Be a Saint: Daily Mass Homily--Friday, November 1st, 2013 (All Saints Day--delivered at CSS Mass for Students)

           My friend Zach and I were driving the other day and saw a billboard advertising the College of St. Scholastica.  It read: “The world needs more saints.”  Now I get the plug for the school, but taken in itself the statement is so true—our world does need more saints.

            When I went to CSS I wondered what our mascot should be.  The school went with the goofy looking St. Bernard Dog Storm, which is fine, but we are not the St. Scholastica St. Bernard’s.  We are the St. Scholastica Saints! 

            I have come to the conclusion that our school mascot is you.  You are meant to pump up this place for God.  You are meant to encourage the faithful in their journey and to inspire those who haven’t met Jesus yet to do so.

            And in a sense, you are a saint.  We know the early church called fellow Christians saints—before the name Christian was coined—from the Acts of the Apostles and some of St. Paul’s writings.  In addition, the word saint comes from a previous root word that meant holy.  And in the biblical sense, to be holy is to be set apart.

            On a Friday evening you came to Mass.  Imagine what everyone else in the world is doing at the end of the week.  You made a holy choice to come—a choice that sets you apart.  You made a saintly choice.

            We honor all saints today both the well known (St. Peter, St. Scholastica, St. Benedict, etc.) and unknown by many—our family, friends and loved ones who we trust are in heaven.  In short, we praise God for the countless multitude in heaven worshiping the Lamb of God.

            While recognizing the ways we are already set apart for God, we never want to be complacent in growing closer to God.  A key way to do this is to live out St. Benedict’s basic maxim—ora et labora—work and prayer.

            When it comes to working and prayer, the College of St. Scholastica is leaps and bounds ahead of where it was ten years ago when I was a student.  We have many opportunities to pray: with the Sisters at Mass and in the Divine Office, Sunday night Mass, Tuesday night Adoration, Confession and Mass, Thursday night Bible study, small groups and more.  And we have an abundance of opportunities to serve the poor in our community, city and world.

            Continue to work and pray.  Stretch yourself to give more to God and your neighbor.  Be a saint.

            All holy men and women, pray for us.