FORTY-SEVENTH LESSON
Feast of All Saints.
"For we are the children of saints."—Tobias viii. 5.
The very name of this feast, my dear children, teaches you what it is, and for whom it was instituted. It is the feast of all the saints, which means the feast of those whose virtues have been crowned by the bliss of heaven. These happy beings who enjoy eternal peace, are our brothers still; like us in life, they were children of the Church, and the bond that existed between them and us has not been severed by death. That is why the Church has placed each day of the year under the special protection of a saint. That is why also she gives each new-born child, one of heaven's elect as a protector and a model; but being unacquainted either with the name or history of numbers of saints of every age and nation, the Church unites all her children in her memory, and honors them all in one solemn feast. Her purpose then, on this day, is to honor the saints by her homage and her praise, and in order that this least may make an impression on us, she encourages us to follow the examples of the saints, by the prospect of that eternal bliss, which is their reward, and at the same time she prays to them to protect us before God.
So you see that the Church congratulates the saints on the glory and happiness which is their lot, she manifests her joy at their having gloriously ended all their trials, and at their having triumphed in all their struggles, for you must know, my children, that the saints have not won heaven without effort and labor. Some, for God's holy name, have suffered death like the martyrs, in the most horrible tortures; others, like the apostles, have spent their whole lives in arduous tasks, undertaking long and dangerous journeys, to preach the Gospel to idolatrous nations; numbers of pious hermits have given to the poor all they possessed, accepting poverty themselves, to be like Jesus Christ. Last of all, good Sisters of Charity have devoted all their time to the care of the sick, to the education of poor children, and even those amongst the elect, who have not practised virtue quite so perfectly, or at least not so conspicuously, have yet become saints by merely fulfilling their everyday duties faithfully; for even that requires great attention and courage. The saints have overcome the evil spirit. God rewards them: this is why we honor them on this day. Alas! my children, our lives have a very faint resemblance to the lives of the saints who have left us such precious examples! We are not all, it is true, called upon to become monks, priests, hermits, or martyrs; but saints have been met with in all stations of life in which any one of us may be placed. There have been saints of every age, and you also, my dear children, can find examples amongst the elect.
Many saints in heaven were children like you, having no other duties to perform but such as yours only they performed them better. They did not accomplish great actions in the sight of men, but they loved God fervently, and were dutiful towards their parents. Most certainly they had faults to correct, bad inclinations to battle against; but their good will, sustained by our Lord's help, enabled them to obtain the victory. What they were able to do, my dear children, can you not do likewise?
For this purpose pray to the saints today for the courage of which you stand in need. They have not really the power to grant us grace, but they can ask it for us and with us; and you can neither doubt the interest they take in our sanctification, not their power before God, whose friends they are.
The next life, and not this, is the life of rest; while we are here, we must both fight and conquer, if we would be crowned hereafter. Let us then take courage; let us, like the saints persevere, and fight manfully; and let us persevere in this warfare to the end of our lives, and obtain the eternal reward promised to the virtuous.
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