Sunday October 31st : Feast of All Saints

Sunday Reflection by Brian Maher OMI

Feast of All Saints

Matthew 5:1-12

How often have you said, or heard a parent say about their child, “He/she can be a perfect angel one minute and a total devil the next.” and we are all, I’m sure, familiar with the saying, “house angel, street devil.” Substitute ‘saint’ for ‘angel’ and, I think, the challenge of today’s Feast and Gospel becomes clear.

When St. Paul wrote his letters to the first Christian communities he often began them: “To the Saints in Corinth, Rome, Ephesus etc.” He had no hesitation in referring to those first Christian communities as ‘saints’. He could see that all of those men and women who were followers of Jesus, carried within them the qualities for sainthood, and, all of them were called to be saints.

Too frequently when we think of ‘saint’ we think only of those exceptional ‘heroes’ of faith who laid down their lives, had mystical visions or gave up everything to follow Christ. These women and men were of course Saints, the ‘official’ saints of the Church, held up to us as examples of holiness in action.

We must beware, however, that we don’t leave our ‘saints’ living in shrines or on pedestals with candles before them and incense around them. Doing that can, too easily, become a cop out for us. We must not let ourselves look at them and say, “Great, but I could never be like that.” Ironically, we must beware that we don’t let the Saints prevent us from hearing the call all of us have to be Saints!

Pope Francis says it wonderfully: “the saints are not “supermen” or “superwomen” who are “born perfect,” but rather are ordinary people who followed God “with all their heart.” They are like us, they are like each of us, they are people who, before reaching the glory of heaven, lived a normal life, with joys and griefs, struggles and hopes,” 

In another place Pope Francis talks about what he terms the ‘saints next door’. They are: “the parents who raise their children with immense love, the men and women who work hard to support their families, the sick, the elderly who never lose their smile, our next door neighbours.”

Today’s Gospel presents us with, what you might call, the blueprint to Sainthood, the qualities we need to be saints. Blessed (Happy) are:

…the poor in spirit (those ground down by poverty, those on the periphery of society.)

…the gentle

…those who mourn (who suffer loss, who grieve, who struggle to believe)

…those who hunger and thirst for what is right. (who strive to be authentic and genuine)

…the merciful

…the pure in heart (the compassionate, who care from the heart)

…the peacemakers

…the persecuted in the cause of justice.

I know I age myself when I quote from a song by Leonard Cohen, a Canadian song writer/poet/seeker after truth/philosopher who I have listened to since I was a teenager. In his song, “Democracy” he talks about the foundations of democracy. It is coming, he said…

“… From the staggering account
Of the Sermon on the Mount
Which I don’t pretend to understand at all.”

Far be it from me to argue with a man I admire so greatly, but in this instance I have to disagree. Looking at each of the qualities presented in the Sermon on the Mount, there is not one of them we don’t possess, and there is probably not one of them we haven’t lived, probably on many occasions, in our lives.

Putting them all together or living them all of the time is a different matter, but the truth is that the call of the Sermon on the Mount can be understood by us; all of the qualities are within us. Perhaps it is what is meant by being ‘created in God’s image and likeness’.

Today’s Gospel is the call to sainthood, a call we all receive and a challenge we all must face, not in fear and trembling, but with the assurance that the Risen Lord is with us and “we shall be comforted, be satisfied, be called sons and daughters of God, have mercy shown us, and that ours is the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Let us also remember that next week sees the start of COP26 in Glasgow, Scotland. It is, as we are all aware a crucial meeting in our planet’s response to climate change. It would be good to pray very particularly for all the leaders who will participate. Let us pray, maybe, that the qualities of today’s Gospel may be granted to them so that our World, groaning in pain at this time, may be healed and restored to the beauty God intended.

And as we said last week, let our prayer be ‘insistent’, made with courage and tenacity, believing that God is present to us, wanting nothing more than our happiness and the wellbeing of all creation.

Thanks again for all the replies. I find myself utterly amazed by the power of the internet. Even as I write that I realise it is a statement which tells you how old I am….or feel….or both!

There have been replies from Africa, the United States, Canada, Australia, Sri Lanka, Germany, the United Kingdom and Ireland; from individuals and from groups who meet to reflect on the Gospels. It is both humbling and awesome to realise that all around our World people are being comforted and challenged by the Gospel.

Many have expressed an interest in joining a sharing/reflection forum of some kind. The logistics of doing this, with time zones, language, etc. is a bit much for an old man to manage. However, with the help of younger, wiser and more experienced heads, I’ll try!!

Brian.

Brian is the director of Oblate Partners in Mission and is based at Denis Hurley House, Quex Road, Kilburn. If you have any comments, questions or thoughts on this scripture reflection, please feel welcome to email Brian at b.maher@oblates.ie

Thank you for reading and reflecting with us!

How happy are the poor in spirit