THE COMMUNION OF SAINTS: OUR CALL TO HOLINESS

Homily for the Solemnity of All Saints, 22025

Fr. Ugochukwu Ugwoke, ISch

Revelation 7:2-4, 9-14; 1 John 3:1-3; Matthew 5:1-12

Today, the Church celebrates the Solemnity of All Saints. It is a day that honors not only the canonized saints whose names we know, but also the countless men and women who have lived faithfully and now share in the glory of God in heaven. It reminds us that holiness is not a privilege for a few but a universal call for all who belong to Christ.

The First Reading from the Book of Revelation offers a vision of the ultimate destiny of the saints. John sees “a great multitude which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue,” standing before the throne of God and the Lamb. This vision is profoundly inclusive - it portrays the universality of salvation and the unity of the redeemed. They wear white robes, symbols of purity and victory, and hold palm branches, signs of triumph. The angel reveals that they “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” This paradox - that garments are made white by blood teaches that holiness is not the absence of struggle but the fruit of redemption. The saints are those who persevered through trials, whose faith was purified by the suffering and mercy of Christ.

The psalmist in today’s psalm beautifully complements this vision: “Lord, this is the people that longs to see your face.” The psalmist asks, “Who can ascend the mountain of the Lord? Who may stand in his holy place?” The answer is moral and spiritual: “One whose hands are sinless, whose heart is clean, who desires not what is vain.” Here lies the essence of sainthood - purity of heart and a longing to see God. The saints were not perfect from the start; they were men and women who desired God above all else, who allowed His grace to transform their weakness into strength.

In the Second Reading, St. John gives us a profound theological insight into the identity of the saints: “See what love the Father has bestowed on us that we may be called children of God. Yet so we are.” The holiness of the saints begins with divine adoption. It is God who first calls us His children, not because of our merit but because of His love. John continues, “We are God’s children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed… we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.” This is the heart of Christian hope - the beatific vision, seeing God face to face. The saints already enjoy this vision; we, still on the journey, live in hope of it. Hence, “Everyone who has this hope based on Him makes himself pure, as He is pure.” Hope, therefore, is not passive; it inspires moral transformation.

The Gospel of today brings the mystery of sanctity down to earth. Jesus presents the Beatitudes as the charter of holiness. The Beatitudes are not simply moral ideals but descriptions of those who live under God’s reign. “Blessed are the poor in spirit, the meek, the merciful, the pure in heart…” These are not natural virtues but graces - the marks of those who live by the Spirit. The saints lived these attitudes in their own circumstances: some through poverty and detachment, others through suffering, peacemaking, or persecution. Through the Beatitudes, Jesus redefines happiness: true blessedness lies not in wealth or power, but in the conformity of our lives to His own.

Dear friend, today’s feast is not merely about admiration; it is an invitation to participation. The saints are not distant figures in stained glass; they are members of our family, the Communion of Saints, interceding for us and cheering us on in our pilgrimage of faith. Their lives tell us that sanctity is possible - in every generation, in every state of life. As Pope Francis reminds us in Gaudete et Exsultate, holiness is “the most attractive face of the Church.” As we say in Schoenstatt, if you want to be a saint, you must live a life of sanctity daily.

Let us therefore renew our desire to walk the path of the Beatitudes. Let us live with clean hearts, merciful hands, and steadfast hope. May we, like those who have gone before us, “wash our robes in the blood of the Lamb” and one day join that great multitude who behold the face of God forever.