Feast of All Saints

Today is November 1, All Saint’s Day, a Holy Day of Obligation in the Roman Catholic Church. It is a day in which the Church pays homage to all the saints who do not have days of their own on the Liturgical Calendar. It is also a reminder that saints are everywhere and one never knows when one might be called to act in a saintly manner. It is a high, but challenging, calling.

I sometimes wonder if there are still saints in the world - people capable of total self-abnegation, people who have the capacity to turn themselves over to God’s Will without question. Not that saints are perfect by a long shot. I think the current perception is that a saintly person is always self-sacrificing and, above all, nice. That’s not saintliness that’s co-dependence. I could write a book about it. In fact, I think I have.

But true sublimation to God’s Will? How would you ever know? Like most people I have a strong and crafty will that is capable of convincing me of anything if I give it enough reign. We live in a tough world where most of us know more than is probably good for us. I tend to think that the reason so many of us surround ourselves in walls of noise - from the eternal chatter of television, to music blasting through headsets, to the general cacophony and pandemonium of daily life - is to shield ourselves against such callings. Does the voice of God stand a chance of getting through all that? If God has a message for most people He has stiff competition from their iPods.

During all the upheaval in the Church in recent years I have found myself getting very defensive on behalf of the thousands and thousands of good, kind, devout, self-sacrificing clergy around the world who have devoted themselves to doing God’s work. For every abusive priest there are hundreds who have given their well-being and often their lives to serve. I was talking to a woman recently, a former Catholic, who said, “Every time I see a Roman collar now my skin crawls. I just want to scream ‘pervert!’.”

I found that nauseating. One could just as easily see, in that Roman collar, all the martyrs, and all the saints who have done Christ’s bidding in feeding the hungry, sheltering the homeless, comforting the afflicted. But righteous indignation is very fashionable these days. We are so outraged at the behavior of “them”. It’s a good retreat from the sure knowledge that we are only marginally better when we continue to support a culture that lets abuse exist.

But I meant to talk about saints and saintliness. I recently read a biography of Padre Pio. He was, by all accounts a very cranky and contentious man. Certainly very far from being “nice” but I wonder if that might not be something a genuine saint cannot avoid. Doing God’s Will is not easy, it requires sacrifice and doesn’t want to hear excuses. No bad-hair days on that path, let me tell you. For someone like Padre Pio who endured constant battles with the forces of evil, the whiney concerns of many pilgrims could well seem pretty bratty. My Mom taught me the first rule of saintliness when I was four - “QUIT WHINING!”

So today is the day we remember those blessed souls who acted with courage and faith in a world that has little tolerance for those virtues. It is a beautiful day here in Gloucester, warm and sunny with the fragrance of smashed pumpkins rising from the pavement. A good day to stay quiet, say a prayer or two, find a quiet place to retreat from all the noise and listen. Someone may be trying to get your attention.

Thanks for reading.