This weekend we celebrate All Saints’ Day, and on Monday we’ll observe All Souls’ Day. Especially this year, these special days of remembrance seem appropriate and timely. Many of us have lost loved ones. Recently I lost my father, Charlie Kullmann, and just before that, I lost a good friend and Paulist brother to Covid-19, Rich Colgan, CSP. There is more death than usual. It is important, I think, to take this opportunity to stop and reflect on the value and importance of life.
On All Saints’ Day, we recall and celebrate all the saints, both the famous ones and those who names are unfamiliar. But, and this is very important, we recall and celebrate ALL the Saints, not just those declared to be so by the Church. There are many, many more saints, all those who lived good lives and in whom God’s grace was triumphant. Many grandparents, parents, friends, men and women religious, neighbors, fellow parishioners, coworkers, and others are saints. They were not perfect, but God’s grace was at work in them and they drew us all closer to God, and now they enjoy the vision of God forever. That is certainly something to celebrate, and a cause for hope for all of us.
Many were on that path to sainthood, that is, union with God, in their lifetime. But they had not fully reached that destination when they died. We believe that they continue that work of unity with God after their life here is over. And because we are all united and joined together in the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, Who is stronger than death, we are still able to support them by our prayers and good works, and to ask them to continue to pray for us. That is what we celebrate on All Souls’ Day, on Monday.
All Saints and All Souls are wonderful reminders of how we are all intimately, spiritually connected. In this time of disconnectedness, these celebrations are an important reminder of how we are all bound together in real and practical ways in the Body of Christ.
God bless!
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