As a child, I remember being mesmerized by the tales of the saints, and for a while I even “collected” holy cards like one would do for baseball or Pokémon. I loved St. Francis of Assisi’s willingness to walk away from wealth and dedicate his life to the poor; Catherine of Siena’s holy boldness in telling a pope he was wrong; the Jesuit martyrs’ courage to bring the Good News to the native tribes of Canada. Their unique personalities and ways of demonstrating pure love of God made me want to be a saint, too.
And then, I became a teenager … And yet, even then, that more innocent desire for holiness still remained buried, like a seed planted deep in the ground. It remains true for all of us, no matter how far we may stray from the saintly path on our life’s journey. God made us for Himself, and His covenantal love is constantly seeking us out, desiring that dormant seed of holiness to sprout and bloom.
That’s one of the reasons why the Church celebrates All Saints Day (Friday, November 1st) as a holy day of obligation: to remind us that we are all called to be saints, and that there are countless men, women and children who may never be officially canonized but who – through God’s grace – are spending eternity with Him and interceding for us. As our diocese’s second bishop, Alfred Curtis, once wrote: “May we remember on this day the vast army of unknown saints who did common things uncommonly well, who toiled and waited and suffered, who believed, hoped, loved and repented. These we can imitate.”
Indeed, we should.