“Lord, this is the people that longs to see our face.”
This is the responsorial verse for today’s readings. Today we celebrate the feast of All Saints. Throughout the year, there are countless saints who are honored with a feast day. There are many people who have never been declared a saint but are, in fact, saints. Thus, we celebrate this day to honor all those who have gone home to God’s heavenly kingdom. All who reside in heaven with God are counted among the saints.
We who are still living the earthly life are the “people that longs to see your face.” As Christians, our destiny is Heaven. So, we honor those who have achieved their destiny. We do not worship the saints. God is the only one we worship. We venerate saints.
We cannot earn our way into Heaven. We are imperfect and we sin. Fortunately, Jesus has paid the price for our sins.
Does that we have it easy now, that we have to do is wait until it is our time? No, we must strive to life as Christ calls us to. It begins with the Beatitudes found in today’s gospel.
It is in striving to live the life that Jesus calls us to that we pray for the help of the saints. However, it is not the saints themselves that answer our prayers. They cannot perform miracles or intervene in our lives. As the ones who reside in the Heavenly Kingdom, they pray to God, asking for our help.
Peace,
Fr. Jeff