Friday November 1, 2024 – Solemnity of All Saints’ Day
10:30 a.m. Veynes
Just once, I want to ask you a question! Do you like All Saints’ Day? Yes ? No ? For what ? (answers) Let’s recap: ………………
When we say “it’s All Saints’ Day”, it’s not usually the beautiful high-alpine blue sky like this day! So I want to invite you to love this liturgical celebration even more. For 4 reasons.
1/ Today we remember the saints.
Canonized saints, who are on the liturgical calendar or even the weather! But also unknown saints, those whom Pope Francis calls with his sense of the phrase “the saints of the next door”. I'm sure you know some. I remember, from the time when I was a priest in Touraine, a parishioner who would visit other elderly people. Let us rejoice for the saints we know, those who are still among us, and those who are already in Heaven.
St Paul wrote to the Ephesians to rejoice, because he said: “you are no longer strangers or transients, you are fellow citizens with the saints, you are members of the family of God, for you have been integrated into the construction which has for foundations the Apostles and the prophets; and the cornerstone is Christ Jesus himself. » (Eph 2, 19) Extraordinary words: we are fellow citizens of the saints, members of the same family of God, the Church of Jesus.
2/ Second reason to rejoice, what the saints do in Heaven.
They see “God as he is”, according to the expression of St John in the second reading, and they participate in the liturgy of Heaven. Saint John in his book Revelation tells us that they are a multitude: “an immense multitude, which no one could number, a multitude of all nations, tribes, peoples and languages. They stood before the Throne and before the Lamb, dressed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands. And they cried out with a loud voice: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the Throne and to the Lamb! » There we have the Catholic Church of Heaven, the parish of Heaven! All united. A few days ago I was in Benin, to sign the twinning agreement with the diocese of Dassa Zoumé. This diocese is very different from that of Gap-Embrun, but its hilly landscape and the faith of its Christians are truly endearing. Its Marian sanctuary of Our Lady of Arigbo does not resemble that of Laus, but it welcomes much larger crowds than at Laus! This is one of the reasons why I wanted this twinning: to give us a taste on earth of the catholicity of the church that we will know in Heaven. There is no stranger in the Church, we are all beloved sons and daughters of the Father, brothers and sisters of Jesus and among ourselves. A twinning is an anticipation of Heaven! “An immense multitude, which no one could number, a multitude of all nations, tribes, peoples and languages. They stood before the Throne. » Because the saints in Heaven are not lazy. They praise God, with a praise of which African praise gives a beautiful reflection. But praising God does not make them forget those who are still on earth. Little Thérèse promised: “I will spend my Heaven doing good on earth.”
3/ Third reason to rejoice, this happiness of Heaven begins on earth.
8 times Jesus repeats 'blessed'. So he wants our happiness on earth. But our happiness on earth does not correspond to worldly criteria: romantic conquests, notoriety on social networks, money, social position, etc. This is what the nuns among us show us, just like the celibacy of priests, celibacy for the Kingdom, which is its anticipation. The happiness of the beatitudes is a paradoxical happiness. The world calls the rich blessed, Jesus proclaims “blessed are the poor”. If suicide is a terrible tragedy here, it is practically non-existent in poor countries. The world says blessed are the powerful, Jesus responds “Blessed are the meek”. The world says blessed are those who impose their will, Jesus responds “blessed are the merciful”. Brothers and sisters, we must renounce a certain idea of happiness to make room for the true happiness that the beatitudes present to us. It is good to reread the beatitudes in our personal prayer, for example before going to confession.
The finale of the gospel invites us to rejoice: “Rejoice, be glad, for your reward is great in heaven. » It's in the present tense. He does not say “your reward will be great in heaven,” but IS great in heaven. It is here below, in this valley of tears, on earth, as we sing in the Salve Regina, that we must rejoice because we are already rich with a wonderful reward, the heavenly reward.
This is the joy of All Saints' Day, God calls us to a truly Christian life, to a life of union in the heart of Jesus, and no doubt you have learned that the Pope offered us an encyclical on the heart of Jesus, 'Dilexit Nos', 'He loved us', which I can't wait to read on the train tomorrow. (Parenthesis, I also look forward to reading the final document of the Roman synod which ended last Sunday, when it will be translated into French, undoubtedly much deeper than some commentators can say.) God has called us to such a beautiful life and prepares us for eternal joy when we rest in his heart.
4/ So this is the 4th reason to love this feast of All Saints' Day, tomorrow we will celebrate the dead.
Tomorrow we will remember those who died. With gratitude to those who loved us. With mercy and praying for the eternal rest also of those who have done us harm. This feast of All Saints is that of the year of prayer, so I want to invite you to redouble your prayer for the deceased, because all need our prayer, the psalmist very rightly asking: “Who can climb the mountain of the Lord and stand in the holy place? “.
(parenthesis: on Saturday, November 16, we will conclude the year of prayer together with a diocesan gathering at Laus, where each parish will present an element of its parish missionary project. Note this date of November 16 and come in large numbers.)
I end by telling us that on All Saints' Day, we remember the faces we love so much. And it is a profound joy. Amen!
