HOMILY FOR THE 31ST SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME – YEAR A
THEME: CELEBRATING THE CHURCH TRIUMPHANT
By: Rev. Fr. Jacob Aondover ATSU
FEAST OF ALL SAINTS
READINGS: REVELATION 7:2-4.9-14, PSALM 24, 1JOHN 3:1-3, MATTHEW 5:1-12
✓•Be a saint to your household, colleagues, friends, subordinates, superiors, etc.
✓•Simply be GOOD to them: share their plight and render the most help possible.
✓•Be GODLY, spiritual, prayerful; be HUMAN, kind, compassionate and loving.
✓•We all can and should be SAINTS, make the world homely and make heaven tomorrow
ALSO RECOMMENDED: Homily for the 31st Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A (2)
The word ‘saints’ is a title for all God’s people which is all too often applied to those enjoying the beatific vision in heaven. It is also used contextually to depict a group of dedicated children of God who lived in the world with their eyes set on heaven and have overtime been named saints by the Church. Sainthood as we celebrate today entails SEPARATION AND UNION; SEPARATION FROM EVIL AND UNION WITH GOD, A SEPARATION WHICH REFLECTS GOD’S VERY CHARACTER, HIS HOLINESS (Lev. 19:2). Daniel 7:18-28 describe those before God’s presence as ‘the holy ones of the Most High who shall receive kingship and possess it forever…’ Indeed, those we celebrate today are those “…who have come out of the great tribulation having washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Rev. 7:14) and are enjoying eternal bliss.
Friends in the Lord, the Church today honours as saints, all those holy souls who during their lifetime loved Jesus and strove to imitate Him and to practice His virtues. We commemorate those who loved God with all their hearts, souls, might, body and strength, (Deut. 6:5, Mt. 22:37,38); and loved their fellow humans as they did themselves (Lev. 19:18, Mt. 22:39). We celebrate those who while alive remembered to always hearken to Jesus’ call: “be holy as your heavenly Father is holy” (Mt. 5:48). Having this call in mind, THEY LIVED ORDINARY LIVES IN THE MOST EXTRAORDINARY WAYS. They were merciful like their heavenly Father (Lk. 6:36), they were poor in spirit, meek, peacemakers, pure in heart and always hungered for the kingdom of heaven. Most of them were persecuted for the sake of righteousness, not only that, some were insulted, persecuted and spoken ill of but today, they are enjoy the eternal bliss (Mt. 5:3-12). Emulating them wouldn’t be a bad idea.
Dearly beloved, sainthood is attractive and all of us should work towards it. Today we are reminded of God’s plan for us: HE CALLS US TO SHARE IN HIS HOLINESS. It is a call to holiness, a SEPARATION FROM EVIL IN ORDER TO BE UNITED WITH GOD. It is indeed a clarion call challenging us to emulate our ancestors in the faith; those who were fully human like we are today yet lived as their master would have them live. IT IS A CALL OF HOPE ENCOURAGING US TO KEEP TRYING FOR WE TOO CAN LEAD HOLY LIVES PURSUANT TO OUR BECOMING SAINTS. We are already God’s children even as we carry these transient bodies, but “when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is” (1Jn. 3:2), what a moment that would be.
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