20181101
SAINTS ARE THOSE WHO
HAVE PURIFIED THEMSELVES IN CHRIST
01 NOVEMBER,
2018, Thursday, All Saints
Readings at Mass
Liturgical Colour: White.
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First reading
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Apocalypse 7:2-4,9-14 ©
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I saw a huge number, impossible to
count, of people from every nation, race, tribe and language
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I, John, saw another angel rising where
the sun rises, carrying the seal of the living God; he called in a powerful
voice to the four angels whose duty was to devastate land and sea, ‘Wait before
you do any damage on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal
on the foreheads of the servants of our God.’ Then I heard how many were
sealed: a hundred and forty-four thousand, out of all the tribes of Israel.
After
that I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of people from every nation, race,
tribe and language; they were standing in front of the throne and in front of
the Lamb, dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands. They shouted
aloud, ‘Victory to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!’ And all
the angels who were standing in a circle round the throne, surrounding the
elders and the four animals, prostrated themselves before the throne, and
touched the ground with their foreheads, worshipping God with these words,
‘Amen. Praise and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honour and power and
strength to our God for ever and ever. Amen.’
One
of the elders then spoke, and asked me, ‘Do you know who these people are,
dressed in white robes, and where they have come from?’ I answered him, ‘You
can tell me, my lord.’ Then he said, ‘These are the people who have been
through the great persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in
the blood of the Lamb.’
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Responsorial Psalm
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Psalm 23(24):1-6 ©
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Such are the men who
seek your face, O Lord.
The Lord’s is the earth and its fullness,
the world and all its peoples.
It is he who set it on the seas;
on the waters he made it firm.
Such are the men who
seek your face, O Lord.
Who shall climb the mountain of the Lord?
Who shall stand in his holy
place?
The man with clean hands and pure heart,
who desires not worthless
things.
Such are the men who
seek your face, O Lord.
He shall receive blessings from the Lord
and reward from the God who
saves him.
Such are the men who seek him,
seek the face of the God of
Jacob.
Such are the men who
seek your face, O Lord.
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Second reading
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1 John 3:1-3 ©
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We shall be like God because we shall
see him as he really is
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Think of the love that the Father has
lavished on us,
by letting us be called God’s
children;
and that is what we are.
Because the world refused to acknowledge
him,
therefore it does not
acknowledge us.
My dear people, we are already the
children of God
but what we are to be in the
future has not yet been revealed;
all we know is, that when it is revealed
we shall be like him
because we shall see him as he
really is.
Surely everyone who entertains this hope
must purify himself, must try
to be as pure as Christ.
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Gospel Acclamation
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Mt11:28
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Alleluia, alleluia!
Come to me, all you who labour and are
overburdened
and I will give you rest, says the Lord.
Alleluia!
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Gospel
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Matthew 5:1-12a ©
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How happy are the poor in spirit
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Seeing the crowds, Jesus went up the hill.
There he sat down and was joined by his disciples. Then he began to speak. This
is what he taught them:
‘How happy are the poor in spirit;
theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
Happy the gentle:
they shall have the earth for
their heritage.
Happy those who mourn:
they shall be comforted.
Happy those who hunger and thirst for what
is right:
they shall be satisfied.
Happy the merciful:
they shall have mercy shown
them.
Happy the pure in heart:
they shall see God.
Happy the peacemakers:
they shall be called sons of
God.
Happy those who are persecuted in the
cause of right:
theirs is the kingdom of
heaven.
‘Happy are you when people abuse you and
persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice
and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.’
SAINTS ARE THOSE WHO HAVE PURIFIED
THEMSELVES IN CHRIST
SCRIPTURE READINGS: [ REV 7:2-4, 9-14; 1 JN 3:1-3; MT 5:1-12 ]
The feast of All Saints
certainly is one of the happiest feasts we celebrate in the Church’s liturgy. For this feast celebrates not only
the victory of our loved ones who have gone before us but our hope and final
destiny as well. To know that our loved ones are already there and have
won the victory over sin should inspire us as well in our sojourn on this
earth. This joy is ours even as St John wrote, “what we are to be in the
future has not yet been revealed; all we know is, that when it is revealed we
shall be like him because we shall see him as he really is.”
But is this feast ours
as well? Is it true to say
that the feast of All Saints is a celebration of every one of us and not just
the saints in heaven? In a way it is true that this is our feast, but we
have not yet arrived, although we all have what it takes to become a
saint. Hence, the second reading begins with an attitude of thanksgiving
for having the honour to be able to call ourselves sons of God. To become
a Saint is simply to become completely what we already are – a child of God,
loved by the Father. This presupposes that we are transformed in the
image of His Son, and so share in God’s own life and happiness. So
although we are God’s children, we do not enjoy the full sonship until we become
like God. How then can we arrive with the saints in heaven and share in
the joys of the saints?
Firstly, saints are those who have
lived out their identity as the children of God. Indeed, by virtue of
our baptism, we are all made children of God. As St John says, “Think of
the love that the Father has lavished on us, by letting us be called God’s
children; and that is what we are. Because the world refused to
acknowledge him, therefore it does not acknowledge us. My dear people, we are
already the children of God.” The question is, do we believe that
we are children of God? The truth is that the early Christians did, and
that is why St Paul addressed the early Christians as saints. In the
first reading the angels were instructed thus, “Wait before you do any damage
on land or at sea or to the trees, until we have put the seal on the foreheads
of the servants of our God.”
Unfortunately, although we are
truly children of God by baptism through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit,we
often forget our identity. Yes, by our baptism, we are saying that we
want to be saints. Many people are shy, or deny that they want to be
saints. They keep saying that they are not worthy to be saints. Not
worthy or capable is one thing, but not wanting to be saints is another matter
altogether.
It is as good as refusing to acknowledge this
reality with the rest of humanity in the world. When we deny our
identity as the children of God and therefore saints in principle, we would
then not bother to live as such. So it is important right from the start
to always to remember who we are: children of God and His saints.
Secondly, saints are those who have been
purified in faith and love. Of course, to assert that we are children
of God is not the same as claiming that we have arrived. Rather, we know
who we are and seek and strive to be faithful to our calling and sonship in
Christ. Rightly so, St John says, “surely everyone who entertains this
hope must purify himself, must try to be as pure as Christ.” So whilst we
are technically saints, we are still growing to become one.
Isn’t this is what
baptism is all about?
Who is a saint? Isn’t he one who has put on Christ? Indeed, we read
that the saints “were standing in front of the throne and in front of the Lamb,
dressed in white robes and holding palms in their hands.” Baptism is therefore
called a Christening service because we put on Christ. In the same vein,
when we choose a baptismal name, we express our desire to imitate that
particular saint in his or her virtues. Hence, he or she is called our
patron saint. A patron is one who supports us. So not only do we
seek to imitate the saints’ virtues but that they will support us in our
journey to saintliness and holiness through their examples and intercession.
Thirdly, saints are those who witness to
Christ even under persecution and opposition. As the book of
Revelation says, “These are the people who have been through the great
persecution, and they have washed their robes white again in the blood of the
Lamb.” Only those who have suffered with and for Christ, even unto death,
can truly share in the resurrected life of Christ. This is affirmed by
Jesus in the gospel when He said, “Happy are you when people abuse you and
persecute you and speak all kinds of calumny against you on my account. Rejoice
and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven.” Isn’t this what
baptismal life requires? After all, to be baptized is to share in the
death and resurrection of Christ. Those who were dressed in white robes
symbolize the purity of the Father and demonstrate that they have won a great
victory.
What, then, is the secret to live out this kind
of life? It is none other than to live out the beatitudes proposed to
us by Christ. Living out the beatitudes is already to live a blessed life
and therefore a foretaste of life to come. These beatitudes were
lived out by Jesus before they were taught to us. It can be said that
these beatitudes guided Jesus in His life on earth.
Yes, we must cultivate
the virtue of poverty of spirit by being dependent on God totally
and obedient to His commands. Only in this way can we become
selfless, merciful, compassionate, pure and forgiving. We are called to
live a life of holiness in contradiction to the values of the world. Only
a man who lives such a life of holiness, even in the face of opposition, can be
said to be truly free.
However, it must be said that saints
are those who have won the victory through the blood of the lamb.
They won the victory not by their own strength but by the grace given to them
through the death of Jesus. By contemplating on the death of Jesus on the
cross, they too could survive crises by keeping their sights on the living God
and uniting themselves with the sacrifice of Christ. So let it be said,
the call to sainthood is a privilege as much as our cooperation with His grace
at work in us. So we do not become saints by mere efforts alone but by
allowing the grace of God to operate in our lives.
Finally, we can have confidence in
God’s overwhelming love, as the vision presents us with much hope and
confidence, since John said, “I saw a huge number, impossible to count, of
people from every nation, race, tribe and language.” It is our hope that
we will eventually arrive, albeit some of us might need further purification
upon death in purgatory. That is why we turn to the saints as our models
to inspire us to live a holy life and also to persevere till the end.
Written
by The Most Rev William Goh, Roman Catholic Archbishop of Singapore © All
Rights Reserved
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