November 1 and 2 reminders

THE month of November begins with the liturgical celebration of the Solemnity of All Saints and the Commemoration of All Souls. These celebrations remind us of the wonderful reality that our life here on earth is not just limited by our space-and-time existence, but has other much more important dimensions that we often take for granted.

To put it bluntly, these liturgical celebrations remind us that we are all called to be holy, because being a creature of God, created in God’s image and likeness and meant to participate in the very life of God, we really need to assume the very identity of God which is what holiness is all about. We have to be reminded always of who we really are and of how we can be consistent to that identity and dignity.

Yes, there is a basic and inalienable equality among all of us insofar as we are God’s creatures and children called to holiness. Regardless of our position and state in life, whether we are priests, religious men and women, or ordinary lay faithful, we have the same calling and purpose in life.

Corollary to this truth is that there is also a basic and inalienable quality of everything in the world to be an occasion and means for our sanctification. To be holy does not mean that we only spend time praying, going to church, availing of the sacraments, etc.

To be sure, prayer, the sacraments, the doctrine of our faith, obedience to the Church hierarchy are important, even indispensable, but these would hang on thin air if they are not supported and made as the goal and expression of a sanctified life that is consistent to the teachings and the spirit of God.

To be holy also means that we have to use our ordinary work, all the things of the world, like the sciences, arts, politics, technologies, etc., properly purified, and all the other circumstances that define our daily life as an occasion and means to look for God, then find, love and serve him.

There’s a need to cultivate a unity of life that is inspired by love of God and neighbor and oriented toward the definitive eternal life with God in heaven. We cannot divide our life in two disparate parts—one meant for holiness, and another meant only for some worldly affairs.

The November 1 and 2 celebrations also remind us of the glorious truth of our faith that we are meant to form a communion of saints that is meant for all of us, since we are all children of God, and the Christian meaning of earthly suffering and death that while sobering is also uplifting, since these serve for our purification and ultimate redemption.

We have to be wary of our tendency to get stuck to the here and now, and to be so immersed in the drama and game of our earthly life that we fail to realize there is a lot more than what we have here, what we do and say now, what we are at present.

We may create all sorts of problems and chaos in this life, all kinds of ugliness. But, hey, there is hope! Christ has redeemed us with his death! Sin and death have their sting removed. Let us learn to see beauty in all the chaos and ugliness of the present, and attain redemption in our seemingly hopeless predicament.

Let’s remember that Christ’s all-powerful and never-fading work of redemption that culminated on the cross, can take on anything that we say, do or are, whether it is something good or something bad.