have accepted God’s invitation of grace and allowed it to transform their wounded human nature into something divine. The vast majority of them lived lives of quiet anonymity, without any kind of fame or praise. They do not have statues or stained glass windows dedicated to their honor, but that does not matter to them, because they do not need our veneration.
For, as we hear in the Gospel this Sunday, all the saints are infinitely blessed now, because on earth they were poor in spirit. They are comforted now, because on earth they mourned. They have received their inheritance now, because on earth they were meek. They are satisfied now, because on earth they hungered for justice. They are blessed now, because on earth they showed mercy. They see the infinite beauty of God now, because on earth they were pure of heart. They are called children of God now, because on earth they were peacemakers. The kingdom of heaven is theirs now, because in this world they were persecuted for the sake of Jesus.
The only thing the Saints want is for you and me to join them in heaven. So, in the words of Saint Bernard (Sermon 2, Opera Omnia), “Let us long for those who are longing for us, hasten to those who are waiting for us, and ask those who look for our coming to intercede for us.”
Lord of the Heavenly Hosts, we praise you for the witness of holy men and women in every time and place. May we imitate their example, and may their prayers bring us closer to the joy of their company with Christ our King, amen.
