1 November 2022
Solemnity of All Saints
Today, the first day of November, Solemnity of Saints, marks the beginning of the month dedicated to commemorating all those that came before us. It is a sacred time that the Church offers us to meditate on our relationship with them and more generally, our relationship and understanding of the afterlife.
The opening lyrics to the popular hymn, “For all the saints, who from their labors rest…” capture what it means to be a saint. The saints are those holy men and women who understood the single, precious opportunity they were given to live proclaiming Jesus in word and deed. Christian discipleship, as the lyrics suggest, implies work and struggles. It’s not always a walk in the park. St. Paul says it well when he writes, “I have competed well; I have finished the race; I have kept the faith.” (2 Tim. 4:7).
Sometimes, it can be tempting to see life on this earth as a valley of tears that must be endured, knowing that our reward and our rest will come in the afterlife. But, following the example of the saints that came before us, we find rest, even in this life, in the one who is meek and humble of heart. It is there that we find the source of living water and of joy. The example of the saints also teaches us that though our life on earth may come to an end, the impact of our actions and our prayer here transcends time and space. In heaven, we may rest from our labors, but our labors themselves will continue to bear fruit. As St. Therese of Lisieux once said, “When I die, I will send down a shower of roses from the heavens, I will spend my heaven by doing good on earth.”
We see this time and again. Until the day we stand, saints among the saints, let us never cease to implore their intercession.