All Saints (Year B)
Apoc 7.2-4, 9-14; Ps 23;I Jn 3.1-3; Mt 5.1-12

Celebrating those who have lived the Christian life to an heroic degree

1. The Universal Calendar of the Catholic Church includes Solemnities, Feasts and Memorials of Saints – apostles, martyrs, virgins, doctors of the Church, priests, religious, holy men and women. In addition, each Diocese, Province or National Church has its own proper celebrations of different degree. There are Saints popular for their heroic virtues who by their spirituality, have progressed one stage further in the Church’s process of recognition. Understanding the process which leads to canonisation can help us to understand this Solemnity.

2. Today’s Solemnity of All Saints is an opportunity to celebrate those Christian souls who have reached heaven and who aid us with their intercession within the Communion of Saints, but who have not yet been formally recognised by the Church as Sancti or Beati. We may pictures them as seen in the wonderful vision from the Book of the Apocalypse of those dressed in white robes worshipping the Lamb.

3. The first stage towards canonisation occurs when, with approval from the Holy See, a diocesan bishop opens a cause on behalf of a person with a reputation for holiness. The person’s life and writings are investigated to ensure they are consistent with Catholic teaching. If the person is thought to have lived the Christian life “to an heroic degree” then they may be declared Venerable. In a sense these Christian souls are those in whom the truth revealed in our second reading has taken root. Saint John says, “My people, we are already the children of God.” Those on the path to sanctity are not achieving it through human effort alone, but they are responding fully to God’s call and realising to the full the life the Father calls us to live too.

4. Those declared Venerable do not have a feast day ascribed to them, and the Church makes no pronouncement about whether they are in heaven. Before Beatification or Canonisation a miracle needs to be brought about at the intercession of the candidate, which the Church interprets as a sign that the person is indeed in heaven. The Pope does not decide; the Church waits for a sign from God which the Holy Father acts upon. Some candidates never proceed beyond being declared Venerable; others remain Beati if no further miracles are ascribed to them.

5. So today’s Solemnity, as well as being a general celebration of the Communion of Saints, is an opportunity to celebrate those unknown or formally unrecognised heroes of the faith. Pre-eminent among these will be those who have died as martyrs, as Catholic tradition has long believed that martyrs find an immediate place in heaven. It is a sobering thought that there were more Christian martyrs in the twentieth century than in any previous century. We also celebrate all who have lived fully the Theological Virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity and the Cardinal Virtues of Prudence, Justice, Fortitude and Temperance. Those, if you like, who are waiting in the wings to go on the heavenly stage.

6. It is sometimes said, mistakenly, that All Saints’ Day is a celebration of all Christian people. It is true that Saint Paul occasionally refers to Christians in general as “saints”, but in reality he means the followers of Christ on earth. Catholic teaching is that saints are those who have arrived in heaven, known or unknown. If we were martyred in a few moments we would be among them. But for most of us the journey to heaven has many backslidings and failures, and most of us will need a cleansing stay in purgatory before we are ready to contemplate the vision of God.

7. However, we do have a pattern to live by on our journey in the Gospel for today’s Mass. In the Beatitudes, Our Lord sets out a picture of the life of a saint in the making. Those whose presence in heaven inspires us today began their journey just as we did in Baptism. They strove to live the life envisaged in the Beatitudes and achieved this on earth. They reassure us that with perseverance, faithfulness to the Church’s teaching and participation in the sacramental life it can be done.

8. May the Saints in heaven, known and unknown, pray for us as we strive to follow their example and walk in their footsteps.

Osho