Homily All Saints: We are all called to be saints!

 Homily for All Saints 2026

Introduction

I remember a story my high school seminary rector, Fr. Denis, once told on All Saints' Day. He was a young priest and had just completed graduate studies at a prominent university in New York. As he was preparing to return home to Uganda, an elderly nun congratulated him, but then added:

"Father, although you have now acquired a prestigious academic title, there is still one more title you need to get."

"Which one?" the young Fr. Denis asked. "Monsignor?" "No," the nun replied.

"Bishop? Archbishop?" "No."

"Well, it must be Pope!" the increasingly anxious young priest suggested.

"No, Father," sister said. "The title you still need to add to your name is Saint. Saint Denis!"

How right Sister was! Of all the titles we might acquire in life, the one title that every Christian should aspire to, is that of Saint!

That is what we celebrate today, on the Solemnity of All Saints. Since the earliest centuries, Christians have commemorated the martyrs who gave their lives for Christ. Eventually, the Church established this feast to honor all the saints.

Today, I would like to reflect on three questions about this universal call to sainthood: Who are the saints? How do we become saints? And when do we become saints?

Who are the saints?

First, who is a saint?  Sometimes when we think of saints, we think only of extraordinary people: Saint Peter, Saint Augustine, Saint Francis of Assisi, Saint Teresa of Calcutta, those we commemorate in the liturgical calendar. But the saints we celebrate today are not limited to those officially canonized by the Church.

Our first reading, from the Book of Revelation, describes a vision of heaven in which Saint John sees "a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue." They stand before the throne of God and before the Lamb, wearing white robes and holding palm branches in their hands.

Among them are apostles and martyrs, bishops and priests, but also ordinary men and women who remained faithful to God in their daily lives. Perhaps some are people we ourselves have known: parents, grandparents, relatives, teachers, or friends. They may never have had a statue erected in their honor, but they are saints nonetheless, because they now share fully in the life of God.

What makes them saints is not their own perfection, but the grace of Jesus Christ. As we heard in the Book of Revelation, they have washed their robes and made them white in the Blood of the Lamb. They are now with God, not because they never sinned, but because they allowed his grace to make them like God.

How do we become saints?

That brings us to our second question: How do we become saints?

We begin that journey at baptism. Through baptism, we are cleansed of sin, made children of God, and given a share in God's own life. But baptism is only the beginning. We must then live according to the life we have received. 

And how do we do that?  In the Old Testament, God gave his people the Ten Commandments to guide their relationship with him and with one another. These commandments remain essential for the Christian life. But in today's Gospel, Jesus gives us another teaching to guide our journey to sainthood: the Beatitudes.

While many of the Ten Commandments tell us what evil we must avoid, the Beatitudes describe the kind of people we are called to become.

·        "Blessed are the poor in spirit." Thus we recognize our dependence on God rather than on our own achievements.

·        "Blessed are the merciful." We forgive those who offend us and care for those who suffer.

·        "Blessed are the clean of heart." We seek sincerity and integrity in our lives.

·        "Blessed are the peacemakers." We seek reconciliation rather than revenge.

Notice that Jesus does not say, "Blessed are the famous, the powerful, the wealthy, or the successful." Jesus gives us a very different measure of what is needed to be counted among the blessed, among the saints of God.

Living the Beatitudes is not easy. Being merciful when offended, making peace when others want to fight, or remaining humble when we want praise requires effort. But God's grace sustains us through prayer and the sacraments. The saints too struggled with weaknesses and failures. What distinguished them was their willingness to keep turning back to God. And that same grace is available to us.

When do we become saints?

Now that we have seen who the saints are, those who share in God's holiness, and how to become saints, by cooperating with God's grace in living the Beatitudes, one final question we need to address is, when do we become saints?

Saint Paul, in several of his letters, addresses the Christians as the "holy ones" or "saints," because they had already been consecrated to God through baptism.

And Saint John makes the same point in today's second reading, saying,  "Beloved, we are God's children now; what we shall be has not yet been revealed."

Notice those two words: "are" and "now." We are God's children already, not merely at some future time. In one sense, we are saints already, because we belong to God. But we are also saints in the making, because our holiness has not yet reached its fulfillment.

Saint John continues: "We do know that when it is revealed we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."  Our holiness has already begun, but it has not yet reached its completion. We already share in God's life through baptism and grace, but we hope one day to share fully in that life in heaven..

And here I would like to make an important distinction.  Sometimes, when a loved one dies, we are quick to declare that they are already in heaven. You will hear at funerals: "We know that our mother is now in heaven, looking down upon us."

Of course, such words come from love, grief, and our Christian hope in eternal life. But there is a difference between hoping that someone is in heaven and knowing with certainty that they are there.

This October marked five years since my own mother passed away. I knew her faith, her goodness, her sacrifices, and her efforts to live a holy life. I certainly hope and pray that she is now enjoying the presence of God. But I still pray for her, especially when I celebrate Mass.  So when should I stop praying for her?

A priest recently answered that question in a striking way. He said: "We stop praying for our loved ones when we know for certain that they are in heaven—either because the Church has canonized them, or because we ourselves have reached heaven and found them there!"

Until then, we commend them to God's mercy, praying that they may enjoy the fullness of eternal life.  That is why tomorrow, on All Souls' Day, the Church prays for all the faithful departed, that they too may join the saints in heaven.

Conclusion

As we celebrate this Eucharist and join our voices with the angels and saints in singing, “Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts,” let us remember the ultimate purpose of our lives: to become saints and to help others become saints too.

Father Denis would eventually acquire several more titles: Monsignor, Bishop, and Archbishop. But I pray that he has also received the title that the nun reminded him was the most important of all: Saint!

And may that also be our daily hope and goal.