The Saints of God

On 1^st November, some Christian denominations celebrate All Saints Day. Saturday, 2^nd November, is designated All Souls Day by the Roman Catholic Church and is exuberantly observed as the Day of the Dead in parts of Latin America. Coincidentally, Halloween is celebrated on the eve of All Saints Day.  Many of our fundamentalist sisters and brothers will correctly point out the Pagan or pre-Christian origins of Halloween. Christian holidays have pre-Christian origins. A new religion simply adopts existing customs. That is how human life works. No reason to get in a snit over it. Eggs. Rabbits. Trees in the house. Get over it.

The word “saint” has a lot of weight for some of us. Was Mother Teresa a saint? Was Julian of Norwich? Will I be a saint? Roman Catholics have an elaborate system - canonization - of determining whether or not a particular person’s holiness during his or her lifetime approaches the required level of sanctity. The Episcopal Church has a canon of sorts, too, called Holy Women Holy Men in which lives of selected individuals are summarized and devotions offered. Others, believe that all professing Christians are, by definition, saints.  

The saints of the church, in whatever canon, are a wonderful study. There are stories of brave and terrible lives, miracles of the breath-taking type, miracles of the eye-rolling type. There are stories of jaw-dropping forgiveness, dramatic conversions, and slow beautiful realizations. No two are alike. Any "Lives of the Saints" volume is a wise addition to your library. Enduring Grace by Carol Flinders, a study of women mystics, is still in print after many years. My favorite Christian writer, Kathleen Norris, tells some wonderful saint stories in Cloister Walk.

We look to stories of saints for inspiration, education, amazement and, if we’re honest, entertainment. Who doesn't love Francis of Assisi stripping naked in the town square to divest himself of his wealth or Lucy gouging out her eyes so she wouldn't be tempted to pride by her beauty, only to have her vision restored? Or, in more modern times, Theresa of Lisieux realizing that sin doesn't matter so much, that all she wants is to win souls for Christ.

Usually, if we call a living person a saint, we are exaggerating their virtue as in “She’s a saint for putting up with him.” But we are made in the image of God and are possessed of a soul that is eternal. Because of the Incarnation, Christ is within each of us. Our greatest moments are grace filled and any one of us is capable of godly action. That we suppress this most of the time does not diminish our fundamental holiness. As C. S. Lewis says: Next to the Blessed Sacrament itself, your neighbor is the holiest object present to your senses.

I do not ever want to be called a saint. The word has too much baggage. I will never call anyone else a saint for that same reason. Yet, carefully looking at any other person, I cannot fail to see a glimmer of holiness, that face of Christ. I know this is true because it does not work with people on television, even people I know to be very wonderful, like Mr. Rogers.

All Saints Day is an extravagant feast, appropriately as Christianity is an extravagant religion. We are invited to consider our own favorite saints, our Biblical heroes, our departed friends and family members and all the untold faithful who have joined our Savior. This day leaves no one out. Paul of Tarsus, my Aunt Mary, your always-in-trouble cousin, the grumpy neighbor down the street. All Saints Day also invites us to see our own holiness and that of everyone we meet. As the hymn goes:

They lived not only in ages past
there are hundreds of thousands still
The world is bright with the joyous saints
Who love to do Jesus’ will.
You can meet them in school or in lanes or at sea,
In church, or in trains, or in shops or at tea.
For the saints of God are just folk like me,
And I mean to be one, too.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mrQor_dX3IM

For your listening pleasure, here is the entire hymn