November 1, 2015

November 1, 2015

Feast of All Saints

Revelation 7: 2-4, 9-14; 1 John 3: 1-3; Matthew 5: 1-12

Today is the feast of All Saints. It’s a time to reflect on the saints who have passed through my life. Some questions: Was I named after a particular saint? Was I named after a relative or friend of the family? What were the attributes of these people that were admired and treasured that our parents wanted them remembered in me? When I received the sacrament of Confirmation I received a name: did I choose the name or was it chosen for me? If I choose it, why did I pick out this name? Was it the name of a particular saint that I admired? What was there that attracted me to this particular saint? Did I do research on this ‘special saint? Why? Why not?

The bottom line is that Heaven is where God is. Heaven is where the Saints are. Jesus said that each person He created has a special place in heaven prepared for them? Heaven is about Love. God is love. Every person has been called to love, always, under all circumstances. To inherit heaven each person must be a person of love. How am I doing?

So the reflective question arises: Am I living my life today with heaven as my goal? Am I trying to be a saint TODAY? Am I a loving person?

So what holds me back from a wholehearted response to the call of Jesus to be with Him in Heaven…to be a saint. It can’t be that I don’t consider myself worthy…because it’s not about ‘worthy’, it’s about responding to God’s grace each day and living more in love. This is what holiness is—responding to the call of love. Jesus constantly said that ‘Now is the acceptable time…’ The very things that I view are obstacles to love are the very means God is giving me and all to draw us to depend more deeply on Him. Ralph Martin in his wonderful book The Fulfillment of all Desire, a Guidebook for the Journey to God Based on the Wisdom of the Saints shares these wonderful points. “It is true that sometimes we don’t hit the goal we’re aiming at, and it’s good to have a backup. If we aim for heaven at the moment of our death,, and indeed die in friendship with Christ but haven’t been transformed enough to be ready for the sight of God purgatory is a wonderful blessing. But if we aim for purgatory and miss, there really isn’t a good backup available. The source of all our unhappiness and misery is sin and it effects, and the sooner the purification of sin and its effects can take place inner life, the happier we will be and the better able to truly love others.”

The saints knew this and worked on being loving people. When St. Francis of Assisi was moved to stop what he was doing to pray, he started praying immediately. St. Catherine of Siena also was prompt in responding to God’s inspirations whenever they camel St. Francis de Sales’ famous book Introduction to the Devout Life shows how frequent, careful and prompt responses to the will of God helped one live a deeper life of love. St. Teresa of Avila said this, “A soul to whom God grants such pledges has a sign that He wants to give it a great deal; if not impeded through its own fault, it will advance very far. But if the Lord sees that after He places the kingdom of heaven in the souls house this should turns to earthly things, He will not only fail to show it the secrets there are in His kingdom but will seldom grant it this favor, and then for just a short space of time.”

Heaven is the goal: St. Therese of Lisieux, the Little Flower, in her life story published after her death under the title of The Story of a Soul said that if heaven existed, all people had to be evaluated accordingly. Life on earth is passing and life in heaven is eternal. This has definite consequences for how each person believes and makes choices now. Therese saw with astounding logic that the greatest good anyone could wish for any human being we love is to wish them heaven. DO I DO THIS? What is hindering me?

Do I seek heaven? St. Paul says how few there are who can say, “And all of us, with unveiled faces, seeing the glory of the Lord as thought reflected in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another; for this comes from the Lord, the Spirit.” the saints speak frequently of the two main obstacles that hold people back from making progress on their spiritual journey: a lack of knowledge and a lack of desire. My lack of knowledge is my self knowledge and my knowledge of God. Ralph Martin shares that “Self knowledge involves both knowledge of the great dignity and beauty of the human soul in its exalted destiny as well as a profound understanding of the wounds and darkness that sin inflicts.

These individual quotes from Ralph Martin’s book help me to keep my eyes focused on my journey to the Lord.

From St. Bernard:

“My opinion is that all those who lack knowledge God are those who refuse to turn to Him.

From St. John of the Cross

“While we are on this earth, nothing is more important to us than humility….In my opinion we shall never completely know ourselves if we don’t strive to know God. By gazing at His grandeur, we get in touch with our own lowliness; b looking at His purity, we shall see our own filth; by pondering His humility, we shall see how far we are from being humble.”

From St. Teresa of Avila,

“Well now, it is foolish to think that we will enter heaven without entering into ourselves, coming to know ourselves, reflecting on our misery and what we owe God, and begging Him often for mercy.”

St. Catherine of Siena frequently insisted in her writings on the need for our desire and thirst for God to grow. “If you would make progress, then you must be thirsty, because only those who are thirsty are called: ‘Let anyone who is thirsty come to Me and drink.” Those who are not thirsty will never persevere in their journey Either weariness or pleasure will make them stop.”

So how does one continue growing closer to the Lord. Growing in prayer is simply another dimension of growing in love. Am I praying the right way? Yes….the way I’m praying right now is the way that I should be praying. God shows us the way. Teresa of Avila insisted that the essence of prayer, either it is vocal or mental, kids paying attention to God…speaking and listening to Him. At the beginning it might seem that we are doing all the work, but as we progress we can see God’s hand and love leading us.

I have used this often in my retreats and heard this myself on retreat: the five most important sentences of all time are in Scripture and are said by God.

I Know you.

I love you.

I forgive you.

I understand you.

Do you know Me?

So I reflect on:

• How do I perceive heaven? What experience on earth do I think gives the bet picture of the life of the saints in heaven?

• What is the particular form of holiness that God is calling me to in my life?

Sacred Space 2015 says:

“Today and always, Jesus is ‘sitting down’ in the sacred space of my heart. I listen to Him and His words of life. Which Beatitude do I find most affirming? Which gives me most encouragement for my life journey right now?

Which of these Beatitudes challenges me the most? Whichever one I feel drawn to indicates my next step forward in my life’s journey.”