St. Paul humbly admits that we are not entirely sure what awaits us in the life to come: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, nor has it entered the human heart to imagine what God has prepared for those who love Him.” [1 Corinthians 2, 9]. Still, God’s Word, the holy Scriptures, provide a wealth of hopeful images to give a foretaste of what lies in store beyond this world, for those who love God.
We rejoice in the chance to celebrate today all those in heaven, but let us remember that they are no “plaster saints,” no gloomy killjoys, but a glorious band of decent people who lived with such love, they have gone to heaven and to the God they loved so well. They went “marching in,” as the song says, happy to meet face to face the One who always held them in the palm of His hand. They were both heroes and ordinary people; some who have inspired the Church for centuries, and others who have been unsung heroes, living a quiet life of kindness and duty, pure of heart, and gentle of spirit.
For reflection: Today’s Feast is not about the canonized Saints of the Church, but about all the good and holy people who have ever lived. Don’t we all feel a calling to follow in their footsteps? Yes! So, at the very least, today’s celebration is a reminder of our deep-down, universal calling to become better people than we currently are! It is a reminder that Jesus Christ can and will empower us to practice what He preached and to live what we believe!
Let us pray. “Almighty God, your gift to us is to venerate in one celebration the lives of all your Saints. Bestow on us, we pray, through their intercession, an abundance of your peace, for which we earnestly long. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.”
