Homily for the Solemnity of All Saints

Rv 7:2-4, 9-14
Ps 24: 1bc-2, 3-4ab, 5-6
I Jn 3:1-3
Mt 5:1-12a

The practice of venerating and invoking the intercession of saints is an ancient one in the Church. Veneration of the saints was known by the 4th century when it was a local phenomenon that grew by popular acclaim. Eventually the veneration of saints degenerated into superstition. It still appears superstitious to many. And, the unhappy truth is that there are superstitious customs that have nothing to do with sanctity, faith, or saints. Burying a statue of St. Joseph upside down in the lawn so as to sell the house is bizarre, at the very least. However, the Saints are important to our spiritual health. Their lives are guides for living the Christian life. They are our models of Christian life. They are our intercessors at the throne of heaven.

The Church sets the first day of November as a holy day of obligation in honor of all the saints. The Solemnity of All Saints honors ALL saints, those who have been formally canonized and those known only to God. The readings help to explain why, and what, sainthood is. 

The first reading from Revelation is fascinating. Revelation is the most wildly misunderstood and misused book in all of scripture. It is part of the difficult genre of Biblical literature known as apocalyptic. Note: it is not Ancient Near Eastern science fiction. Apocalyptic literature was meant to give hope during times of persecution. It was written in a such a way that it was understood by those who were persecuted while remaining unintelligible to those outside. Something like the way teenagers speak when their parents and teachers are around.

It is a difficult literature. The symbolism is dense. The meaning of some of the symbols and allusions is, and will remain, unknown. Numerology is part of that symbolism. The numbers cannot be taken literally. Just as Chinese hotels may omit floors or rooms with the number four because the pronunciation of four sounds too much like the pronunciation of death and many American hotels do not have a 13th floor, there were meanings attached to numbers in apocalyptic that went beyond the signifying an amount.

Sainthood, seeing the face of God, is not limited to the 144,000 described in Revelation. At least not as an absolute number. Certain fundamentalist sects would argue against that statement to the death, but that is their problem not ours. 

In Revelation the number 1000 signifies an immense number, the equivalent of "a bazillion" today. Remember, hyperbole is not a 20th century American invention. One hundred forty-four is the square of twelve, a number that carries its own symbolism within the tribes of Israel. Thus, 144,000 signifies a multitude beyond counting, an infinite number, that exceeds even the current U.S. national debt or the tuition at Boston College. 

Though few of us will be canonized we are all called to sainthood. Despite the claims of the rapturists and other odd-ball Christian and pseudo-Christian sects, there is room for everyone. Who can hope to be numbered among the saints? Who can hope to ascend the mountain of the Lord? One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain. 

As John wrote in his letter, God the Father has bestowed such love on us that we are the children of God. We are his beloved because of Jesus’ radical self-surrender. That radical self-surrender brought sinful humanity to redemption. His act opened the path to those who wish to ascend the mountain of the Lord. 

The stepping stones of that path are outlined in the reading from Matthew’s Gospel, which is far and away the most well-known part of the significantly longer Sermon on the Mount. Read through these “Blessed are” statements some time today. They are an expansion of the psalmist’s answer to the questions: "Who can ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place?" The Beatitudes tell us how to be among those whose hands are sinless, whose hearts are clean and who desire not what is vain. 

We do not know what we will be. We do not know what it will be like to be in God’s presence. We do not know what it will be like to be numbered among the saints. But Matthew tells us it will be wonderful. There is no reason to quibble with that. 
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I'd been in Slovenia for about six weeks by All Saint's Day. Fr. Jože Roblek asked if I wanted to go to Preddvor with him. He grew up in nearby Bašelj. The drive was under an hour. We stopped at the farm his sister still manages. She cooked lunch. Those of you who grew up in Polish families in Plymouth can imagine the size of the lunch. Afterwards we concelebrated Mass at the parish church in Preddvor, his family church. It was a most remarkable day. 

Slovenians honor their dead in solemn fashion. All Saint's day is a holiday observed with Mass and visits to the family plot in the cemetery. I was blown away. The photos today show Bašelj and some of the church in Preddvor. I will post more photos and some details about the Mass in Preddvor with the homily for All Souls.

The farm in Bašelj.  We never lacked for eggs in the community given the number of chickens.

The welcoming committee

Fr. Jože's sister cooking.  Superb cook.  Had the chance to say hello when she came to a celebration at the church the day before I returned to U.S. this most recent trip.

The village of Bašelj (pronounced, more or less, BOSH lee) which has a population of less than 350.  

Most of the village.

Desert.  I went for a walk before lunch.  Good thing.

The church in Preddvor.

The church yard.  This photo demanded a black and white conversion. 

The back of the church.  It  was jammed for the All Saints Mass with people in the aisles and standing on the steps.  Photos from the cemetery on Friday with the All Soul's Day homily

The mountains from the church yard. 

+Fr. Jack, SJ, MD