By Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S.
One day, November 1st will be my feast day,
and I expect that it will be your feast day, too.
I suspect that there will never be a church named after any one of us.
I doubt that there will be any stained glass windows, statues or portraits of us
hanging in any churches either.
While I expect that we will all one day stand before the throne of God
with those who have washed their robes and made them white
in the Blood of the Lamb,
I doubt that any of us will be beatified or canonized.
So, we won’t be officially called Blessed or Saints,
or have our own feast days,
other than today,
the feast of All Saints.
Today, I look back at all those people who have touched my life,
who, based on the words of Jesus in today’s Gospel,
were indeed among those whom Jesus has called blessed.
I suspect you know many such people too.
Men and women who were truly poor in spirit,
who mourned, who were meek, who hungered and thirsted for righteousness,
who were merciful, clean of heart or were persecuted for their faithfulness.
Today is their feast day.
Today we honor Missionaries of the Precious Blood who have gone before us,
Companions who lived their covenant with the Congregation in wonderful ways,
family members, friends and even strangers who were the face of holiness
in our lives and in the world.
Today is the feast day of my grandmothers, grandfathers,
my parents, my twin brother.
While all of them were flawed in their own way,
all of them have been held in the arms of God,
and I believe welcomed to stand before the throne of God
because of the love of God that has been bestowed on us,
making us the children of God.
They may need to go through some experience of purgatory,
but the mercy of God always triumphs.
So, today is their feast day.
Let us remember them with joy!
Let us ask them to pray for us,
so that one day, we, too, may join them
among that great crowd of witnesses,
the great multitude
which no one can count
from every nation, race, people, and tongue.
One day, November 1st will be our feast day,
and today is the feast day of all those holy men and women
whom we have known,
who now stand before the throne of God!
To view the full scripture reading, click here.
Fr. Dennis Chriszt, C.PP.S., is the director of advanced formation for the Missionaries of the Precious Blood. He also directs Precious Blood Parish Missions.