Journey to Sainthood! – Solemnity Synopsis

Some Insights on Easter Ceremonies
Justine John Dyikuk

Shikrot Mpwi – Solemnity Synopsis with Fr. Justine J. Dyikuk

All Saints’ Day, Year C – Tuesday, 1st November 2022

Readings: Revelations 7:2-4, 9-14; Responsorial Psalm Ps 24:1BC-2, 3-4AB, 5-6; 1John 3:1-3; Gospel Matthew 5:1-12A.

On All Saints Day, the Church prepares us for heaven by urging us to have our garments washed by the Blood of the Lamb like the elect whom St. John saw in the first reading. In the second reading, John emphasizes that we must purify ourselves for the eternal journey. The gospel presents us with Jesus’ blueprint for candidates of heaven namely being the poor in spirit, gentle, anxious for what is right, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers and accepting persecution for the cause of right. He assures that this is the ladder for making it to Sainthood.

Introduction

Friends in Christ, today is the Solemnity of All Saints. Our celebration has an ecumenical dimension because the Anglican Communion, the Methodist Church, the Lutheran Church and other Protestant churches also observe this day. This celebration is predicated on the fundamental belief that there is an unbreakable spiritual bond between the citizens of heaven (the Church triumphant) and the living (the Church militant). Our reflection entitled “Journey to Sainthood” aspires to spur us to Sainthood.

Background and Summary of the Readings

The first reading (Revelations 7:2-4, 9-14) reveals the beatific vision which the Saints who have washed their garments by the Blood of the Lamb enjoy. It suggests that where the saints which St. John saw in his apocalypse are, we too may be.

In the second reading (1John 3:1-3), St. John admonishes that based on our hope in the Lord Jesus, we should purify ourselves for the eternal journey. He maintains that although what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed, “all we know is, that when it is revealed, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is.”

In the gospel (Matthew 5:1-12A) presents the blueprint for candidates of heaven. By listing the Beatitudes, Jesus presents the Militant Church with the demands of the kingdom namely being poor in spirit, gentle, anxious for what is right, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers and accepting persecution for the cause of right. In all, he assures of the crown of eternal glory.

Who are the Saints and what is Sainthood?

A Saint is viewed as someone who did ordinarily things in an extraordinary way. A Saint is not an extraordinary human being. Saints are people who heroicly underwent the struggles of this earthly life and pleased God. They are not angels but men and women who though not immuned from sin but tried to live above sin.

They were normal human beings who struggled with their weaknesses, were enthusiastic about God and appropriated divine graces. They are people who became friends of God and our ancestors in the faith. Saints are virtuous people who loved God and their neighbour and were found worthy to be canonised by the Church.

Sainthood is a platform which offers holy people who have died an opportunity to stand on the shoulders of heavenly powers. That way, these spiritual ancestors constantly intercede for us. Since God doesn’t limit the gift of holiness and sainthood to biblical personages like Peter, James and John, the Holy Spirit still raises virtuous men and women in the Church today hence, Sainthood.

The Church canonises those who have lived exemplary lives. Because She enjoys the power of binding and losing (Matthew 18:18 & 16:18), the Church can adjudge that a person has lived a good life. Through a thorough process by the Congregation for the Causes of Saints spanning through years, the person is declared, Servant of God, Beatified and eventually Canonised after miracles have been associated with him or her.

In what is described in theology as Dulia, the Saints play an intercession role. Just like you can ask a fellow human being to pray for you (Heb. 13:18 & Eph. 6:18-19), so too the Church invokes the saints to intercede on our behalf because they are before God. The scripture is replete with texts which support invoking the saints: “Job, my servant, offers prayers for you. I will listen to him with favor” (Job 42:8-10). Proverbs has this to say: “Yahweh stands far from the wicked, but he listens to the prayer of the virtuous” (Proverbs 15:29).

Pastoral Lessons

1. Be Detrabalised: In a country where the masses are sadly divided by ethnic, religious and political faultlines, the message of the first that “a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb,” reminds us that only those who are large hearted and are detrabalised can enter heaven.

2. Be a Peace-Maker: That those St. John saw in his apocalypse were “dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands” and the Beatitudes reveal that peace makers are children of God should challenge both leaders and the led in our country to embrace and preach peace in the face of economic and social upheavals as we approach an election year.

3. Look Towards Heaven: The message of St. John in the second reading that when what we are meant to be is revealed, we shall be like God because we shall see Him as He really is implies that pilgrims who want to make hevean must be ambitious enough to want to see God but must remember to behave like Him in the daily events of their lives.

4. Be Pure in Heart: That the elect wore white robes and Jesus insists about those who are pure in heart demonstrates that only those who are pure in heart, gentle, poor in spirit and hunger and thirst for righteousness would climb the mountain of the Lord.

5. Demonstrate Heroic Faith: We are called to demonstrate heroic faith by loving and serving God and our neighbour well.

Summary Lines

1. The first reading reveals the beatific vision which the Saints who have washed their garments by the Blood of the Lamb enjoy.

2. In the second reading, St. John admonishes that based on our hope in the Lord Jesus, we should purify ourselves for the eternal journey.

3. He maintains that although what we are to be in the future has not yet been revealed, “all we know is, that when it is revealed, we shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is.”

4. In the gospel presents the blueprint for candidates of heaven.

5. By listing the Beatitudes, Jesus presents the Militant Church with the demands of the kingdom namely being the poor in spirit, gentle, anxious for what is right, merciful, pure in heart, peacemakers and suffering persecution for the cause of right.

Conclusion

The militant Church enjoys the spiritual patrimony of the Church triumphant: “Remember your former leaders, who spoke God’s message to you. Think back on how they lived and died, and imitate their faith (Heb. 13:7). Therefore, we have a great bond because the Church is a communion of both the living and the dead. God refers to himself as the Lord of the living and the dead (Mark 12:27). May the Saints intercede for us now and forever. Have a wonderful celebration.

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