Homily for the Solemnity of All Saints

Back in April of 2005, billions of people turned their attention to the ancient city of Rome for the celebration of the life and to mourn the passing of Pope John Paul II, who had died a few days earlier. In the course of the funeral, an amazing thing began to happen: amid the throngs of people at the funeral, the people started to chant, “Santo Subito!” People also held signs with those same words: “Santo Subito!” Loosely translated, it means, “Make him a saint immediately!”

 

Pope John Paul II lived a very public life, and it was a life rooted in God; it was a life of holiness. His holiness was so evident to the people that they could do nothing but acclaim the sanctity of this man who lived in our time and our midst. This call for sainthood showed that the people saw him as holy and worthy of being viewed as a saint in God’s eyes. So, they called the Church to see him in that same saintly light, and that call came to fruition at his canonization as a saint in April of 2014.

 

All Saints Day, which the Church celebrates today, is not just a day in which we honor those who have attained sainthood; it is also a day when we celebrate our common call to follow and become disciples of Jesus, our common call to live the lives of the saints.

 

One of my favorite spiritual writers is the late Trappist monk, Thomas Merton. Merton was once asked, “How does one become a saint?” 

 

There are many answers to that question: the proof of a miracle and the living out of a holy life. Of course, technically, one isn’t made a saint by the Church; the Church simply recognizes the sanctity of the person’s life and the belief that the person is in heaven.

 

But sainthood is the byproduct of a larger goal – to know and to love God with all our heart, with all our mind, and with all our soul. Such a strong and pure desire is what each of us is called to possess, and those who live out that desire in every aspect of their lives achieve that byproduct of sainthood.

 

But sanctity is something that we should all strive for in our lives, and the lives of the saints that we celebrate today and throughout the year are models of inspiration for us in our quest to be one with God.

 

Let us pray today and always that the saints will be examples of holiness for us and that their lives will give us the inspiration we need to truly live as God’s holy people.+