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Kilnamanagh-Castleview Parish
(opens in a new tab)Official Parish Page for the Parish of Kilnamanagh-Castleview.
When we hear the word ‘saint’, we probably think of people like St Francis of Assisi, St Thérèse of Lisieux or St Mother Teresa of Calcutta. People who lived extraordinary lives of faith and whose holiness has been recognised by the Church.But today, on All Saints’ Day, we celebrate a much larger family. We remember all those countless men and women who have reached heaven, including those whose names we will never know and whose lives were perhaps quite ordinary in the eyes of the world.Among them are parents who raised their children with love and patience, people who cared for the sick, those who remained faithful to God through suffering and hardship, and countless others who quietly lived their faith in their everyday lives.They came from different backgrounds, lived in different circumstances and followed very different paths through life. Yet they all had one thing in common: they allowed the life of Christ to take shape within them.Their lives remind us of something very important: holiness is something to which every one of us is called.The Second Vatican Council placed particular emphasis on what it called the universal call to holiness. Every baptised person, whatever their circumstances or state of life, is called to become a saint.And today's Gospel helps us understand what that means.In the Beatitudes, Jesus tells us: ‘Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed are the gentle. Blessed are the merciful. Blessed are the pure in heart. Blessed are the peacemakers.’These words describe the kind of life to which Jesus calls his disciples. They are also a portrait of Jesus himself. He is gentle and merciful, pure in heart and the one who brings peace. The saints are those who, in their different ways, have become more and more like him.This is really what holiness means: becoming more like Christ, allowing his love to transform the way we live and the way we treat one another.And this transformation is first and foremost the work of God's grace. Through Baptism, we have received a share in the life of Christ, and as we cooperate with his grace, that life gradually takes shape within us.What is encouraging about the Beatitudes is how closely they relate to our everyday lives. We don't need extraordinary opportunities to practise mercy, kindness, humility or patience. We encounter them every day, in our families, in our workplaces, in our parish and in our relationships with one another.Every time we forgive someone who has hurt us, respond with patience when we feel irritated, comfort someone who is suffering or help a person in need, we allow something of Christ's holiness to become visible in our lives.The saints themselves were human beings, with weaknesses and struggles much like our own. They did not always get everything right. But they kept turning towards God, trusting in his mercy and allowing him to work in their lives.There is also something else worth remembering about today's Gospel. The Beatitudes contain wonderful promises. Jesus speaks of those who will be comforted, those who will see God and those to whom the Kingdom of Heaven belongs.Today we celebrate those in whom these promises have already been fulfilled. The saints have reached the destination towards which we are still travelling. They now enjoy the fullness of life and happiness with God to which we, too, are called.All Saints’ Day celebrates what God has accomplished in their lives and what he desires to accomplish in ours.So let us ask the saints to pray for us, that we may grow a little more each day in faith, hope and love, and one day join them in the joy of heaven.
