Eve of All Saints’ Day, 1854
We prepare for the feast of All Saints with peaceful joy. There are millions of saints in heaven…some who are close to us. There are those who met with the same challenges, the same temptations, the same passions that we have. There are some who faced enormous difficulties. So we can attain – in fact we hope for – heaven. That is why we are here today. We look forward to the same heaven; we expect to enjoy the same God. What a powerful encouragement!
Let us put aside our vivid images and focus on what we are told of the spiritual joy of heaven. Heaven is the absence of evil, the presence of all good. What above all crowns our desire? We shall see, we shall possess the One whom we love. Jesus will reveal to us his heart wounded through love, aflame with divine charity.
It is this love that led him to pour out his blood for sinful humanity. The saints who are now in heaven and all those who will be there one day give homage to the divine Lamb as the author of their glory and happiness, for it is he who saves us at the price of his blood.
Scripture says: “They shall be my people, and I will be their God. I will wipe away tears from their eyes…I will be their life.” How consoling those words: then we shall remember our sufferings no more, since the divine hand will dry our tears. How is it then that we allow ourselves to halt, to become discouraged? Why faint-heartedness, hesitations, delays, regrets? Alas, we lack sufficient faith, or our faith is not vital enough, so we let ourselves be paralyzed by self-love and a thousands worries and returns upon self. Let us reanimate our faith, seeing how the saints lived by it.
Our Lord teaches us this in the admirable Sermon on the Mount, the Beatitudes. Take the first one, for example: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. This is addressed to all. We may have given up the goods of this world, actually very little, but have we renounced ourselves? Herein lies true poverty of spirit, essentially purity of heart. By our vocation we are called to this purity of spirit, which detaches us from self and self-interest so that we may act to please the Lord and procure God’s glory.
Blessed are the pure of heart, for they shall see God. If we wish to be united with God, we must gain this perfect purity of heart and free ourselves from egoism, the chief obstacle to our union with God. In heaven it will be perfect; on earth we can never attain it fully, but we must make continual efforts.
“I shall take the wings of the eagle and fly away and be at rest in the Lord,” says the royal prophet. What are these wings? They are, first of all, love that raises us above ourselves and unites us to Our Lord and then that passion essential to our vocation that must possess us: love for other persons. It is our calling to make known to others the truths of faith and so lead them to know and love the Lord. This is the most perfect work of mercy, and the beatitude, “Blessed are the merciful,” is the one most fit to console us.
…Let us begin to lead a new life…as Our Lord said to his apostles when he drew them to rest and solitude, “Come, little flock;” yes, come, I will lead you to solitude in the shadow of the altar and reveal myself to you. It is there that you will learn to know yourselves and to know your God. When you are in the presence of Our Lord, seek for the obstacles that prevent you from advancing in his knowledge and love. He will give you light; be faithful in following it…Promise the Lord to refuse him nothing he asks of you.
