We Are God’s Children Now

Solemnity of All Saints

By Melanie Rigney

… I had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue. They stood before the throne and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands. They cried out in a loud voice: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” (Revelation 7:9-10)

Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face. (Psalms 24:6)

Beloved, we are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed. (1 John 3:2)

He began to teach them, saying: “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are they who mourn, for they will be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the land. Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be satisfied. Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy. Blessed are the clean of heart, for they will see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Blessed are they who are persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when they insult you and persecute you and utter every kind of evil against you (falsely) because of me. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward will be great in heaven. Thus they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” (Matthew 5:2-12)

Piety

Lord, have mercy on us.
CHRIST, have mercy on us.
LORD, have mercy on us.
CHRIST, hear us.
CHRIST, graciously hear us.
GOD, THE FATHER OF HEAVEN, have mercy on us.
GOD THE SON, REDEEMER OF THE WORLD, have mercy on us.
GOD THE HOLY GHOST, have mercy on us.
HOLY TRINITY, ONE GOD, have mercy on us.
HOLY MARY, pray for us.
HOLY MOTHER OF GOD, pray for us.
HOLY VIRGIN OF VIRGINS, pray for us.
ST. MICHAEL, pray for us.
ST. GABRIEL, pray for us.
ST. RAPHAEL, pray for us.
ALL YE HOLY ANGELS AND ARCHANGELS, pray for us… (beginning of the Litany of the Saints)

Study

“Mother, how can I become a saint?” the young Clelia Barbieri asked. Her mother’s response is lost to time, but the question was certainly prescient. Clelia was only eleven when she made her First Communion in 1858… and on that same day had her first mystic experience. She was twenty-one when she established a group that would become the Little Sisters of Our Lady of Sorrows, the youngest founder ever of a Catholic religious community. Clelia was dead two years later, a tuberculosis victim. She was canonized in 1989; the order still has about 350 members and works with children, the sick, and the elderly in Italy, India, Tanzania and Brazil.

It may not sound like a particularly saintly life: no martyrdom. No lengthy life of service. But saintly, she was.

Today, we remember the saints and their heroic virtues. Often, we think of the best known, the Blessed Virgin, John the Baptist, Joseph, the apostles, Mary Magdalene, and the like. But thousands of other lesser known beatified and canonized people led simple, faith-filled lives that can inspire us: people like Clelia Barbieri. People like Charlie Rodriguez Santiago, a Puerto Rican layman who advocated for active lay participation in the Mass before Vatican II. People like Luigi and Maria Quattrocchi, who were married for more than forty years, raised four children, and are the first lay couple to be beatified together.

As we pray with them all today, may we remember the challenge that the Catechism of the Catholic Church throws down to each and every one of us: “All Christians in any state or walk of life are called to the fullness of Christian life and to the perfection of charity. All are called to holiness: ‘Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.’”

Action

Ask yourself: “How can I become a saint?” Try to do one thing today that answers your call to holiness.