Happy Feast Day to all the saints at your aptly named church. Today we rejoice in the communion of saints, joining with those who from their labors rest and praying that God will guide us in our labors and rest so that we may let God’s light shine even more brightly in our lives.

In the Beatitudes, Jesus shares with us how our hearts can be close to the heart of God.

Blessed are the poor in spirit. Blessed because not self-sufficient, not having all the answers, needing other people, needing the Lord. When we were very young, we trusted that our needs would be met. If we needed something, we would cry; when we were happy we’d laugh, good belly laughs. As we got older, and worldly-wise, we learned to control that hope, to pretend that we could go it alone, didn’t really need others. And something died in us. We began to live in a seasonless world where we laughed but not all our laughter, and cried but not all our tears. The love of Jesus calls us to TRUST GREATLY, to let down our defenses, to be vulnerable, to be poor in spirit.

Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted. Each of us learns on our pilgrimage that there is a time for mourning as well as rejoicing. We mourn when someone we love dies, for God has implanted in our hearts a strong desire that love will last forever. We believe as Christians that we never say goodbye forever, but even a temporary separation tears at our hearts. When we experience loneliness or hurt, we can become more understanding, more capable of offering sensitive, healing friendship when others are hurting.

Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth. Perhaps, when we look out on a world where people are grasping, continually putting other people down, we find a certain resonance with the beatnik poet Ferlinghetti, who somewhat wistfully still waits “for the meek to inherit the earth without taxes, the death of nationalism, without killing anyone…and the rebirth of wonder.” Worldly culture proclaims the meek to be weak. And yet, the really meek person is no jellyfish. The only time Jesus speaks of His own personality is when He says, “Learn from me, for I am meek and gentle of heart.” Jesus spoke out and acted forcefully, kicking the money changers out of the temple, always speaking the truth, but He was so gentle with people not tearing them down, but offering a new life. I think of how gentle Jesus was with his friends in the upper room on Easter evening. He could have rightly shamed them for abandoning Him, but instead He offers them His peace, and entrusts them with an amazing ministry. It’s only by our gentleness and reverence that we help one another grow. It’s only when we are truly gentle that we feel truly at home on this good earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled. We are all hungry, never satisfied. We need bread; we need friends; we need meaning; and all the bread, friends, and meaning we enjoy whet our appetite for more life. And Jesus came, saw our hunger, and wanted to give us food that would truly calm our restless hearts. He knew that we would only be fully alive when our hunger was directed at meeting the real needs of others, and so, when the crowds pressed upon him that day in the desert, He said to His friends, “give them something to eat.” We know the story, how they wanted to send the crowds away; how overwhelmed and inadequate they felt. We know that Jesus used their limited resources to provide a nourishing meal. To a hungry world, Jesus says to us, “Give them something to eat.” In sharing our food, our lives, our deepest hunger will be sated.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Mercy is a free gift. And it is a gift that sets us free. How sad it is to waste our life by hanging on to anger, to nurture grudges, which keep us from really enjoying life. The irony is that if people really want to cripple us, they succeed if we let anger harden our hearts. Do we realize when we pray the Lord’s Prayer that we are asking God to forgive us only if we are willing to forgive others? How happy are those who see beyond their pride, who accept themselves and have learned to laugh at how pretentious and selfish we all can be…willing in so many ways to turn the other cheek, without making a big deal of it. How joyful when we accept that we are really forgiven and called to share that amazing mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God. To be pure in heart is like being in love. When we truly love someone, we admire and delight in that person, for herself. We treasure that person, not for personal gain, not in order to …but with a sense of wonder. In a world where manipulating others, comparing ourselves with others blinds us to the beauty of this good earth and the presence of God, we ask God to free us from complex motivations and selfishness so that we can understand that this creation is truly meant to be God’s love story.

Blessed are the peace makers, for they will be called children of God. When Jesus offered his Easter shalom to His friends, He showed them the wounds in His hands. The place He wanted them to experience didn’t come easily, but through suffering love. We become peacemakers only when we too are willing to take the pain and hurt of others and return love. There is no other way in this broken world. We can be thankful for any wounds we bear, for they witness that we are children of God. May each of us live the awesome prayer of Francis of Assisi, “Lord, make us instruments of your peace. Where there is hatred let us sow love….”

Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. When we speak truth in a world where people consider truth the lie, I prefer to believe, when we stand up for what is right in a world which considers goodness little more than conditioning and evil something only attributable to one’s enemies, then we can expect to be considered fools, ostracized and yes, perhaps even persecuted. Jesus told us that if they treated the Master so harshly, we should not expect worldly honors. Instead we hope for the greatest honor of joining with Jonathan Daniels and Oscar Romero and all the saints who have been willing to consider all worldly treasures as worthless compared to the great gift of knowing Jesus, sharing in His sufferings, and living His risen love.

My sisters and brothers, on this feast of All Saints, may Our Lord open our hearts and make us servants in His kingdom. Now to Him, who, by the power at work within us, is able to accomplish abundantly more than we can ask or imagine, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.

Peace,

Father Jerry