Resume of a Saint

~~~ Solemnity of All Saints  ~~~

 

~~Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14~~Psalm 24~~1 John 3:1-3~~Matthew 5:1-12a~~

 

Today we are reminded of something we shy away from...

we are all called to become a saint.

 

Beloved, we are God’s children now;
what we shall be has not yet been revealed.

 

We are all called to turn our frail humanity into a life pleasing to God. 

We are expected to use everything at our disposal

given to us by God to help us reach our sainthood goal.

It does not matter that we don't have our individual

feast day set aside by the church.

It does not matter if we don't have many miracles attributed to us;

we are still called to be saints.

 

I do find this a humbling proposition.

When I consider the various lives of the canonized saints

I am no where near.

I only hope there are varying levels or degrees of sainthood.

I would be blessed to be just a footnote in the book of saints.

 

To become a canonized saint a lengthy process must be undertaken.

There are ten steps which can take many years to complete

or in some cases are never completed.

 

“Amen. Blessing and glory, wisdom and thanksgiving,
honor, power, and might
be to our God forever and ever. Amen.”

 

 

In order to became a saint your life first becomes an open book.

Those bringing forth your cause for canonization must present there reasons.

Physical miracles must be directly connected to this holy person.

Each miracle is thoroughly investigated to determine

if the cure was medically impossible.

 

I wonder if the canonized saints would be too happy

about us reading about the details of their lives hundreds of years later.

 

The beautiful part about being able to closely examine

the lives of the saints is that it gives us courage.

Courage and inspiration that we can also become a saint.

One thing all of the saints have in common is that they each lived their lives.

They lived their lives loving God and others to the best of their ability.

Some of them had impressive transformations after coming to Christ;

others were simply holy from an early age.

 

Whatever reasons we can give for not becoming a saint

there is already a saint who overcame

the very same obstacle during his or her life.

 

We are sometimes criticized for praying to the saints.

We believe in life after death.

We believe in the Body of Christ

which includes the communion of the saints.

We pray to the saints because we believe they are in heaven.

We ask for their intercession to God on our behalf.

We look to them as models of holiness.

We use their lives to imitate throughout our own lives.

 

The saints are wonderful examples of living the

Beatitudes as we hear in the Gospel today.

 

...Blessed are the clean of heart,
for they will see God.

 

Today we are blessed to have all of the saints

praying for us on our behalf to God.

Today we honor and acknowledge all of the saints in heaven

and those who still walk among us.

Today we reflect on our own life.

I invite you to ask yourself...

How am I living a saintly life?

Will my resume be able to inspire others?

It is between you and God.

 

Saints of God, pray for us.