Fr. JC Maximilian

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I went to graduate school in Champaign, IL, the home of Olympic speed-skater Bonnie Blair. I make no claims of knowing her; in fact I have never seen her, except on TV. Yet during the 1988 Winter Olympics, like everyone else in Champaign, I caught “Bonnie fever.” In some strange way, in each Gold Medal that she won during those games, it felt as if the whole town won.

Winning an Olympic gold medal is certainly a great achievement, but today we celebrate people who have achieved so much more that even an Olympic gold medal. Today as a whole Church we are called to turn our gaze to the glory of heaven. We are invited to call to mind our older brothers and sisters who not only persevered in their faith while they lived on earth, but actually lived their lives in such a way that they built up Christ’s Kingdom in the world. They not only resisted the onslaughts of evil, but they conquered territory for good. Now they are enjoying their reward, and that should give us joy too.

Yes, we should be experiencing JOY as we celebrate All Saints Day. Our joy does not come from the saints achievements taking away all the problems that we face here on earth – clearly they do not. Today’s joy doesn’t come from a false gospel that you sometimes hear preached on TV these days: the gospel of “prosperity,” which promises heaven on earth.
That’s not Christian joy. Jesus never promised heaven on earth – in fact, he promised that following him mean carrying crosses and facing persecution.

So, where does Christian joy come from? First it comes from sharing in the victory of the saints. Like the people in Champaign, IL in 1988 who shared in Bonnie Blair’s victories, we should rejoice in the victory of the saints in spreading the Kingdom of God – the Good News – by their lives of virtue. Yet our joy in not only vicarious. It also comes from being reminded that God has given us the tools we need to follow in the saints’ footsteps – to win the gold medal ourselves and make it to heaven.

The first tool for following in the saints’ footsteps is to know where our destination is. Today’s first reading reminds us that we know where we are going in life! We know what comes after death! In his vision, recorded in the Book of Revelation, St. John sees the angels of destruction waiting at the corners of the earth, waiting for the orders from God to put an end to human history, that sorry story of sin, greed, injustice, and destruction. Yes, God will not tolerate sin and death and injustice forever. The world will come to an end, and God will put all things right. However, before letting loose the angels of destruction God says, “Do not damage the land or the sea or the trees until we put the seal on the foreheads of the servants of our God.” What is this seal that is put on the foreheads of the servants of God? It is the sign of the cross that the bishop makes with the sacred chrism when he anoints us at the moment of our confirmation. It marks us as followers of Christ. And all of human history from the time of Christ’s first coming has one purpose: for every human being to have an opportunity to receive that mark, to become Christ’s follower. Those who do will be clothed in the white robe of grace and enter into eternal life, which starts here on earth and lasts forever in heaven. This is where we are going, and we know it!

The second tool for following in the footsteps of the saints is knowing who we are. We need to know our place in the universe – neither minimizing it, nor exaggerating it. Again we have St. John making clear, this time in today’s second reading, just who we are – the children of God. We are not just some nameless speck in the universe, nor are we the masters of the universe. We are members of God’s family and He loves us profoundly, and He wants us to love each other and Him with all our hearts.

Most of us, who have received the sacrament of Confirmation, probably took a Confirmation name, the name of a saint who has especially inspired us, with whom we can identify in a personal way. Do you remember yours? Mine is Peter. Today we should renew our choice. It is a symbolic way to recommit to our true identity as children of God, and that identity is the second tool God gives us to help us follow in the saints’ footsteps, so we can share in their joy.

It is not enough, however, just to know who we are and where we are going. We also need to know how to get there; and that is the third tool for following in the footsteps of the saints. In today’s Gospel reading, Jesus teaches us the “how” of being His followers so that we can get to Heaven. The Beatitudes are the steps to happiness; and not the kind that comes and goes, but the eternal happiness of heaven. The Beatitudes are the attitudes of Christ, and the basic attitudes that help us live as Christians. St. Matthew places his account of Jesus giving us the Beatitudes at the beginning of His Sermon on the Mount. Here they serve as the summary of everything that Jesus will teach His followers throughout the Gospel. They also summarize everything that Jesus Himself lived out during His time on earth. The Beatitudes take the Ten Commandments to their fulfillment.

Since we are children of God, sons and daughters in the Son, we should act like Christ.
Christ himself is the way to our destination. Christ loved the Father by fulfilling His will even to the point of dying on a cross. He loved His neighbor by leaving behind the glory of heaven and coming to earth to teach, heal, and forgive our sins. Loving God and neighbor – this is the core of all the Beatitudes: an attitude of the heart that focuses more on God and others than on self.

Often times at Mass we are so preoccupied with the difficulties of life on earth, here in the Church Militant, that we forget to pay attention to the Church Triumphant. Yet at every Mass our prayers are joined with those of all the angels and saints, in both thanking God and asking for His grace. In the Eucharist, Christ lays the bridge between heaven and earth. As He does so at this Mass, let us lift our eyes to the Triumph of the saints, and allow our hearts to rejoice.