Solemnity of All Saints
(Revelation 7:2-4.9-14; I John3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12a)
Halloween traditions have
a murky background. Do the wearing of
masks and the prominence of skeletons celebrate a time-conditioned rising from
the dead? Or are customs of dressing in clothes
of various cultures and periods indicative of the plethora of saints in Church
history. Because Halloween immediately precedes
All Saints and not All Souls Day, the latter answer appears more on target.
Today’s readings testify to many kinds of people becoming
saints throughout the centuries. Revelation
says it directly. A “great multitude…from
every nation, race people, and tongue” participate in the heavenly court. John’s letter indicates that people must
purify themselves to gain such a standing.
The beatitudes describe those who have gone through the process of
purification. They are the poor and
humble, peacemakers and pursuers of justice.
All Saints Day reminds us of the past which we readily forget as we preoccupy
ourselves with the here and now. It
tells us of the faith of our predecessors in God whom we can marginalize in our
quest for self-fulfillment. It emboldens
us to imitate their virtue so that we too might reach their standing in eternal
life.
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