All Souls Day, Advent approacheth

It is November 1, which means it is the solemnity of All Saints. I’ll let Bishop Barron explain at least one take on this day:

Sometimes we look at sainthood—friendship with God—as the special preserve of a handful of spiritual heroes and not the ordinary goal of Christian life. But this feast reminds us that sainthood should be the desire of every believer. What matters most in life is being holy—being the person God wants you to be. Everything else is trivial. 

What does it mean to be a saint? It means to follow God’s will, which is to follow the way of love. And love is willing the good of the other as other. Our whole life is to be attuned to this path, which is also the path of authentic happiness. In the Beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount, the root Greek term for “blessed” is makarios, which can also be rendered as “happy.” How happy you are if you follow the law of the new Moses—if you risk the path of love! 

On this All Saints Day, resolve not to settle for spiritual mediocrity but to imitate the friends of God.

One of my favorite things to reflect on, and I have done so in the past (sorry, can’t find the link) is that All Saints is for all saints “known and unknown.” The “unknown” part is kind of interesting, right? Aren’t we supposed to know who the saints are? Aren’t they all written about in the books and honored throughout the year? Well - not all. Think of the many unknown martyrs, who were killed in groups, or in secret, and the world has no way of knowing them or their fate. Think of holy people who have died but have never officially been canonized - they are in heaven, too, as saints. So we do look to our tried-and-true friends in Heaven, but we can know that there are others, too, and they pray and intercede for us.

And, since it is November, I am of course thinking of Advent. It truly is a beautiful time of year: the waiting, the lights, the joy, the meaning. The first day of Advent this year is Sunday, November 30, and it lasts until Christmas Eve. Time to get out the Advent wreath! And make your Advent prayer plan - buy a prayer book, prepare your prayer corner, make a plan to give to charity - however it looks for you. Here’s five ideas.

My next radio appearance is Thursday, November 20 at 8:20 am eastern and I will be taking on a timely topic: how to spend the holidays alone. It can be done! And in a healthy way. Tune in to find out how.