Each year, on the First Sunday after Pentecost—the Sunday on which the Holy Spirit descended on the Disciples in Jerusalem—the Church commemorates All the Saints who lived in the past, at present, and in the future, hence it calls it the Sunday of All Saints. The word “Catholic” is Greek in origin and is composed of two parts, which literally mean “according (to the) whole”. In simple terms, the word Catholic means “the same (thing) in all times and at all places.” Thus, this feast, the Feast of All Saints, is “Catholic” in every sense of the word, in that on this day we commemorate “all the Saints of the Church, in all times and at all places.” It is a universal feast for all the Saints! Originally, the Church commemorated All the Martyr Saints on this day, because martyrdom was the norm in the Early Church, and eventually this day evolved to include All Saints, whether they died in martyrdom or not. Nonetheless, the word “Martyr” in Greek and Arabic has a double-meaning: Martyr-(&/or)-Witness. The Saints, thus, are all “witnesses” to God’s Holiness.
Who are the Saints? This is a question that begs our attention. Quite often we hear the complaint, or rather, the excuse, from someone saying something to the effect of: “I am unworthy to be a Saint.” This is an escapist attitude concerning our calling. We are all called to be saints, without any distinction! The Saints, after all, were real men and women, with similar challenges and opportunities, similar weaknesses and strengths, and, they were similar to us in every way including sin. The Church sings, quite often on every Sunday Matins Service: “Holy is the Lord our God.” This verse, which is from Psalms, explains everything we need to know about Sainthood: God is the source of the Saints’ holiness, and, He is our Lord and Holy at the same time.
The Saints, as always, are and were a part of the Church. There never were any Saints-at-Large, meaning, there never was any person canonized a Saint without his or her express Communion with the Church. This is the primary function of the Church, in which God’s Holiness is revealed, and our calling is made real. Each day we sink into sin we make ourselves less worthy and worse yet, we give more room for the Devil. Each day we do not realize our call to be Saints, we lose an opportunity. The Saints, on the other hand, who are also our examples—with the Lord Jesus Christ being the Example of All—strove to resist sin in diverse ways.
We may complain that it is too hard for us to resist evil in our day, yet the Saints resisted evil to the point of death, without being ashamed. We may make excuses by justifying how (badly) we lead our lives, yet we seem to forget that many of the Saints were harlots, murderers, thieves, robbers, and every imaginable evil character that exists. They were despised by the world, or rather as St. Paul put it “of whom the world was not worthy” (Hebrews 11:38). This is the main element to resisting evil, which mainly lies in despising the evil in the world. The longer we grow attached to the world, to its vain possessions, to its mortal pleasures, the more we make “excuses” to our call for Sainthood. Let us, on this great Sunday of All Saints, realize our true calling, making every effort to make it real in the Church, and best of all, let us not make excuses.
