Here are the scriptures for today's mass, All Saints Day - and here's a link to a video of my homily, the text of which follows below.
ALL Saints' Day.
There's a
cue for a song if I ever heard one!
🎵 🎵🎵Oh, when the saints, go marching inOh, when the saints go marching inOh, Lord, I want to be in that numberWhen the saints go marching in
Who are
ALL these saints?
Do I want
to be numbered among them?
(We just sang that.)
What would
I need to do to be a saint?
Could I
ever be a saint?
Could *I* ever be a saint?.
Yes, you
could - in fact, you may be.
Who are
the saints? I have two simple answers to that question. Saints are people who
pay attention - and who pay attention to making sure that they strive every day
- to pay attention.
And to
what do saints pay attention? Two things.
They pay attention to GOD,
and they
pay attention to their NEIGHBOR.
That's
what saints do.
Saints are simply people who pay attention
to the
presence of God in their lives,
to the
presence of God in their prayer,
to the
presence of God in creation all around us,
to the
presence of God in other people,
and
especially those who are right around us
AND those
who are anywhere in the world
who are
most in need.
Saints are
people who pay attention to the presence of God at home – the place you left -
where you came from this morning. God was there. You may have thought you'd
come to God's house but God was already living in yours. Saints, pay
attention to the presence of God at home, at work, at school, in their
neighborhood, in the community, and in the world -especially in the lives of
those who are poor and most vulnerable.
Saints are
people who pay attention
to being
honest. and faithful,
to being
fair and just,
to being
loyal and trustworthy,
to being
pure and compassionate,
day by day
by day.
Saints are
people who pay attention
to their
own faults and failings,
because
saints HAVE faults and failings
- saints,
sin!
But they
ACKNOWLEDGE their faults and failings.
They
acknowledge that they're flawed,
that
they're not perfect.
Saints
aren't perfect.
Saints are
people who make amends
for the
sins they acknowledge and confess.
Saints are
people who forgive those
who harm and hurt them.
Saints are
people who pay attention
to the
implications and the consequences
of their
habits, their decisions, their choices.
Saints are
people who pay attention
to their
political stands and opinions,
to their
investments and how they spend their money,
to how
they entertain themselves.
Saints are
people who pay attention
to their
attachment to their possessions
and how
they share those possessions.
Saints are
people who pay attention
LESS to
their own counsel and comfort
and MORE
to the demands
of the
wisdom of the ages,
the Word
of God,
the truth, the truth,
that has survived
the test
of time and the tumult of history.
Saints are
people who know the difference
between
paying attention
- and not
paying attention.
Saints are
people who pay attention
when no
one else does.
Saints are
people who pay attention,
even and
especially,
when
others REFUSE to pay attention
to what's
right in front of them.
And among
all the saints who have paid attention,
all the
saints we honor and celebrate today,
among all
those saints
are the
people in my life and yours
- who paid
attention to us,
because
they paid attention to God:
the saints
in our lives who paid attention
and
provided for our needs and took care of us.
Today, we
celebrate all the saints,
all the
men and women, in our lives
who gave
us life,
who loved
us,
raised us,
who rocked us
in their arms…
Who first
told us the story of Jesus,
who
brought us to church,
who raised
us in the ways of faith,
who taught
us how to pray…
Who
understood us,
who
educated us,
who
protected us,
who always
had time for us,
who dried
our tears,
who
schooled us in fairness,
who taught
us to love our neighbor,
who were
patient with us,
who
corrected us,
who loved
us
even when we
did not love ourselves….
Who walked
the extra mile with us,
who
sheltered us from harm,
who taught
us to tell the truth,
who
forgave us
again and
again and again…
Who gave
us a good example,
who taught
us right from wrong,
who were
honest with us,
who
believed in us,
who shared
in our joy,
who shared
their joy with us,
who lifted
up our spirits when we were sad,
who
touched our souls in so many ways,
who healed
our hearts,
whose
integrity shaped our standards…
Who always
remembered and never forgot us,
who lived
a life of faith,
who
inspired us,
who
sacrificed for us
in more
ways than we know or remember…
who shaped and helped us make
our best
memories,
whose
wisdom came from God,
who kept
our secrets,
who
comforted us,
who
encouraged us,
who
challenged us,
who
defended us,
who
chastised us,
who
consoled us,
whose
lives modeled faithfulness,
whose
courage made us brave…
Who were
there for us through thick and thin,
who taught
us how to cope,
who taught
us how to hope,
who
trusted us,
who took
our side,
who taught
us to care for those around us,
who
recognized and nurtured
our gifts
and our talents,
who had
our back,
who gave
us a second chance,
again and
again and again…
Who were
our rock and our refuge,
who cared
for us when we were sick,
who helped
us become the persons we are,
who spent
their whole lives loving us,
who prayed
for us and prayed for us
- and pray
for us still.
THESE are
all the saints we honor and celebrate today.
These are
the holy men and women
who have
been in our lives
- my life
and yours –
who have
been God's gift to us
and for
whom, today,
we give
God thanks and praise….
And we
pray that ALL of US
- that we
might be counted among the saints,
numbered
among the saints –
we pray
that in our own day,
in our own
ways,
in the
eyes of God
and in the
lives of those around us,
that we
too
might be
counted, loved, and remembered
in the
company of ALL God's saints.
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