HOMILY OF SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS
HOMILY OF SOLEMNITY OF ALL SAINTS
HOMILY THEME: YOU CAN BE A SAINT!
BY: Fr. Casmir Nkamuke
On the 1st of November, the Church militant celebrates the Church triumphant. These are those brothers and sisters of ours, canonized and uncanonized who have washed clean in the blood of the lamb and have been admitted in the tent of God. Though they no longer live, they share communion with us through their constant intercession for us to God.
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Who is a Saint?
A priest once asked a group of catechumens who a Saint is. For some of the children, saints are those men and women who do lots of fasting and prayers. For others, they are those who live in the desert and undergo series of mortification. As queer as their answers may be, this is what most of us conceive of sainthood. We think of saints as people who live extraordinary lives, who did not live the reality of the present life. For this reason, most of us give up journeying towards sainthood.
While the above descriptions of those children are some qualities exhibited by saints, they are not the sole qualities. Saints are those children of God who struggle daily to make their hands clean and their hearts pure. They live a normal life- they eat, play, crack jokes, study, and pray. While carrying out these activities, they use them as media to draw closer to God.
Saints are not born perfect. They experience imperfections. The example of Peter, Zaccheus, and the woman caught in adultery portray this fact. However, they do not remain on the ground when they fall but rather rise again to increase in holiness and pictures.
The gospel reading of today presents us with the attitudes of the saints. These are both signs of true happiness on earth and eternal happiness in heaven. Saints are those who are poor in spirit, who mourn, who are meek, who hunger and thirst for righteousness, who are merciful, who are pure in heart, who are peacemakers, and who are persecuted for what is right.
In summary, the Saints are those who acknowledge with the psalmist that the Lord’s is the earth and its fullness and who make a sincere effort to remain pure in heart. They seek always to do God’s will, depend on God for victory over life’s struggles, and accept all forms of persecution as they remain firm in doing God’s will in contrast to the desires of the world. Through these attitudes, they wash in the blood of the Lamb and, after their earthly sojourn, join the multitude of cherubs and seraphs in heaven to sing God’s praise always.
Beloved in the Lord, you can become a Saint! To be one, you need not do queer and extraordinary things. All you need to do is live your ordinary life with clean hands and a pure heart, and to long always seek the face of God! As Saint Augustine tells us, God has made us for himself, and it is only in God that our souls find rest.
May God be with us as we journey towards sainthood. May we be counted among the number when the saints go marching on!
Happy Solemnity of All Saints!
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