Title: ALL SAINTS, ALL SOULS

ROAD  MAP  TO ETERNITY

 When we Pray the Creed, we are called or challenged to go deeper than saying words. Have we realy taken a moment to think of the words we use? I believe many do. So what realy do we mean when we say "We look for the resurrection of the Dead and the life of the World to come? and in the Apostles creed we say ... I believe in the communion of Saint?" Today as we celebrate All Saints and Tomorrow as we celebrate All Souls, we should be able to answer the question "Why do we do this?" What significance has this to our own Personal lives and to the Community?

I am happy to share with you some few thoughts on these two day celebrations. Celebrating All Saints and All souls, links us to our human and Church history. Today and Tomorrow, we celebrate our known and unknown "ancestors"= (those who have gone before us) in the faith, whose handing on of the Faith from Generation to generation is responsible for our own Faith Today. When we celebrate this Feast, we unite ourselves with the communion of the Men and Women whose Faith and examples allow us to stand where we are today. Notice that even those who did not live well have something to contribute to our Holiness.

On the Feast of all Saints we celebrate our great hope that many of our Family members, Relatives and Friends who have gone before us, those whose Faith is known to God alone, are Saint. This sentence could be accepte "We celebrate the feast of the Unknown Saints, (in the Tradition of the Unkonwn Soldier) who have been honored by the Unknown God". Acts 17:23. We acknowledge that where we are now, they used to be, and where they are now, we hope to be someday. 

In the many Funerals that I have attended, not once have I heard it said that this person has joined the Rich man  in the Gospel of Luke 16:19-31 Everyone holds that the one who has passed on is in a better place. If we truely believe that then today is a day to ask them to pray for us that we may live our lives in Faithfulness Today. It is a day to give Thanks to God for the Blessings we received through them.

Looking at the readings today and Tomorrow we are reminded of God's desire to Sanctify the lives of all God's creatures. And the Gospel of Matthew 5:1-12 calls us to responsibility so that we can be truly Blessed, Happy or Fortunate.

To be Happy or Blessed or Fortunate, we need to be instruments of God's Kingdom. We need to extend our happiness to the rest of Creation so that the world becomes the Catholic Church Jesus Founded. So that everyone enjoys the fruits of Jesus' Death and Resurrection. The Universal Church opens her doors and invites all to enter and Make themselves at home. Anyone who is thursty and hungers for what is right, anyone who is humble, gentle, Compassionate, peacemaker etc finds a home here and invites others to make their home here.

The other challenge we face as we celebrate these two days, is the contradiction between the infinite goodness and Mercy of God and the reality of Heaven and Hell. How can this be. Are those to be saved few or many? Will I be one of those saved? What makes me so sure that I will enter the kingdom of Heaven? These are your questions as they are mine.

Truly Jesus came so that all may have life and have it to the full. But he has told us that there is a cost to all so read  Mark 1:15, Matthew 3:1 and Luke 13:1-5. So as we look with hope towards enjoying the Beatific Vision with those who have gone before us, let us concentrate on the life we are leading now. Let this life be a good preparation for that future. We may have our own Conclulsion and consoling hopes. That is alright. But let me say, "Life face to face with God is a reality totally beyond our comprehension". So let us put on the armor of Salvation, the robe of Goodness and Integrity. Let us truly carry our Crosses and Follow Jesus. Any pain or suffering endured for the sake of what Jesus stands for will be our share in the saving cross of Jesus. It will be our washing of our souls and indeed our whole lives in the Blood of the Lamb. "Let the Blood of Jesus Cover you always". Amen. 

Celebrating these two days has spoken loudly to the World that our Lives are eternal. Human history begins before we are Born and goes on beyond the grave to eternity. The challenge is the truth that this short time on Earth will determine the final invitation "Come, you whom my father has blessed take for your heritage the Kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the World" Matthew 25:34  Or "Go away from me, with your curse upon you to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels..." Matthew 25:41,  or when we will knock saying Lord, Lord,Open the door for us; But he will reply, I tell you solemly, I do not know you". Matthew 25:12  Read also Matthew 22:10-14

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