Michelangelo’s Last Judgment – Photo by wikipedia
By John Petty, Catholic Editor
Every Nov. 1, following All Hallow’s Eve, the Catholic Church celebrates the Feast of All Saints, celebrating the holy men and women of the ages who reside in heavenly glory.
Many students at Aquinas have connections to many great saints:
“My favorite saint is St. Dominic,” Trista Crindler said. “I feel like he kind of chose me… I’m at a Dominican school now, and many Dominican religious played a large role in my faith life. St. Dominic is awesome, also because I love the Rosary, and St. Dominic is the rosary guy.”
“St. Maximilian Kolbe is my favorite saint,” Mycha Johnson said. “He gave up his life to save another man, and his devotion to Our Lady and evangelization. Also, he trusted so much in the Lord’s plan.”
Following the life of Jesus of Nazareth, the early Apostolic Church began Her missionary work throughout the world, facing great persecution. Indeed, the earliest Christians were given the option to either apostasize or die. Many of these early Christians–holding to the true faith–faced death rather than give up their faith in Christ.
Eventually, Catholic Christianity became legal in the Roman Empire under Constantine, and was declared the official religion of the Empire under Theodosius. Over time, different heresies and challenges began to emerge in the early Church, necessitating great saints to rise in holiness for the sake of orthodoxy and holiness.
Over time, great saints emerged in the West and in the East, holy men and women across the world.
One of the beauties of Catholic Christianity is the liturgical and spiritual diversity within the various rites of the Church. Saints in the Latin, Byzantine, Chaldean, Syriac etc. rites are subject to veneration and intercession on behalf of the people of God still on earth. In some of the Byzantine Catholic Churches, for example, Constantine is venerated as a saint, though this is not so in the Latin Rite.
Icon of Constantine and Helena, St. Nicholas Byzantine Catholic Church, Sterling Heights – Photo by John Petty
At 7 p.m., the All Saints Day Mass was celebrated at Our Lady Seat of Wisdom Chapel, with Fr. Robert Keller, O.P. as the celebrant. During the Liturgy, Keller prayed the First Eucharistic Prayer (The Roman Canon), invoking the names of many great saints in the early Church. Incense was used, alluding to the Book of Revelation, where the prayers of the saints are offered as incense before God.
In his homily, Keller spoke about the importance of the beatitudes in the pursuit of sainthood. Through imitating Christ, one can become a great saint through His grace.
Whether it is the North American Martyrs, the Apostolic Fathers, or individual men and women who have exemplified heroic virtue, Mother Church has recognized and praised the great testimonies of God’s people throughout the ages. Perhaps most beautiful of all is the universal call to holiness, the fact that every man and woman is called to sainthood.
