October 25

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I must confess; I love the saints! That might seem like an odd thing to admit or maybe something that doesn’t warrant a confession, but the reality is, my love of the saints is likely deeper than you would likely give me credit for. It’s this affection for the saints that makes me so happy for the celebration coming up for next weekend’s Masses.

And so, on the practical level of things, next weekend, since November 1 st falls on a Sunday, rather than having the 31 st Sunday in Ordinary Time, we will be celebrating All Saints Day instead, for both the Sunday Masses and the Saturday Vigil Mass. A Solemnity in its own right and typically a Holy Day of Obligation, it supersedes the regular Sunday celebration in this case. All of this means that for just showing up for your regular Mass this upcoming weekend, you get treated to a special set of readings and prayers about the saints.

There’s a good reason for both my love of the saints and for their significance in our Catholic faith. For some of us, we may think about the saints in terms of particular help, such as the various patron saints of occupations, or lost articles, or the like. But there’s a lot more of a role that all the saints play in our life of faith. Yes, seeking their intercession is an important part of our interaction with them, but they’re not heavenly vending machines; you don’t just say a prayer and get your thing. The saints are also much more than the heroic stories or stained glass windows that we often see them in. They’re really the best of humanity; individuals who knew God and loved Him so well in life on Earth that they are now with Him for eternity in heaven. And their humanity is to be celebrated. St. Lawrence and St. Philip Neri were known for their sense of humor. St. Augustine is famous not just for his intellect but for his slow acceptance of the Gospel earlier in his life. Padre Pio could be gruff in his confessional, but always spoke the truth to the person and told them what they needed to hear. St. Carlo Acutis played soccer with his buddies after school.

The saints show us what a life of holiness can look like, in all its various forms, and that our humanity is necessarily part of it. And in the celebration of All Saints' Day, we recall the immense number of saints in heaven, the famous as well as the local and homegrown. And it all serves as a beautiful reminder that all of us, and yes, I mean ALL OF US, are called to live as saints in our day too. Heroic deeds and incredible virtue are what we should be striving for, but even small deeds done with great love can lead to holiness of life. And so, may we all strive to live like the saints.

Peace and Goodness,

Fr. Dan