{"id":1068,"date":"2015-11-01T05:00:29","date_gmt":"2015-11-01T05:00:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/sjcmetheology.wpengine.com\/?p=1068"},"modified":"2015-11-01T05:00:29","modified_gmt":"2015-11-01T05:00:29","slug":"all-saints","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/all-saints\/","title":{"rendered":"All Saints"},"content":{"rendered":"

As we mark the Feast of All Saints\u2019 Day we may tend to think about the \u201cbig name\u201d saints like St. Joseph, St. Teresa [of whom we just noted the 500th<\/sup> anniversary of her birth!], St. Ignatius, St. Catherine McAuley, and so many others with the history and recognition as Saints. I love that this feast is an invitation to honor ALL saints \u2013 those known and those unknown! We can read the lives of known<\/em> saints, whether they have the title or not, and recall our own experiences with the unknown saints in our midst, those who call us to holiness by their mere presence or a single encounter.<\/p>\n

I think that it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that sanctity is the same as divinity. Nothing could be further from the truth! I have been created as a human being; my call is to live as fully human as I can be \u2013 to be reconciled with my humanity in all of its limitations and frailties, joys and experiences. I am not called to be divine, perfect, or striving for either of those states of being (see Phil 2:6). So when I read the lives of the known Saints and encounter unknown saints, I am encountering real people, fully human, with the same graces and challenges that I have. These people are not superhuman, but rather, they have embraced their humanity and the grace that comes with living so truthfully.<\/p>\n

\"All<\/a>The known Saints were not perfect (although some of the stories may lead us to think that they were, or at least pretty close!) and lately we\u2019ve seen some controversy over certain people being presented for sainthood or actually being canonized because they were not perfect and might even be labeled as sinners<\/em>! And yet, that is precisely why they can be raised up as models for all of us \u2013 they are us! There is nothing that prevents me from being a Saint! I am the only one preventing me from welcoming God\u2019s action in my simple, human, life. \u201cI am not holy (read: perfect, sin-less) enough for God to use; when I get my act together, then I\u2019ll see what we can do.\u201d God has made me; God knows all my beauty and my wounds \u2013 all of which can bring me and others closer to God.<\/p>\n

Who are the unknown<\/em> saints that I have met \u2013 those that witness God\u2019s love to me, those that invite me to strive to be a better person and human, and those that bring out the best in me and challenge me to be that for others? Who are the Saints that model the action of God in fragile humanity for me? We are all called to be Saints \u2013 numbered among the known and unknown Saints of today\u2019s feast \u2013 not tomorrow, not when I\u2019m holy enough, not when I get my act together \u2013 today! Every day is a chance to allow the Spirit of God to work in my life, in my messy human life.<\/p>\n

So let\u2019s do this! Let\u2019s be Saints and reveal God\u2019s love in our world, in, for, and by being fully who we are called to be: human! Happy Feast Day to YOU!<\/p>\n

Sr. Kelly Connors, pm<\/strong>, teaches Canon Law for Saint Joseph’s College.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As we mark the Feast of All Saints\u2019 Day we may tend to think about the \u201cbig name\u201d saints like St. Joseph, St. Teresa [of whom we just noted the 500th anniversary of her birth!], St. Ignatius, St. Catherine McAuley, … Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":48,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,23,1],"tags":[29],"class_list":["post-1068","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-saints","category-spirituality","category-uncategorized","tag-all-saints-day"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/48"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1068"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1068\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1068"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1068"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blogs.sjcme.edu\/theology\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1068"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}