Happy feast of All Saints!

After Christmas and Easter, All Saint's Day is my favourite feastday of the year! I had hoped to write a series of blog posts in preparation for the feastday but haven't got that far yet! I blame 'General Norms' and so after tomorrow's exam, I can have my life back for a while!
In the meanwhile, here's a few thoughts about the saints from a blog I posted a while back at the time of the beatification of Chiara Badano. Happy feastday to you all!

"Did you ever wonder what people in heaven do all day? Float on clouds? Wander around on gold pavement? Sing a cappella? Maybe. But many of us have the wrong impression if we think heaven is a perpetual resting home where we indulge our every desire and forget about other people.

The saints are at peace and are resting in the Lord, but it’s not the kind of rest that is oblivious to the world! No, they are always aware of us and are prepared to receive our prayers in love. Some people frown on the idea that we should pray to saints seeing it as a form of idolatry. But they have a misconception of the role of the saints. St. Paul tells us that we are a communion of saints, and a saintly communion, united with the Lord, is not divided by death. Those who are called to God might leave our earthly eyes, but they are present, and they are family and family members do not ignore each other when one of their own asks for help.

Think of the saints as agents of God. No, they are not just angelic messengers, but they are raising their voices in praise of the Lord and they do radiate His will. The Lord wants us to be saved. The saints, who are in perfect union with His will, want the same. It only makes sense that He would allow them to play a part in our salvation, even more than they did on earth, since now they can reflect His desires so purely.

"We are all called to be saints!" (Lumen Gentium 40).

The saints continue to live among us! I could go on and on about the saints, just as so many of us love to chat about our families. But the main point to appreciate and adopt is that the saints are our family. We are destined to be eternally in their company because they wait for us. They hold out their hands to us. They send lifelines of reassurance and nudge us onto the path of holiness. All we need to do is ask them for help. They are delighted to provide it. Basking constantly in the light of the Lord, they radiate it to you. Be familiar with them. Approach them as family. They will relay directions to help you get home. And they will rejoice effusively with you when you arrive! Saints of God, pray for us who are on the way home, may we not become distracted along the way and learn to offer everything, the joys and sufferings, knowing that the will of God will not lead us where His grace will not keep and sustain us."