All Saints Day

Today, I saw St. Teresa of Calcutta.  And Saint Anthony.  And Saints Joseph, Nicholas, Patrick, and Thérèse of Lisieux.  Before you ask, no I was not hallucinating.  And no, I didn't die and go to heaven.  I was at mass for the Feast of All Saints, watching the children from my parish process up and down the aisles dressed as their patron saints.

When I was a kid, I didn't have a patron saint.  As far as I'm aware, there isn't a saint with my name.  So, we jumped to my middle name.  And I wasn't sure if there was a saint with that name either, so I got to pick a saint whose name was similar to my middle name, and chose St. Margaret Mary.

You don't realize it when you're a kid, but All Saints Day is a really big deal.  When your Little Sister was still pretty little, I remember being so excited to dress up and talk about my saint, but the day was much more than a Catholic variation of Halloween.  For those of you who don't know, Margaret Mary was the one who saw the vision of the Sacred Heart of Jesus.  For more information, you can read about her here.

The important lesson to remember today is that everyone can be a saint.  In fact, it is our duty as Christians to strive for sainthood.  Now, that might sound a bit presumptuous.  I'm going to be a saint someday certainly sounds a little cocky.  But, it's not meant like that.  Rather, we're saying I will strive for God, and to be the best person that I can possibly be, for the glory of His holy name.  What a beautiful thought!

Sainthood is not an impossible goal.  But, it is a difficult one.  The road is a bit rocky at times, and you will encounter opposition, not only from people you know and those you do not know, but from the spiritual realm as well.  Many of the great saints were plagued by demons, but they kept the faith anyway.

What I'm trying to say is that sainthood is not easy, but we can all attain it if we try our very best to stay close to God and to follow His plan for us.  All Saints Day is a yearly reminder of that privilege, gift, and grace.

And for those of you who haven't been to mass yet, don't forget--this is a Holy Day of Obligation, so you have to attend today!