Daily reflection _ in training


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?  
Deacon John Ruscheinsky
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!