Recently, I had an opportunity to sit with a person at the hospital who was staring at his imminent death. He had gone to the hospital to be checked for the pain in his stomach. When I entered his room, he was resting on the hospital bed preparing for his death for he was told that he will not last long – his cancer has spread all over his stomach. This man, in his late fifties, asked me to sit beside him so that he could pour out his emotions as he browsed through memories of the long corridors of his past life. He would question time and time again, would he be able to face God? Will he be shown mercy? In one word, his regret was that he failed to become a saint.
Today we celebrate the solemnity of all saints. All these saints keep before us many and different ways of becoming saints in life. Many of them were quite ordinary people with simple lives. Today we especially remember those saints who in total anonymity lived extraordinary holy lives. Some of them may have come to our parish and sat on the same pews where we are sitting today. Some of them may be our own parents or grandparents; some may have lived in our own neighbourhood. By honouring them today, we are encouraged to follow their paths.
Today’s first reading is from the book of Revelation which John wrote to the suffering church in Asia Minor. They were persecuted, probably at the hands of Emperor Domitian. John had a vision and he saw the end of all persecution because God has willed to bring justice in the world. Heaven has already proclaimed the victory song and all those who were faithful to him will be vindicated. The martyrs who died for their faith were exalted – “These are they who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev 7: 14). In the early church – mainly to encourage others to persist through persecutions – only those who died a martyr’s death for the sake of faith were proclaimed saints.
The Gospel of today gives us the simplest ways to become saints. Beatitude is the heart of Jesus’ teaching. Beatitudes teach us how to become like Jesus himself. Jesus, in his own person, lived all the beatitudes and now wants us to follow His path. He invites us to become spiritually poor, mourn for the lost, become meek and humble, become a messenger of peace, etc. Jesus knows well and with Him we too know that all these things will lead us to the Cross, the only means of our sainthood and salvation.
Jesus promises that if we try to become saints (perfect like His father who is perfect – Mt 5:48), we will be called the children of God, we will inherit God’s Kingdom, God will console us, God will satisfy our needs and we will see God.
Becoming saints, therefore, is the primary duty of every Christian.
-Ranjan D’Sa OCD