Praying for the dead is a spiritual work of mercy. To intercede on their behalf is an act of love that helps them enter into God’s presence. Saturday, November 1st is All Saints’ Day, a feast day observing the lives of the many saints for whom there is no specific feast day during the year. Please join us as we honour the holy men and women who, having completed their earthly journeys, now live forever with God. Mass will be celebrated at 9:00am at St. Vincent De Paul church.
Father Alain has prepared a beautiful teaching on All Saints’ Day below.
Life after life, a reminder of our vocation as baptized Christians
All Saints’ Day has been an old tradition of the Church since the 8th century. It brings together in a single celebration all the saints, whether known (canonized) or not. In faith, it is clear that the number of canonized saints is tiny compared to all those who enjoy eternal bliss with God: “I saw a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, language, people, and tribe” (Rev 7:9). The saints are a reminder that our earthly existence is a journey toward God, which the vicissitudes of earthly life must not cause us to forget: “Whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord” (Rom 14:8).
But then what is holiness?
This is the only question that every Christian must ask themselves today. Generally understood as a search for moral or religious perfection, holiness is in reality a call, a vocation for all the baptized to unite themselves to Christ by living according to the Gospel. Holiness is therefore not primarily a quest for performance. It is deeply rooted in union with God, from which our daily existence draws its strength. It is therefore God’s grace that enriches the daily life of the person of faith and enables them to radiate the light of faith day after day. In this sense, the grace of holiness is not a high peak that must be scaled through effort and sacrifice; it is a free gift from God that is granted to us at the beginning of our Christian life, at our baptism. The community of the baptized is a community of saints (Heb 6:10).
How can we attain holiness?
Our vocation to holiness is a call to live and maintain the holiness we received at baptism. The Church’s mission to the baptized is to nurture in them the grace of holiness that was conferred on them at baptism through the sacraments, especially the sacraments of healing: confession, Eucharist, and anointing of the sick. We do not receive the sacraments to become saints, but they are given to us because we are saints and so that we may remain saints.
What, then, is canonization?
Canonization is the official recognition by the Church of the heroic virtues of a baptized person during his or her earthly life. The entire process and trial of canonization aims to answer a single question: did the candidate for canonization live up to the demands of his baptism? A positive answer to this question must be certified by his power of intercession with God through the extraordinary signs that are the miracles we implore from the saints.
In short, celebrating the holiness of all the elect in a single feast is both a grace and a call: the grace to celebrate life in God and the call to join those who have gone before us to God in faith. The feast of All Saints reminds us of the truth of the communion of saints, which is the bond that unites in Jesus the three categories of God’s holy people, namely, the Church glorious (the saints in heaven who are already in glory), the Church suffering (the holy souls in purgatory), and the Church pilgrim (we who are still on pilgrimage on earth).
In short, celebrating the holiness of all the elect in a single feast is both a grace and a call: the grace to celebrate life in God and the call to join those who have gone before us to God in faith. The feast of All Saints reminds us of the truth of the communion of saints, which is the bond that unites in Jesus the three categories of God’s holy people, namely, the Church glorious (the saints in heaven who are already in glory), the Church suffering (the holy souls in purgatory), and the Church pilgrim (we who are still on pilgrimage on earth).
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