Ken Overberg, S.J.

Nov 1, 2009  All Saints, with the anointing of the sick
 
On this feast of all the saints, and on every day, how can we speak about the mystery of life after death?  Our first two readings choose very different approaches.   From the Book of Revelation we hear the vivid images of an apocalyptic vision: a great multitude dressed in white robes waving palm branches.  From one of John’s letters we hear a simple statement: what that life will be like we do not know, but we will be like God.  The gospel offers a different perspective, returning our gaze to this life.  Matthew’s Beatitudes can take on a Johannine emphasis, reminding us that those who believe already possess eternal life.  Glimpses of this fullness of life are found in the poor in spirit and in those who mourn, in the persecuted and in peacemakers.
 
As you listen to these readings in gratitude and hope, keep in mind the saints in your life—official and unofficial—people who have been an inspiration for you, people in whom you have experienced God’s faithful love.
 
Let’s listen to God’s word!
 
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We gather today, perhaps with a mix of feelings, certainly with a combination of various themes. Today and tomorrow we remember in a special way all those who have gone before us, saints and sinners. They have touched our lives—some have inspired us, some have hurt us.  And so we give thanks; if possible, we offer forgiveness; we ponder the meaning of life; we praise God.
 
We also acknowledge our frailty and limits, indeed our mortality.  We are body people; we are spirit people.  In pain and illness—our own or others’—we lament, perhaps bitterly.  We also reach out in hope and trust to our God who is Holy Mystery.
 
This is a day for awe and wonder—as we contemplate the mysteries of suffering and death and the surprising countercultural life of the Beatitudes, as we celebrate the communion of saints and the fullness of life and the God who is with us and yet the goal of our deepest desires.
 
Where is your heart?

        Take some time this week to ponder your identity and call.  Relive your mountaintop or River Jordan or more ordinary experiences of new life, new vision, new commitment.  Picture the faces; hear the voices; feel the grace.  What is the meaning, the invitation for your life now?