30 SUNDAY in ORDINARY TIME

Our religious tradition is founded on love. Actually, life itself is grounded in love. We may not always feel this love, but if we allow ourselves to reflect on life, we will realise this truth. We have been called into being by God's love; and we will only be happy if we live in that love. Thus, when we are directed to love God and love one another, we are not being asked to do something contrary to our nature. We come from God who is love, and so it is in our very nature to love and to be loved.

We may sometimes think that it is easier to love God than to love others. It may actually be just the opposite. Other people are tangible. We can see and hear them, interact with them. Their influence in our lives can permeate our consciousness. That is not the way it is with God. Like Moses on the mountain, we can only see the traces of divinity as God passes by (see Ex 33:23). However, we show that we love God in the way we love our neighbour.

Love, the foundation of the reign of God, is contagious. When we love others, the reign of God spreads throughout the world. The compassion that we show towards others is a form of evangelisation. It proclaims much louder than any words that the reign of God has been established.

© Dianne Bergant CSA

All Saints

On this day, we celebrate the memory of all the baptised who have gone before us and whose lives are virtuous. The saints of God are all those who have been baptised into Christ, who have washed their robes in the blood of the Lamb. We all know people whose lives were steeped in genuine holiness. The life of every one of us has been blessed by their goodness. This is a day for us to remember and to celebrate their holiness. We celebrate the lives of all those who have been marked with the sign of faith, those who have been canonised by the church, those whom we have known personally as well as those whose names we don't know.

In the Beatitudes listed in today's Gospel, we are given examples of what it means to live lives of holiness. This Gospel really does not present a blueprint for holiness. Rather, it offers a series of snapshots that demonstrate the holiness that is ours by virtue of our baptism. Those who have gone before us lived such lives. Today, as we remember them, we hold up their lives as examples of holiness and models for our imitation. The sentiments that are expressed and the commitment that it illustrated in the beatitudes clearly stand in opposition to the standards of the world. Their radicality may be more than some can understand, but they are traits that are recognisable by those who belong to the family of God, for they are genuine godly traits.

© Dianne Bergant CSA

All Soul's Day

In Christianity, All Souls Day commemorates All Souls, the Holy Souls, or the Faithful Departed.

On this Feast of All Souls, we remember those who have gone before us in faith. Our loved ones are always present with us in our hearts and in our memories. In our Catholic tradition, we call them the Communion of Saints.