All Saints Day

Following is the prepared text from Bishop Olmsted’s homily for the Solemnity of All Saints.

November 1, 2021

“The only one real sadness, the only real failure, the only great tragedy in life is not to be a saint.”

These words of the French novelist Léon Bloy help us understand why All Saints Day is so important. God created each of us to be a saint. He made us to be fully alive in Christ and to be happy with Him forever in heaven. No one desires our happiness as much as Jesus does—now and in eternity. So, at all times and in every place, God draws near to each human person, seeking us out, calling us by name (CCC 1).

To respond to Jesus’ call to be saints, we need to see, not with the eyes of our body but of our soul. St. John writes: “Beloved, see what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be …children of God. Yet so we are” (1 John 3:1). This is who you and I are: God’s beloved son or daughter. As St. John wrote, “To all who received Him, who believed in His Name, He gave power to become children of God” (John 1:12-13).

To understand the honor of being a saint, what must we do? Jesus answered that question at the Last Supper when He told the disciples, “Remain in me, as I remain in you. Just as a branch cannot bear fruit on its own unless it remains on the vine, so neither can you unless you remain in me” (Jn 15:4). Jesus speaks of five things needed to remain in Christ.

First, avoid sin. Happiness and sin are incompatible. They are at odds with each other. Sin makes us miserable. It turns us inward on the mess we have created in an unclean heart. To remain in Jesus, to be happy, we must not sin.

The second way to remain happy is to obey the commandments. Jesus said it simply and straight-forward, “If you love me, keep my commandments” (Jn 14:15). Obedience protects our happiness because it keeps us one with God and His plan created for our happiness. St. John writes: “The way we may be sure that we know Him is to keep His commandments. Whoever says, ‘I know Him,’ but does not keep His commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him” (1 Jn 2:3f).

The third thing needed to be happy and holy is to live as Jesus did. St. John said, “This is the way we may know that we are in union with Him: whoever claims to abide in Him ought to live just as He lived” (1 Jn 2:5f). We need to walk the walk of faith, following in the footsteps of Jesus.

Fourth, to remain in Christ, we must desire to see His face, to be continually in His Presence. Psalm 24 makes this point perfectly: “Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.” The Psalm goes on to say: “Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? Or who may stand in His holy place? One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain… Such is the race that seeks Him, that seeks the face of the God of Jacob.”

The fifth thing needed to remain in Christ is to be willing to suffer for love of Him. It seems contradictory, but it’s true. Only those willing to suffer for the sake of love understand this mystery. Jesus speaks of it twice during the 8 Beatitudes: twice because the way to close friendship with Jesus is the way of the Cross, the way of suffering for love of the Lord. So, let’s look at the two Beatitudes that teach us that the only road to happiness is not to avoid suffering but to embrace it in union with Jesus.

Jesus tells us in the second Beatitude: “Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted.” (Mt 5:4) There is a kind of mourning that fills our heart with peace as it unites us with the suffering of the innocent. St. Veronica experienced this when she wiped the face of Jesus along the way to Calvary. It is experienced by those who stand in solidarity with the unborn children and their moms who are victims of the violence of abortion, or when we cannot change the circumstances of horrific evil but can at least resist the evil internally by mourning in silent protest and watchful prayer.

The other beatitude that speaks of grief that leads to happiness is the eighth: “Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven” (Mt 5:10). Jesus refers to two kinds of persecution that His faithful disciples may suffer: the persecution of martyrdom–suffering death for the love of Jesus, and the persecution of being scorned and shamed for faithfully defending the truth, refusing to be intimidated by the taunts of those who think that might makes right. Might does not make right; might makes misery. Linked closely with these Beatitudes are Jesus’ words: “Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you falsely because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven” (Mt 5:11f).

Holiness–to be a saint–is possible everywhere, and it begins in our home, our school, our parish, and our neighborhood. You and I can have a close friendship with Jesus. We can remain in His love. We can live the Beatitudes wherever God plants us. In fact, that is why the Lord made us: to know, love, and serve Him in this world and to be happy with Him forever in heaven.