IN TRAINING
As saints-in-training, we must hunger and thirst for God on
our journey! This will bring us great joy.
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
We are all called to
holiness; to be saints like those who have gone before us: saints, Apostles and
martyrs. They were all ordinary people like us, and they are praying for us as
we continue on our journey toward God. In our Responsorial Psalm we pray, "Lord,
this is the people that longs to see Your face" (Ps 24:6). Lift up our
heads so that we might learn how to know You, God. Teach us how to combine
intimacy with reverence, and friendship with worship and awe. Teach us how to
lift our heads and open our hearts as we bend our knees. Teach us never to lose
sight of Your goodness and underestimate Your companionship. Teach us Your
Incarnation; both God and man!
Through our baptism we
are called to live and become saints. We are known by our name and our
Christian actions, serving as Jesus Christ did. Saintliness is unique to each
person. Growth and development in unique ways are is different in all of us.
The titles that the Church gives to canonized saints, for example,
"Apostle," "religious founder", "married woman",
gives us a glimpse of how saintliness shaped the vocation of each saint we
honor. Each saint is a unique work of art fashioned by the Holy Spirit, our
Divine Craftsman.
What would you like
your saintly title to be? It is not premature to consider this. In fact,
today's Solemnity of All Saints is a perfect day to do so. Why? This day is
perfect for us saints-in-training or saints-in-the-making to rejoice with all
God's holy ones as we design our saintly titles. In today's Gospel Jesus gives
us some suggestions. He lists some qualities that make excellent titles for the
saints. Can you hear yourself among them?
Widow, poor in spirit with Jesus.
Retired man, meek in spirit with Jesus.
Teenager, hungry and thirsty for righteousness with Jesus.
Doctor, giver of mercy with Jesus.
Mother, clean of heart with Jesus.
Social worker, peacemaker with Jesus.
Labor leader, persecuted for the sake of righteousness
with Jesus.
Pro-Life
worker, opposed for the sake of Jesus.
Do any of these titles
fit you? Would you like one or more to fit you? Our desire is to be
"blessed" to be saints. Our future with God will be determined by
what we are doing in our present, namely, living the Beatitudes as only each of
us can do and letting them shape us into God's holy ones here on earth. All the saints are unique, just as it is with
us. God's work is shaping us.
In the first reading
today we hear, "Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne
and from the Lamb" (Rv 7:10). Around God's throne are the angels and the
saints singing glorious praises. Salvation - is theirs, yours, and mine - comes
from God, not from ourselves. The call to holiness, to be saints, is all about
joyfully pursuing God's will for our lives, which can be found in the
Beatitudes. As saints-in-training, we must hunger and thirst for God on our
journey! This will bring us great joy.