All Saints Day 2004                          Fr. Mike Lisbeth, SM     
November 1, 2004

Today we are talking about saints,
     or disciples or followers of Jesus.
I'd like to tell you a short story, and then
      ask you a few questions about the characters.

His name is Bill.   He has wild hair, wears torn Jeans,
a T-shirt with holes in it, and no shoes.
This was literally his entire wardrobe
for his four years of college.
He is brilliant. Kind of esoteric and, a very bright mind.
He became a convert while attending college.
Across the street from the campus
is this well-dressed, very conservative church.
They want to develop a ministry to the students,
but are not sure how to go about it.
One Sunday, Bill decides to go to church there.
He walks in with no shoes, wearing his “best” jeans,
his T-shirt, and wild hair.
The service has already started,   so
Bill starts down the center aisle looking for a seat.
The church is completely packed
and he can't find a seat.
By now, people are really feeling a bit uncomfortable,
but no one says anything about him.
Bill gets closer and closer and closer to the pulpit,
and when he realizes there are no seats,
he just squats down right on the carpet.
Although perfectly acceptable behavior
at a college fellowship, trust me,
this had never happened in this church before!
By now the people are really up tight,
and the air is thick with tension.
About this time, the minister realizes that,
from way at the back of the church,
a deacon is slowly making his way toward Bill.
Now, the deacon is in his eighties,
has silver-gray hair, and a three-piece suit.
A godly man, very elegant, very dignified, very courtly.
He walks with a cane, and,
as he starts walking toward this boy,
everyone is saying to themselves that
you can't blame the deacon for what he's going to do.
How can you expect a man
of his age and background
to understand some college kid sitting on their floor?
It takes a long time for the deacon to reach the boy.
The church is utterly silent
except for the clicking of the man's cane.
All eyes are focused on him.
You can't even hear anyone breathing.
The minister even stopped preaching the sermon
until the deacon does   what he has to do.
And now they see this elderly man
drop his cane on the floor.
With great difficulty, he lowers himself
and sits down next to Bill
to worship with him, so that Bill won't be alone.
Everyone chokes up with emotion.
When the minister re-gains his composure, he says,
"What I'm about to preach, you will never remember.
What you have just seen, you will never forget .
Be careful how you live.
You may be the only saint
some people will ever meet."
=======================================
As we celebrate saints, those who have become
well-known for their faithful following of Jesus,
      I'd like to test our insight into
what holiness might look like  
in the lives of ordinary people like us.
In the story I've just told you,
      which of the characters do you believe
is acting most like a saint?    And why?
I'd like you to think about
your choice and your reason for a moment.
Would it be:      [Vote by a show of hands.]
      the young college student, Bill
      the deacon in his 80's
      the minister at the pulpit
I realize we really don't know too much
about any of these people.
I'm sure God wants each of them to grow in holiness,
      and I believe all of them can become saints.
And we can too.
They all have gifts, and they all have temptations.
      And we do too.
They all search for truth and goodness,
and they all struggle with life's problems.
      And we do too.
The three people in our story today
are like an “unknown soldier”
in their search for holiness.
None of them is an extraordinary person.
      They are just common folks   - like us -
      who take the risk to live for God.
=======================================  
The young student Bill,
      the old deacon and the minister
each is an example of a Characteristic of Education
      in the Ursuline and Marianist traditions.
The old deacon shows us family spirit and community.
The minister is the voice of faith formation, spirituality.
The young student Bill challenges the congregation
to embrace adaptation and change.
They each know something of the way to holiness.
How do WE live a life of doing the will of God?
The answer is given us in today's gospel,
the Beatitudes,
where Jesus gives his followers
a road map to a happy eternity.
All the saints we celebrate today walked
the hard and narrow path of the Beatitudes
to arrive at God's house for ever.
On this feast of All Saints, the church
invites us   and challenges us   to walk the walk,
not just to talk the talk, of the saints.
In the teaching of Jesus, we are given
a concrete way to live out this calling.
The Beatitudes propose to us a way of life,
inviting us to identify with the poor,
those who mourn, the meek, and
those who hunger and thirst after justice.
They challenge us to be compassionate people,
to be men and women who are pure in heart,
to become peacemakers in dealings with others,
in our families and in the society at large.
Sometimes this approach will expose us
to ridicule and persecution.
None of the saints we celebrate today
had it as their first goal in life
to amass wealth, to acquire power
to explore every pleasure or to gain popularity.
The goal of life is not, as some suggest,
to get your “fifteen minutes of fame”.
Rather, saints looked forward to the eternal reward
which comes to God's faithful ones
at the end of this short earthly life, full of illusion.
Pope John Paul II has beatified and canonized
so many saints from different cultures and ages.
Pope John Paul II did this for just one reason:
He reminds all of us the universal call to holiness.
All of us are called to being saints.
Today we are invited to walk the path of the saints,
the way of the Beatitudes.
This way is narrow and hard.
We need faith and courage to walk it.
The example and prayers of the saints
encourage us and help us.
God is looking for hands and hearts and minds
that are ready and willing to live in holiness.
If we offer our lives to be used by God,
      I believe God will accept this offering of our lives,
      and find a place for us in God's holy plan.
Be careful how you live. You may be the only saint
some people will ever meet.