“And one of the ancients answered, and said to me: These that are clothed in white robes, who are they? and whence came they? And I said to him: My Lord, thou knowest. And he said to me: These are they who are come out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and have made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and they serve him day and night in his temple: and he, that sitteth on the throne, shall dwell over them.
They shall no more hunger nor thirst, neither shall the sun fall on them, nor any heat. For the Lamb, which is in the midst of the throne, shall rule them, and shall lead them to the fountains of the waters of life, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes.” —Revelation 7:13-17
Today is the feast of All Saints, the eve of which has gradually turned into the popular holiday Halloween (a contraction of “All Hallows’ Eve”). We live in a world which celebrates and justifies mediocrity. Perhaps never before in history has there been such a dearth of great men and women, and particularly a dearth of holy men and women. I’ve had the great honor to know a few saints in my life, but sanctity is no longer appreciated, even by Christians.
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect,” said Jesus Christ (Matt. 5:48), but to listen to most pastors and priests from various Christian churches today, one would think Jesus had said, “Do ye therefore as little as you possibly can, because you are going to get into heaven regardless.”
If the COVID-19 pandemic taught us one thing, it is that the world is in crying need of great and good leaders. But the wonderful truth is that every single person is called to be a saint, and it is possible for every single person to be a saint. Saints come from every possible background and station in life, from every part of the world, men and women who were holy from birth and men and women who were criminals before they were saints.
It was this truth of the universal call to holiness that the Catholic Church championed for so many centuries (despite the all-too-many Catholics who were anything but saints), and which has been fading from Christian consciousness since the Protestant Revolt, but most particularly within the last hundred years. But we can choose to remedy that. This is the perfect time for Christians to take up Jesus’s challenge once more, while remembering and honoring all those who went before.
Great read.
I know you're a Catholic (or Anglican or something like that) but Halloween is nothing more than a celebration of evil...it amazes me how many independent Bible churches still celebrate Halloween with the children...such a lack of faith in the Bible...
Also, all people who have accepted Jesus as their Lord and Saviour are "saints"....there aren't special people that are called saints just because some man on earth has proclaimed them as such