Today, the Church solemnly celebrates the Feast of All Saints. By canonizing some of them, the Church glorifies God, the source of all holiness, and invites us to follow their example of Christian life. But who are the saints, and how did they become holy?
WHO ARE THE SAINTS?
The saints are those who, having died in God’s grace, now live in perfect communion with Him.
They are not only the officially canonized ones but all who now behold the face of God and praise His glory forever.
The Book of Revelation (7:14) describes them as those who “have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.” They were not perfect or without weakness, but ordinary people who lived ordinary things in extraordinary ways, allowing grace to transform their lives.
THE PATH TO HOLINESS
No one is born a saint. There are as many paths to holiness as there are ways to respond to God’s love. The image of the saints is beautifully outlined in the Beatitudes, where Jesus reveals the heart of the Gospel. Their secret was daring to live those Beatitudes in a world filled with selfishness, injustice, and the pursuit of power or pleasure.
They chose to follow Christ, accepting the cross and life’s trials so that the light of the Gospel might shine. Some lived holiness through poverty, gentleness, mercy, or purity of heart; others in suffering united to Christ’s Passion.
All walked the same road — the narrow way of the Cross, the path Jesus Himself took, “through suffering to glory.” In their lives, the light of Christ was reflected; that likeness made them holy.
THE UNIVERSAL CALL TO HOLINESS
We live in a world that often disregards moral values and fosters indifference and self-interest.
The saints remind us that we are called to live differently — in the world, but not of the world, faithful to the Gospel.
Whatever our vocation, every Christian is called to holiness, for we are children of God, who is Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. Jesus calls us: “Be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mt 5:48).
On this solemnity, the Church celebrates the communion of saints, uniting the pilgrim Church on earth, the purifying Church in purgatory, and the triumphant Church in heaven. Together with all the saints, we pray for their intercession, that we too may one day share eternal joy in God’s Kingdom.
Sr. Agnes Đỗ Thị Diễm Ly, OP
Provincia San Raimundo de Peñafort
