All Saints Day, Year C
Fr. Albert
St. Peter Catholic Church, New Iberia
When New Orleans first sought to create a team to join the NFL, someone approached Archbishop Hannan, then Archbishop of New Orleans, to ask him about the name. They wanted to know if he would mind that they used the name the “Saints” for a football team. His response was simple “That’s fine with me, but remember that most of our saints were martyrs.” Indeed, for most of Archbishop Hannan’s life, his little warning proved to be quite apt. The Saints were notorious for their ability to lose and the brown paper bag was a regular sight at many of the games.
But, not long before Archbishop Hannan finally passed on to his reward, he was able to see a single great victory on the part of the Saints. The now famous newspaper headline was simply “Amen.” Amen, indeed. That Superbowl victory was long awaited and joyfully received. Many even gave some credit for the city’s recovery after Katrina to the Saints’ gradual rise to victory. When the Saints finally won, I remember thinking that it was something like Simeon’s canticle for Archbishop Hannan. His famous prayer when the child Jesus was presented in the temple and, taking him in his arms, he gave thanks to God for being able to glimpse the savior before his death. “Now Lord, you may let your servant go in peace, for my eyes have sent the Salvation you have prepared.” Of course, it was just football after all, but I think that it makes a fitting analogy.
Christ says blessed are the poor, the meek, the merciful, the clean, the peacemakers. Blessed are those who are persecuted. This teaching, at the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount, is not merely a description, but an invitation and a command. Christ is not just informing us that such people are blessed, but urging us to seek God’s blessing by emulating these traits. For most of Christian history and for most Saints, persevering in the midst of persecution and apparent failure is just how it goes. Meekness, Poverty, and Purity are never appreciated by the world and proclaiming the truth about God always invites persecution sooner or later.
And we should be somewhat comfortable with that fact. Like it was for the football team, the saints of the Church are often something that the world is ashamed of. Mother Teresa and John Paul II are notable exceptions, but trust me when I tell you they are not without their fair share of detractors. So it is with the faith and we are not wrong to expect persecution even in this great country so renowned for so long for its freedom. But, as with Archbishop Hannan and the football team, it’s not always doom and gloom. Every once in a great while, a great light shines through and we see victory.
Indeed, today is such a day when we celebrate victory; the victory of the saints. “We are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed.” But, the Church peels back the veil of heaven just a little and gives us a glimpse through the book of Revelation. It gives a “vision of a great multitude… wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.” They cry out in joyful worship and even prostrate themselves. Unlike the cheers at a football game, these cheers echo for eternity.
And how we long to join them! How we long to be in that number when the saints go marching in! To be free of sorrow and pain; to be united with our God who alone satisfies the constant anguish and boredom lurks within our noisy hearts and minds. What will it be like? We have a few glimpses in the saints and in Scripture, but ultimately we know only that “when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.” And that, incidentally, is how we can guide ourselves to him. The fact is that every single one of you is called to be a saint, not just the few priests and religious that we all know. St. Therese tells us of her little way and her parents are themselves proof that any state of life can lead to sanctity. But how? By striving to see him as he is.
We see Christ as he is in Scripture – read scripture often! We see Christ as he is in prayer – pray as often as you can. We see Christ in the teachings of the Church – never stop learning the faith. Use the Formed program that brings great resources right to your home computer and costs you nothing. We should see Christ in the faces of the poor and the outcast and so serve him there to see him as he is. Lastly, strive to see Christ in the Liturgy. Mass is not just a communal gathering, it is also meant to be a participation in the heavenly liturgy – the victory march we see in the book of Revelation. The signs, symbols, words, and gestures all point to something higher. Actively participating in the Liturgy – setting aside our own preferences, paying attention, and doing what the Church asks – this gradually helps us to see him as he really is, not as the world likes to pretend he is.
O when the saints go marching in, how I’d like to be in that number. How I’d like to see you in that number too.