Feast of All Saints and Souls

This article appeared in the November 2, 2008 St. Thomas Aquinas Church bulletin in Ames, IA.

A child once asked what a saint was. Looking at her church’s stained glass windows, she replied, “A saint is someone whom the light shines through." How are you a window whose light shines through." Who are you becoming? These are important questions each of us, at some point, wrestle with. Even the saints struggled to define themselves because of their humanity. God created us with the potential to become saints amidst our sinfulness. Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta did not define her life as a stained glass window. In her book, "Come Be My Light – the Private Writings of the Saint of Calcutta she revealed, “If I ever become a saint, I will surely be one of “darkness.” I will continually be absent from heaven, to light the light of those in darkness on earth.”

Thomas Merton in New Seeds of Contemplation defines sainthood. "For me to be a saint means to be myself … Therefore the problem of sanctity and salvation, is in fact, the problem of finding out who I am and discovering my true self.”

Similar to the saints, we are like a good novel; we have a story to discover and share as we continue to evolve. It is a journey of becoming and living our baptismal call. Through baptism, we become a new creation in Christ and a part of God’s family. As a good family member, God expects us to be and do our best with our lives.

I believe the saints challenge us toward this goal.

The feasts of All Saints and All Souls’ offer the opportunity to remember the communion of saints and our loved ones. We remember the influence they had in our lives through the Mass. In faith and hope, we pray our deceased friends and family members one day will be raised up to the communion of saints and pray for us on our journey to heaven.

Ironically, we celebrate these two feasts in autumn, a season of death. As Christians, our faith reminds us we are an Easter people!

Job 19:25-26 states, “I know that my Redeemer lives, and because He lives, I too shall live.”

“You will be sorrowful, but your sorrow will turn into joy.” John 16:20.

Through reading and sharing scripture and the lives of the disciples and saints, celebrating Eucharist and receiving Communion are excellent spiritual practices that can assist us on our Christian journey “to becoming our best version of ourselves.”

We are challenged by Blessed Charles de Foucald, “What sort of work, then, must I do? Which is my road to heaven? In what kind of life am I to sanctify myself?”