We remember our beloved dead today in our prayers, at Mass, and by visiting their grave sites at the cemetery. They have entered the final leg of their journey to heaven, and while they do continue to suffer they are already guaranteed the victory Christ won for them. That is the big difference between them and we who are still on our earthly pilgrimage. Suffering and purification are a necessary component of our salvation. Part of being saved is being transformed and changed by God’s grace and mercy. Once we have turned our lives over to our Lord Jesus Christ and received his Love and Mercy, we begin our journey to heaven. That journey is complete when nothing in our hearts remains attached to sin, to worldly pleasures and pursuits, to vice or to evil.
Solemnity of All Saints
The Celebration of All the Saints is a unique kind of celebration. Generally, in the Church calendar we celebrate things or people specifically and individually. Occasionally we celebrate a whole group of martyrs – the companions of St. Paul Miki, the Chinese Martyrs, etc. When we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, we are invited to consider and rejoice at the reality of holiness in a more general way. The feast of All Saints isn’t just for the “ones that we missed,” but it is a reminder about the reality of what the core of holiness is and that heaven isn’t just an exclusive place for the elite heroes whose lives are a marvel to the rest of us. How discouraging it would be if you had to become famous in order to be sure you have a place in heaven. There are plenty of famous people, even famous Christians, whose holiness still isn’t enough to get them canonized. We are not trying to become canonized saints in this life. One of the requirements to become a canonized saint is to perform miracles after you die. If God wants you to become a canonized saint, He’ll help you do that after you die.
Thursday of the Thirtieth Week in Ordinary Time
Today’s first reading is very timely. We have seen a lot of decorations and other preparations for Halloween – sometimes they can be quite frightening! We know as Catholics that All Hallows Eve is the beginning of the celebration of All Saints Day. The pagan influences in our society bring out darker and scarier images and stories, but this is important for us to think about too as people of faith. Today, people are tempted to believe only in what they can see, touch, smell, taste, or feel. People are tempted to think that God doesn’t exist because they can’t see Him or feel Him. On the other hand, we, as Christians, might forget that there are also evil beings out there: evil spirits, demons, etc. We forget that they exist because they are invisible. If we don’t protect ourselves from them though, they can take advantage of us and lead us to sin. The way our society celebrates Halloween reminds us that there really is evil out there, and that not only does it make us afraid, but it is also dangerous.