Feast of All Saints

On the feast of All Saints we celebrate those saints who are with us on our journey, those canonised and those saints we know personally and love. Saints have to work against the grain and be counter cultural. Saints are all around us, pointing the way for us, teaching us something about God through their lives. They persevere in all they do for their families and communities, especially those on the margins. They are the blessed ones. We read the Beatitudes for this feast and we are invited into each one. The Beatitudes may shock us, but they force us to think and to ponder the paradox in each statement. There is much human experience within each Beatitude and as you read them you may recognise your own ‘urban saint’.  Matthew’s community would have been very familiar with what it means to be persecuted because of their beliefs and the final beatitude in the Gospel today calls for perseverance. Perhaps that is the making of all saints.

 “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words” ~ St. Francis.