1/11/2006 - ALL SAINTS
First Reading Apocalipse 7:2-4; 9-14 Psalm 23/24
Second Reading 1John 3:1-3 Gospel Matthew 5:1-12a
A friend, converted from Islam and baptized in an Orthodox church, told me
of his baptism: "Now I, too, am holy, like you"! Obviously, he had
learned to use the word "holy" differently than we usually do. We,
in fact, intend this term to mean living an exemplary moral life, and we call
"saint" someone who lives a heroic love, who knows how to be merciful,
forgiving and benevolent, in all circumstances. Our way of doing is not wrong,
but it is not really exact, either!
God is, by nature, holy! He said: "Be holy, because I am holy" and.
St. Paul tells us: He called us to "be holy". What does God's sanctity
mean? The term "saint" is translated from a Greek term, used by the
Evangelists and by the Apostles, which defines a superior being outside and
beyond the earth. Now God is truly outside and beyond the earth and, because
of this, He is not dependent on it. Jesus tells us that the Father can allow
Himself to love the just and the unjust and He can let the sun shine on the
good and the cruel. The Father is, in fact, holy and is not influenced by the
behaviour of men. He can allow everyone to see and enjoy His love, even, and
most of all, those who don't deserve it. And what about those who deserve it?
We are holy because we are of God; we are children of the Father! We are called
to live in the heavens; even better, from the moment we are baptized in the
name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, we are already citizens
of the saints and of God's family!
Our sanctity is a gift from God; it is not dependant on us. But how can we see
it, or allow it to be seen? How can we be sure that we are holy? We must try
to really live as if we are not only citizens of the world, but citizens of
heaven. When we do not react to the evil of the world that touches us and causes
us to suffer; when we take advantage of the suffering in order to love, by offering
ourselves to God so that we can be united with Jesus on the Cross; when we try
to do good to those who hate us; when we pray for and bless those who curse
us; it can, then, be seen that we are "holy", that we are children
of that God who wants to save those who crucify the Son.
We are saints by the mercy of Jesus, who unites us with Him. We allow Him to
be seen by our commitment to live His Word, especially the one we hear today.
It summarizes the whole Gospel; in fact, it shows us the living image of internal
life of Jesus, Himself. He is the poor, the afflicted, the humble, the poor
in spirit, the merciful, the hungry for justice, the peace-maker, the persecuted.
It is He, Jesus, our model for living. And, it is with Him, and through Him,
that we, too, can behave as He did: being poor by our choosing, being humble
among the masses of the proud and the prejudiced, being afflicted by the sin
that dominates the world, being pure in spirit, that is continually searching
for God, being merciful to those who suffer because of their violence and their
sin, being committed to know and to fulfill the will of the Father in any situation
and to create harmony in any environment. Being with Jesus, and being like Him,
we, too, will be persecuted: and we will not be surprised by this, nor will
we complain because of it. Knowing that the Lord was treated like this, we will
be glad to take part in His suffering: we will be assured of reaching His glory.
This is our holiness. Perhaps we feel far away and, in fact, we are far away,
not of becoming saints, but from living this consequence and from allowing our
brothers to see this holiness! Let us remain committed, though, to persevere
on the road to holiness, longing to fulfill it, even if, for the moment, we
feel incapable. We need to nurture the desire, as we fulfill the love of our
Lord, Jesus Christ!
Today we celebrate because many of our brothers, true brothers in faith, have
allowed us to see the concreteness of the sanctity of God in the life of man.
There are many giants of love and faith among them! There are, also, many others
in our midst, who make us see and taste some aspects of the sanctity of God:
our parents, friends, priests and neighbours! Let us thank God, the Father,
who calls us His children, even though our face does not, yet, reflect His;
let us thank Jesus, who poured out His Blood, as the Lamb, to purify our clothing
of flesh and to keep it worthy of the Father. And we beg the Holy Spirit to
ask the Father and Jesus to transform us and make us capable of living a life
worthy of their love and their sanctity! We are sinners and, by our sins, we
continue to contaminate the clothing of the Church, that Church which, despite
us, continues to bring the signs and the gifts of the sanctity of God to the
world!
We can do our part by committing to being disciples of Jesus, to remain united
to His Church, so that we can benefit from the mysteries that It gives us, in
the name of God and from God, to become pure and to be nurtured and remain united
in brotherhood.