(Listen to this homily here.)
What is it we are celebrating today? In other words, what is a saint? Before giving definitions, let me give
you two examples of saintly people who have inspired me.
The first was my dearly departed
Grandma Betty. As a young girl she
lost her mother, and was sent to live with relatives. During the depression she not only survived, but took
herself and her two little girls away from her husband whom she later described
as a drunk. She suffered in her
eighty-six years, but you would have never known it based on her joy, strength
and faithfulness. As a young boy
she explained that what I thought was a necklace was actually a Rosary, and she
taught me how to pray it. She sold
me her old 1980 Buick Century for a dollar. Thus my first car was puke green in color, had vinyl seats
and an AM radio, caving ceiling and bumper that had to be chained on. And her last words to me were, “Jesus
loves you.” I believe she is now
with God and is a saint.
The second is Fr. Matthew
Fedewa. For those of you who have
made a TEC or Koinonia retreat, this name may ring a bell—he is the man that
began the Together Encounter Christ (TEC) program in Battle Creek,
Michigan. It was through the TEC
program that I experienced my conversion and fell in love with prayer,
Scriptures and the sacraments.
When I showed up to St. John
Vianney Seminary (on the University of St. Thomas campus), Fr. Fedewa was
living on my floor! He became my
spiritual director and led me closer to Christ. He walked me through the “leaving no stone unturned process”
of formation and was with me when I faced my darkest hour.
As he lived on our floor, Fr.
Fedewa often stopped by our rooms to chat. One day he told me, “Ben, you know how a sculptor sees a
statue in a block of marble? He
chips away at it until it appears.
Ben, there is a good priest in you, and I am going to chip him out!”
Fr. Fedewa is still alive and I
consider him a living saint.
Today we celebrate the multitude of
men and women who have gone before us to be with God. While they are probably not in our Roman Calendar, we know
them because they are our grandparents, children and friends.
Historically, the word saint has referred to two different
types of people—the living followers of Jesus Christ (this was a title of
Christians used a lot in the Acts of the Apostles) and those in heaven.
I would like to share a few facts
about saints with you. Many today
think that when we die we receive a pair of wings and a halo and become an
angel. This is not what we
believe! What we do believe is
that our body and soul are reunited in a glorified way in heaven. Thus, you will be more yourself in
paradise than you ever were here.
Saints are not the same. In fact, Billy Joel got it exactly
wrong when he sang, “I’d rather laugh with the sinners than cry with the
saints.” It is actually sin which
is boring to tears! I frequently
tell people that knowing your age and gender would allow me to guess what your
confession would be fairly accurately.
This isn’t because I have some mystical gift, but because I have heard
enough confessions to know we all struggle with the same sins. While sins and sinners are the same,
saints are unique in their own personalities, gifts and talents.
Finally, saints were not
perfect. Every person in heaven,
save Jesus and Mary, sinned many times while on earth. But the saints were relentless in seeking forgiveness. Having fallen, a saint always gets back
up with God’s grace and humbly asks for mercy.
We rejoice today in the saints who
have gone before us. Our number
one goal in life ought to become a saint.
This mission does not only impact our own life, but can lead to forming
many other saints among our family, friends and relatives.
Be a saint today and please, God,
may we be saints forever in heaven.
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