Homily:  All Saints Day:  "The Beatitudes of Saints"

Nov. 1, 2005

by Fr. William Holtzinger

 

Today we celebrate All Saints Day.  It is a day when we celebrate the lives of the countless heroes who lived lives worthy of the Gospel of Christ.  

It was once said:  “The only tragedy is not to be a saint.”  If you want to be a saint, then listen to the words of Christ.  Be the person whom Christ describes.

 

Blessed are the poor in spirit:  Are you someone who is free of prejudice and conditional love?  Are you free of cynicism which kills the soul?  Do you trust that no matter what befalls you, God will be with you the whole way?  Blessed are you.   The kingdom of God is yours.

Blessed are those who mourn!  Do you feel the pains of others?  Does that suffering extend not just to your friends but to the people in other grades, schools, families, states, and countries?  Do you courageously accept the suffering that can happen when you stand up for your faith?  Blessed are you.   You will be comforted.

 

Blessed are the pure in heart!  Are you not content with merely playing the part of a friend, talking behind others backs, and living a double life?  Do you seek with your inner heart that absolute truth which God has set in your heart which refuses to be a hypocrite?   Blessed are you.  You will see God.

 

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness!  Do you seek to do do what is right?  Do you seek to forego your will and to seek out Christ’s will?  Do you seek to overcome the fear of being singled out and ridiculed by your friends by standing up for someone who is being teased, talked about, ridiculed, and whose name is being drug through the dirt?  Blessed are you.  You will be satisfied.

Blessed are the merciful!  Do you suffer from hardness of heart and wish to be different?  Do you desire compassion, love and mercy to your classmates, friends, and family?  How about your enemies?  Have you been given mercy and feel the sharp pain of love which tears at your sometimes cold heart only to reveal your true self, your soft self, the beauty that is you?  Blessed are you.   Yours will be the kingdom of heaven.

 

Blessed are the peacemakers!  Do you yearn for peace in a world torn by strife and discord?  Do you offer loving words in a difficult situation or seek out solutions instead of blaming others?  Do you avoid hostile confrontations and demonstrate your strength by not giving in to the deception that violence will solve your problems?  Blessed are you.  You are a child of God.

 

The saints of God took these words seriously.  They let them sink in to their hearts and lived them to the end.  They traveled to countries unknown to tell of the Good News of Jesus Christ.  Many even died for their faith.  It is for these unsung heroes, these people who lived such holy lives that we celebrate today.  Yet we also celebrate today for those of us who are still in the process of becoming saints.  Do you fall short of such holiness?  Do you feel that you are not a saint?  Well, today is your day.  Today we call upon this holy communion of people who can pray for each one of us.  Today, in our prayers, let us call upon their intercessions to help us on our pilgrim way so that we too will join them in the feast of heaven that awaits all saints.