11-1-26 Feast of All Saints
Feast of All Saints
11-1-26
Dear
Brothers and Sisters in Christ:
I think to
better understand the gospel this weekend we first must turn to the second
reading this weekend, the first letter of St. John, in which he states. “See what love
the father has bestowed on us that we may be called the children of God. Yet so
we are. … Beloved, we are God’s children now what we shall be,
has not yet been revealed." Based on these words, I think that we are
being invited to cultivate and maintain
within ourselves, this understanding, this basic fundamental truth that we are
truly God's children. And yes, there is
a mission for each of us and what it may be, will be revealed in its own
time. But first, we must start out on our mission by understanding this premises that we have a loving father and
that he is watching over us as his children. This
Sunday is the feast of All Saints. I think
that most people whom the church has elevated to the status of “saint” did not
start on their faith journey with the goal of being officially recognized as saints.
They started out by first learning who God is and who they are in relationship
to God. The more this understanding of
our relationship with God grows, the more we begin to understand how to live
out our particular mission. The other day I was reading a reflection on this Sunday’s readings by
Kathleen Norris, who is an Oblate of Saint Benedict and an author of many
books. She refers in her reflection about saints to one film documentary that she once saw. The documentary was called: "Sacred
Alaska.” It is a stunning film
that explores the history of the Russian Orthodox Church in Alaska. It focuses on Alaska’s indigenous people and
their acceptance of the Christian faith.
It tells how these indigenous people of Alaska accepted the faith and
how their saw their lives lived out through that lens. In one particular segment
it signaled out an indigenous woman from a Yup’ik village, by the name of Olga. Olga was a widow to whom many people turned
for solace and wisdom. She was also a midwife who had brought many children into
this world. She was also depicted as a traditional healer. Many of her acts of
kindness and compassion were known only
to the people of her little village. Acts
of kindness such as knitting hundreds of socks and giving them away free of
charge to people who were needy and poor.
One Russian Orthodox Priest said of her, “she did what God gave her to
do.”, adding that we are all called to be saints in that sense of “finding what God wants us to do, and then to
do it." For much of her life, no one ever
considered her as saint and yet Olga was canonized in 2025, the first North
American woman to become a saint in the Orthodox Church. Her icon depicts her as someone wearing a
midwife clothing and carrying a bowl of water and a towel ready to get to work.1 Surely
in many ways she fulfilled what Jesus spoke about to the crowds in the gospel
this weekend “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of
heaven.” The phrase “poor in spirit” is not about being weak in our faith but
rather can be understood as those who know that they must rely solely on God
for everything that they have or that they can do. And it
is through this total reliance on God, which must be a daily commitment, that they
believe that they will be filled with
the blessings of heaven, and will realize that they are living in union with
God, as God’s child. Such awareness is
truly what the kingdom of heaven is all about (i.e., to live in union with God).
Truly, Olga,
lived out her ordinary life with many of the be-attitudes (i.e., attitudes of
how to be with oneself, one’s God, and with other people) that Jesus refers to
in the gospel this weekend. She lived
them out simply in her day-to-day interaction with other people in her village.
And those people realized the
specialness of her presence among them. And
so, in time they sought to have her officially recognized by the whole church as
a saint. When we have
this attitude that God is our father, our protector, an eternal presence beside
us, then we too are blessed. Even though
we may be in sorrow or struggling with our lives, because of this awareness as a child
of God, we also believe that we will be comforted. When we realize this type of blessedness is
open and available to us, even if we hunger and thirst for righteousness, we
know that it will come to us and we will be satisfied. We may not be satisfied in this life, but when
we live out of this knowledge of being a child of God, this sense of being “blessed”
then, we know it will occur in eternal life.
We know that if we are merciful
and compassionate to others then mercy will be ours, if we hold tight to this
attitude that God is our father and is ever present and watching out for us. Such an attitude as that will eventually lead
us to a place whereby, we too can praise him through our lives now, and one
day we will be among those who will praise Him forever in Heaven. For on that day, we will be among those who counted
as that “great multitude from every race and people." Also, the be-attitudes mentioned
in the gospel this weekend, repeatedly ask us to see people and ourselves differently.
“The meek that Jesus refers to are not necessarily weak. The merciful are not necessarily
foolish; and those who mourn have not failed at life; and those who struggle
for peace are not wasting their time because conflict continues around them.”2 And so, as we prepare for the feast of All Saints, our readings
invite us to be open to understanding what are the ways, perhaps even the little ways, that God is inviting us to
trust in him and to be not only the meek
of the Earth but also those who are the merciful of the Earth; and those who
are willing to seek justice for themselves and for others. And each day, as we pray to have these attitudes,
these be-attitudes, let us ask God to show us what are the things He is sending
us forth to do. Since we are only given one day at a time, let us live
that one day in the fullness and awareness that we, as God's children, can do wonderful
things; things that can make us friends of God (i.e., saints). Yes, for a time we may
have sadness in our life: for a time we may suffer for justice; for a time we
may have to struggle for righteousness and not see its fruition; but if we possess
these be-attitudes of which Jesus speaks, then we will know in our heart of
hearts that God will be faithful and bring about in us, and in all of those who
know themselves as his children, the fullness of His being which is kingdom of
heaven.
1. Give Us This Day, Feast of All Saints, Reflection Kathleen Norris, 2026 2. No one Could Count Them, Voicings.com
