IN TRAINING
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? Do any of these titles fit you?
Would you like one or more to fit you?
We are all called to holiness
- to become saints! Think of all those who have gone before us: apostles,
martyrs, religious men and women. All ordinary people like us! And they are
praying for us, interceding for us, and we unite with them in the Communion of
Saints as we journey toward God. In the Responsorial Psalm we pray, "Lord,
this is the people that longs to see Your face" (Ps 24:6). Through our
baptism, we are called to live and be; we are known by our name and our
Christian actions, serving as Jesus Christ did.
God calls us to lift up our
heads to welcome Him into our hearts (cf. Ps 24:7a) and to learn His ways. Let
us pray: "Teach me, Lord, how to deal with You. How to combine intimacy
with reverence, friendship with worship and closeness with awe. Teach me how to
lift my head and to open my heart, as I bend my knee and lower my sight. Teach
me never to lose sight of Your majesty, and never to underestimate Your
companionship. Teach me Your Incarnation. God and man. Lord and friend. Prince
and comrade" (Carlos G. Vallés).
Saintliness is unique to each
person. Growth and development are particular to each person. The titles that
the Church gives to canonized saints, for example, "apostle,"
"religious founder," "married woman," gives us a glimpse of
how holiness shaped the vocation of each saint we honor. Each saint is a
particular work of art fashioned by the Holy Spirit, our Divine Craftsman.
What would we like our
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 our saintly titles are being fashioned.
In today's Gospel, Jesus
gives us some suggestions. He lists some qualities that make excellent titles
for the saints:
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.
Can you hear yourself among
them? 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. This is God's will for
all humanity, for the future should determine what we are doing at this present
time - living the Beatitudes as only each of us can do and letting them shape
us into God's holy ones.
Like the saints, we are all
distinct as we allow God to work in our lives, shaping and molding each of us
into His masterpiece. In the first reading today we hear, "Salvation comes
from our God, who is seated on the throne and from the Lamb" (Rev 7:10).
The angels and saints are
gathered around God's throne offering glorious praise. Salvation - theirs,
yours and mine - comes from God, not from us.
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. The Beatitudes sum up our calling or vocation - to
live life following the example of the saints. As saints-in-training, we must
hunger and thirst for God on our journey!
This will bring us great joy!