Fr. Francis Di Spigno, OFM,
Pastor
Is everyone a saint? If you’re like me you immediately thought of a few people and instinctively replied with an emphatic NO! Putting aside our great ability to judge others, I think we can objectively say that no, not every one is saint. But I can still hear the echo of Fr. Steve’s greeting at Mass, “Saints of God.” Fr. Steve is not a heretic, at least not in this case, since he was quoting St. Paul’s greeting in his letter to the faithful of Rome and was reminding us who we are called to be: “To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints…” [Romans 1:7]
The Letter to the Philippians begins with, “Paul and Timothy, slaves of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and ministers: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. [Phil 1:1]
For a third time, St. Paul also addresses the followers of Jesus in Ephesus as saints when he wrote, “Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints who are in Ephesus, faithful in Christ Jesus: grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." [Eph 1:1]
There is definitely a pattern here, no? But confusion still exists. In part, some of it can be attributed to translation and definition. The key phrase for St. Paul can be translated as “saints” or can be translated as “holy ones.” I suspect we may be more comfortable with being called “holy ones” because we typically think of saints as those who have gone before us and are now in total union with God. That is where our definitions are important, but as the word “love” has many definitions and understandings, there is no reason why “saints” cannot be interpreted for the living as well as the dead.
As a Christian community, we believe that we are sanctified [made holy, set apart to a sacred purpose] by our baptism [Rom 6:22; 15:16; 1 Cor 6:11; Eph 5:26–27] and called to holiness [1 Cor 1:2; 1 Thes 4:7], that is, called to conform our lives to the gift we have already received. Although we believe that not everyone is a saint, both St. Paul and Fr. Steve remind us that we too are holy ones, saints, in our own time, as we struggle to live out our faith in Jesus Christ.
Today’s celebration of All Saints reminds us that sainthood is not just for those recognized by the Church but for everyone who believes in Christ.
We know the stories of St. Francis and St. Clare. Without a doubt, St. Ignatius, Mother Theresa, St. Augustine and his mother, St. Monica, lived heroic and holy lives. Today we remember the countless women and men who also lived saintly lives without the publicity or canonical cause for sainthood, but are now truly with the Lord.
Saints of God, may we all be blessed with the same Spirit that sanctified all the holy people who have gone before us so that our lives may also be conformed to the life of Christ. Let us also pray for all of those people we thought of when we first started reading this letter. May they too be blessed with the same Spirit that gives life and help lead us to recognize God’s holiness in everyone before us.
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