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[__ver-05_] Homily – Nov 1, 2025 / All Saints Day
● Revelation
7:2-24, 9-14 ● Psalm 24 ● 1 John 3:1-3 ● Matthew 5:1-12 a ●
1. The Three Days of Faith and Communion
Today we celebrate the Solemnity of All Saints, the great
festival of heaven. It is part of a beautiful three-day devotion that unites
heaven and earth:
·
All Hallows Eve (or All Saints’
Eve) on October 31,
·
All Saints’ Day today, November
1,
·
and All Souls’ Day tomorrow,
November 2.
These days remind us that our faith unites the Church in heaven, on
earth, and in purgatory—the living and the dead. We pray for those who
have gone before us, those still being purified, and those already in glory. At
our 5:30 p.m. Mass for All Souls, we’ll read the names of our beloved deceased.
But today is about the saints—the countless holy men and women, known and
unknown, who reflect the radiance of Christ’s glory.
2. Who Makes the List?
If I asked, “Who are the top five basketball players of all time?”
you might say LeBron James, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Karl Malone, Kobe Bryant,
Michael Jordan.
Or, “Who are the top five singers?” Rolling Stone once listed Aretha
Franklin, Whitney Houston, Sam Cooke, Billie Holiday, Mariah Carey.
But those lists never capture the full story. There are thousands of
athletes, thousands of singers who have given joy and inspiration without fame.
Their names may not appear in any Hall of Fame—but their contributions matter
deeply.
All Saints Day reminds us of something similar.
The Church has her “famous names”—St. Joseph, St. Patrick, St. Joan of
Arc, Mother Teresa, St. John Paul II, Mary Magdalene. But the holiness of God
runs far deeper than a list. There are countless saints without feast days,
statues, or songs—ordinary people who lived extraordinary love.
Even in our own parish, Our Lady of Lourdes, many have prayed, served, and
given what they could—some we remember by name, many we do not. They sat in
these same pews. They became saints quietly, faithfully.
3. The Diversity of Holiness
Fr. Ronald Knox once asked, “Why do we have this feast of All Saints?”
He answered: to remind us of the diversity of holiness.
Not all saints are monks or martyrs. Some are parents, teachers, carpenters,
accountants, students, scientists, even lawyers.
Some practiced heroic virtue by forgiving enemies, others by caring for the
sick, others by giving the little they had—like the widow who offered two
coins.
Saints are not specialized professionals in holiness. They are ordinary
people who loved God with all their heart and neighbor as themselves—sometimes
even loving those who persecuted them.
That means we should never imagine saints as superstars above us. They were
people of flesh and blood—ordinary in appearance, extraordinary in love. Their
greatness was not in their achievements but in their aspiration toward
heaven.
4. A Modern Role Model: Blessed Carlo Acutis
One of the most radiant examples of recent times is Blessed Carlo
Acutis, a fifteen-year-old from Lombardy, Italy.
He loved soccer, video games, computers, and pizza—just like many young people.
But from an early age he said, “I want to be close to Jesus.”
He went to daily Mass, spent long hours in adoration, and said, “The
Eucharist is my highway to heaven.”
Carlo used his gift for technology to serve the faith. He built a website
cataloging Eucharistic miracles from around the world, using the internet as a
tool of evangelization. Pope Francis later called him a model for young
people who seek to bring light into the digital world.
Though his family was comfortable, Carlo lived simply. He shared with the
poor, befriended the lonely, and kept his eyes fixed on heaven. His motto was: “Not
I, but God.”
Carlo reminds us that sanctity is not out of reach.
Holiness is the possible response of anyone who gives God a generous “yes” in
daily life.
5. Practicing Holiness Like a Sport
Think of how we imitate great athletes. You can wear Michael Jordan’s jersey
or buy his shoes—but that doesn’t make you Jordan. You must practice as he did.
Likewise, holiness is not achieved by memorizing saints’ biographies. It is
learned by practice: prayer, charity, perseverance, forgiveness.
Blessed Carlo practiced holiness like a sport—training his heart in the gym
of grace: Mass, Adoration, and service. He was ordinary, but
he let God make him extraordinary.
And this is where the Magisterial truth meets our experience: salvation
is God’s initiative. Grace comes first.
We do not “earn” heaven by effort alone; we receive God’s life through
baptism, the Eucharist, reconciliation, and prayer.
Our “practice” is our cooperation with the grace already offered.
As the Catechism teaches, “The initiative belongs to God in the order of
grace; no one can merit the initial grace of forgiveness and justification”
(CCC 2022).
So holiness is not self-improvement—it is self-surrender to
grace. The saints simply allowed grace to bear fruit in them.
6. The Psychology of Role Models
On a practical, everyday level, we learn holiness much the same way we learn
goodness or excellence in life—by encountering role models.
Think of two common experiences:
1. Someone
you know receives a promotion or honor.
Our natural instinct may be envy—“Why not me?” Yet when we overcome that
jealousy, when we allow the goodness of another’s achievement to inspire rather
than threaten us, we are already being reshaped by grace.
Such goodness is not entirely our own doing—it’s God shaking us out of
self-centeredness.
2. Someone
forgives us.
When another person extends mercy, we encounter holiness firsthand. Do we
dismiss it as unattainable, or do we let it challenge us to imitate it?
In both cases, grace is at work psychologically as well as spiritually. The
saints are not abstract models; they show us that moral and spiritual growth is
relational—we are changed by those who love, forgive, and
inspire us.
Jesus Himself is the model par excellence—the one whose example is
both humanly imitable and divinely transformative. Through His grace, He makes
possible what would otherwise seem beyond reach.
7. Ordinary People, Extraordinary Grace
All Saints Day teaches us that sanctity is not about being famous but being
faithful. Heaven is not a Hall of Fame where people are voted in; it
is a communion where Christ invites us to belong forever.
Every baptized person has the same calling: to become holy right where we
are.
Many of us will never be known beyond our families or parish—but every act of
love, every quiet prayer, every hidden sacrifice is a seed of eternal glory.
“Carlo reminded us that we are called to be originals, not copies”
The saints are the originals—they lived their unique mission with love. And
so can we, by receiving and responding to the grace God continually offers.
8. Walking the Highway Together
Let us then walk this highway to heaven together.
Like Blessed Carlo, let us make the Eucharist the center of our lives, use
technology to spread goodness, and share what we have with those in need.
Let us also remember: the saints are not distant heroes—they are our
brothers and sisters, cheering us on.
They remind us that God’s grace meets us in ordinary life—in our workplaces,
families, and friendships—and transforms our efforts into something eternal.
9. Prayer
Lord Jesus, you are the Bread of Life.
As Blessed Carlo taught us, may the Eucharist be our highway to heaven.
Help us to use our gifts—our minds, our hands, even our screens—to bring your
love to others.
Through the intercession of Blessed Carlo and all the saints,
make us ordinary people with heavenly aspirations,
and let your grace perfect what our efforts begin. Amen.
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