Gospel Matt 5:1-12a
When Jesus saw the crowds, he went up the mountain, and after he had sat down, his disciples came to him. He began to teach them, saying:
“Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.
Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land.
Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied.
Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy.
Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.”
Homily
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I have often heard persons use the expression; “that man” or “that woman is a saint.” Sometimes we hear others say; “I am not a saint.” These sayings express our experience of a certain way of acting. Saints, after all, act in a way which is not normal or rather which has become the exception rather than the rule. Yet St. Paul begins his letter to the Colossians in these words; Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus through the will of God, and Timothy our brother, to the saints and faithful brothers and sisters in Christ at Colossae: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ.” For St Paul, sanctity was the normal way of life. It was the ideal to which disciples of Jesus strove. It was also the goal which all church leaders presented to their followers.
Today we normally use the word “saint” to signify someone who has died and to whom special veneration is given because after a lengthy process and examination of his/or her life, and the review of miracles attributed to his or her intercession, that person has been declared a saint by the Pope. The important element in all of this however, whether the person is alive or dead, is that he/she lived a certain type of life. The Gospel reading chosen for this feast of All Saints, the Beatitudes according to St. Matthew, adequately describes the life style of saints, living or dead.
The Beatitudes is a lifestyle and this means that the designation “Blessed” is not simply a passive designation. It also includes the sense of being a blessing for others. It is because one is a blessing for others that one is blessed.
As we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints therefore certain questions arise. Could someone writing to this Church of Port of Spain begin his/her letter in the same way in which St. Paul began his letter to the Colossians? Could he/she begin by saluting the saints in Port of Spain? Is sanctity the ideal to which we all strive and is sanctity the goal of life which we present to our children and followers? Furthermore are we a blessing for others so that we too are blessed?
These questions may provoke negative responses because the culture in which we live pushes us to be more oriented towards the self than towards others and so we seek blessings for ourselves but find it difficult to be blessings for others. We are called to be counter-cultural however and we are called to be imitators of the saints, all of whom were blessings for others. We have the examples of Mother Teresa of Calcutta who was a blessing and brought blessings to the people dying on the streets of Calcutta; we have the example of St Oscar Romero, archbishop of San Salvador recently declared a saint by Pope Francis, who was a blessing for the poor and oppressed peoples of El Salvador; we have St. Maximilian Kolbe who exchanged places with another prisoner condemned to death in Auschwitz. St. Maximilian is blessed because he was a blessing to that prisoner and the prisoner’s family. All these saints were human beings like you and me. They were blessings for others because with God’s grace they lived the beatitudes. There are many others, many of them not officially recognized by the church but who form part of that “great multitude too numerous to count from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb.”
Today we celebrate that “great multitude” both here in this present age and in the hereafter who have made sanctity the goal of their lives, who are and continue to be blessings for others and who have achieved blessedness. May you and I be part of that great multitude!
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, today we celebrate the fruit of your love, that great multitude too numerous to count from every nation and tribe and people and language, standing in front of the throne and before the Lamb” praising and glorifying you for your great mercy. Help us your children to so live that we too may join that great multitude of the blessed so that we too may sing your praises both now and in the hereafter. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our mother and your Son Jesus, the Lamb. Amen
