All Saints Day November 1, 2021
Fr. Albert St. John the Evangelist, Jeanerette
“Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? or who may stand in his holy place?” So our psalm asks… it’s a version of the question “who goes to heaven?” Fitting on All Saints Day, the day we celebrate all those who have gone to heaven, whether we know their name or not. This is a day of joy, of celebration, of victory, of thanksgiving… the very meaning of the word Eucharist.
Yet, it is also a day of wondering, “what will it take for me to join them?” What will it take for this day to become my feast day? Even if you are not canonized and given your own special date on the calendar, by going to heaven, you are by definition a saint and this day in the future will celebrate you. But what does it take? What can I learn from the saints of how I can follow?
The psalm answers that question, the one who can stand in God’s holy place is “One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.” Three qualities, three goals to set if we are to make it up the holy mountain.
“One whose hands are sinless.” This is the baseline. Just as Jesus’ preaching begins with the word “repent,” so the journey to heaven starts with what we don’t do. Don’t sin, don’t do evil. But who can say their hands are sinless? Not me, that’s for sure. But we look to the saints revealed in the Book of Revelation. What makes their hands sinless? “They have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb.” Stained by wicked deeds, their hands become clean through the work of washing their robes in the blood of Christ. This is symbolic of the work of repentance, of reparation.
Of course this means confession, which wipes away guilt. But every sin puts us in debt, leaves us liable to some punishment. Especially with All Souls Day tomorrow, we ought to remember that the penances given in confession are just a minimum. Every one of us should do the work of reparation, of doing penances, of serving, of acts of charity to pay back our spiritual debt and the spiritual debts of those gone before us. Wash your hands in his blood though love and self-denial so that your hands may be sinless.
“Whose heart is clean.” As Jesus tells us, the clean of heart are blessed “for they will see God.” This is not just purity from lust, but a focusing of the heart on God above all… on God to the deliberate exclusion of other things. St. John tells us “We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope based on him makes himself pure, as he is pure.” This means that seeing God and purity of heart are a kind of feedback loop of holiness. To gaze upon godly things purifies the heart and purifying the heart enables us to better see godly things. The core, however, is the idea of “hope.” Not hope as in wishful thinking – “I hope to win the lottery” – but hope as in an expectation of reward, hope as the motivation for what you do.
What do you hope for? What do you get up in the morning for? What do you think of in difficulty? It takes a conscious choice – a million conscious choices – to set your heart on the promises of God. I endure suffering why? For heavenly glory. I put up with difficult people, why? Because God rewards it and because I hope to see his glory in that person, even though it’s difficult now. Set your hopes, your motives on seeing God and his glory, and your heart will become clean.
“Who desires not what is vain.” Ecclesiastes famously tells us “all is vanity.” All, that is, that is of this world. Much like cleanliness of heart, this is about setting our stock on heavenly things, heavenly treasures. “Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness.” The choice of words there is deliberate. Food and drink are great – especially in Louisiana – but they are ultimately vain, fleeting, unimportant in the grand scheme.
Which do you long for more? A nice steak, or that laborers be paid a fair wage? A fine wine or that those who’ve been robbed have what is theirs restored to them? A sweet desert or an end to laws that take advantage of and objectify human beings? Desire not what is vain, but instead long for justice, for righteousness, for holiness. This is the value of regular fasting, of literally setting aside food and drink – or perhaps some other luxury – in order to focus on justice.
Of course, we have to eat and drink to survive and this is God’s design. So, Jesus not only commanded us to long for righteousness, but even made it possible to literally eat and drink that righteousness in the form of bread and wine. As you receive communion – literally or even spiritually – let it stir up every greater hunger for righteousness.
“Lord this is the people that longs to see you face.” Are you? Wash your hands in his blood through repentance. Cleanse your hearts with heavenly hope. Hunger and thirst for righteousness. Then come, eat, drink and ascend the mountain of the Lord.