Fr. Roger J. Landry
Espirito Santo Parish, Fall River, MA
All Saints Day
November 1, 2001
Rev 7:2-4,9-14; 1 Jn 3:1-3; Mt 5:1-12
Homiletic Notes
• St. Teresa of Avila, Siempre. Lived for heaven. Sought to live for God. Great joy through suffering here on earth. Greatness in heaven.
• Seen from perspective of ultimate meaning of life, not living for heaven doesn’t make sense.
• All Saints day is our day. One day we hope to be celebrated this day. All those in heaven. Expectation prior to graduation, prior to ordination. One day that would be me. Well one day we hope this feast will be ours.
• All the means are there. It’s a thing of desire. It’s wanting it. Story of Joe Vidauretta. So much talent. Didn’t have desire. I feel sadder about so many people today, who have greater gifts but waste them. The gift of the faith, the gift of the sacraments, the gift of life, but they just don’t invest them at all, they take them for granted. They don’t really have a desire to be Holy, to be like Christ. They have a series of counter-beatitudes, a certain list of things they think will make you happy, “money, sex, power, fame, vacation.” But Jesus says quite clearly they’re wrong. Tonight we are forced to ask if we want to succeed in the eyes of the world or in the eyes of God. Tonight we’re forced to make a choice, because if we fail to make a choice, we’ve chosen and failed.
Whereas the world say you have to be rich to be happy, Jesus says “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for they will inherit the kingdom of heaven.”
Whereas the world says, you’re happy when you don’t have a concern in the world, Jesus says “Blessed are those” who are so concerned with others that “they mourn” over the others’ miseries, “for they will be comforted” by him eternally.
Whereas the world says, “You have to be strong and powerful to be happy,” Jesus says blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.”
Whereas the world says, “To be happy, you’ve got to get ‘it,’” that “Happy is the one who scores with as many men and women as possible, Happy are men like Hugh Hefner or Hollywood vixens,” Jesus says “Happy are the pure of heart for they shall see God.”
Whereas the world says, “You’re happy when you accept yourself and mind your own business,” Jesus says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for his grace and justification, for they will be filled.”
Whereas the world says, “You’re happy when you don’t start a fight, but finish it” and people from professional wrestlers, to boxers, to generals, to armchair presidents shout “No mercy,” Jesus says “Blessed are the merciful, for they will receive mercy” and “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.”
Whereas the world says, “You’re happy when everyone considers you nice,” Jesus says, “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake” and “blessed are you when people revile you, persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account,” “for their reward will be the kingdom of heaven.
• Jesus is the only one to come down from Heaven, and he did that to show us the way to heaven, and it is through following Him all the way. He himself lived these Beatitudes, he was poor in Spirit, he mourned over the people of Jerusalem’s rejecting him and the prophets who announced them, he was gentle with sinners, he hungered and thirsted for his Father’s will and righteousness, he was merciful and pure of heart, he was the greatest peacemaker ever, reconciling us to God, and he was persecuted, reviled, cursed, spat upon unjustly, be rejoices now eternally in heaven.
• We all have a choice about how to invest our lives. We can spend our lives trying to seek the things that so many in the world do. We can spend our lives just really doing nothing, with no desire for anything. Or we can spend our lives seeking after the only prize that will last for ever. A life is a terrible thing to waste.
• “Are there many who are saved?” “Agonize to enter through the narrow gate.” It’s a struggle. Not everybody makes it. If we’ve lived but we didn’t make heaven, we’ve failed. Like my instruction to some young couples getting married. There’s a purpose to marriage, sanctification. There’s a purpose to life, sanctification, but it requires work.
• This feast of All Saints is a feast of those who chose well, who chose to follow Christ, who ended up following him all the way to heaven. May the Lord inspire us to receive his great gifts of grace, open them up and live according to them, so that we might share their eternal joy.