2644AFC103026 – About those Saints ← 😊 PODCAST LINK

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Psalm 24:3-4–
³ Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?
    And who shall stand in his holy place?
⁴ Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
    who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
    and do not swear deceitfully.

Revelation 7:9-10 – ⁹ After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, robed in white, with palm branches in their hands. ¹⁰ They cried out in a loud voice, saying,

“Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!”

1 John 3:1 (GNT) [1] – ¹ See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God's children – and so, in fact, we are. This is why the world does not know us: it has not known God.

Matthew 5:3, 8-9 – (Follow this link to see this in context, please.)
³ “Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
 ⁸ “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God.
⁹ “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.

I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of Glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and revelation as you come to know him. Aloha nui loa, Adelphoi! (Much love to you, Brothers and Sisters.) We are beginning our countdown to the end of the Liturgical year, The Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe.

This weekend’s Mass would normally be the 31^st Sunday in Ordinary Time. However, since this Sunday is a Solemnity, it supersedes the Liturgy in Ordinary Time. November 1^st is a “fixed Solemnity.” It is The Solemnity of All Saints which, in Western Christianity, commemorates all faithful and baptized men, women, and countless unnamed, ordinary martyrs, and all ordinary Baptized Christian family members who have attained the Reward of heaven and will live with God as Pure Souls. Other fixed Solemnities are Christmas, The Annunciation (March 25), and The Assumption (August 15).

All Souls Day

November 2 is also a fixed date in the liturgical calendar when we celebrate All Souls Day or The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed. It is not a Solemnity. It is an annual remembrance much like St. Swithun’s Day (July 15), or the Feast of Sts. Joachim and Anne (July 26). For the celebration of All Souls Day, our prayers are centered on remembering baptized Christians who have died, especially those believed to be undergoing purification in Purgatory before entering Heaven. It is the culmination of something hardly anyone can remember called “Allhallowtide.” (My spellcheck flagged it, too) which includes All Hallows’ Eve – abbreviated as Hallowe’en, All Saints Day, and All Souls Day. Three days – Allhallowtide.

Now, some of us may also be aware of a celebration called “Día de los Muertos” which is also celebrated on November 1-2. It shares much in common with All Saints and All Souls Days, but is also heavily influenced by Aztec (pagan) rituals and ancient Spanish traditions (some now banned by the Church), including painting one’s face and/or body to give it the appearance of skeletal remains. November 1^st, honors only deceased children (Día de los Inocentes or Día de los Angelitos), and November 2^nd deceased adults. Little “altars” called Ofrendas are set up in homes with mementos of deceased family members – or friends. This coincides with pre-Catholic indigenous (pagan) practices – like those of the Aztec, Maya, Zapotec, Mixtec, Olmec, and Tolte cultures – who held cyclic views of life and death (pagan and similar to reincarnation), viewing death not as an end but as a natural continuation of the journey. We Catholics also believe death is a natural process, however our process has an endpoint from which there is no return and which is also Eternal. That’s YOLO-F, y'all, and we know it ends wherever that elevator with the Big Blue Button takes us. 😯

The Revelation in The Revelation

For this Sunday’s Solemnity, the first reading is a famous and much-quoted one about the Vision of The Apostle John as a Revelation of the End Time. There is the reference of the 144,000 which some sects and denominations hang onto tightly. This should not be interpreted as a numerical specification, but rather a symbolic number which foretells the vast and uncountable number of souls which will be eligible to enter Heaven – and yes, it is a meritorious reward system. Verse 9 reinforces this symbolism by stating “After this I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, …” We recall that familiar phrase “Billions and Billions.” Back in 2022 I told you about a mural painted by The artist of Greenwich Village, N.Y., the late Rico Fonseca. (¬ Click Link) Here is a copy of that image. I have permission from the artist and his family with the proviso that others do not copy it without gaining permission at the above-eponymous website.

"The Miracle" an original painting by Rico Fonseca, © 11/25/1972 Rico Fonseca. Contact https://www.universalartprints.com/. Used with permission. DO NOT COPY. This image slightly blurred intentionally. 

I have this hanging in our bedroom closet hallway. It’s one of the first things I see every morning. Please take note of the long line of “billions and billions” of figures in white robe standing on what might be a nearly-infinite staircase. There’s a very interesting story about a dream I had. You can find it in 2234AFC081922 – Next in line, please. Remember that thing about “the first shall be last and the last shall be first? (¬ Music Link) Well, here’s a closeup of the left side of the painting.

The Last will be first

Whoever that is on the top stair will be the last to turn around and the first to march into Heaven. Read the story to find out why. Gives me chicken-skin every time I think about it or hear it!

Alrighty then! What about those Saints? You now have an idea that they’re all on their way to Heaven, and we can probably safely assume that not all of them are Catholics. Why then are they called Saints? We could start by looking a verses like Romans 1:7 – ⁷ To all God’s beloved in Rome, who are called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. That might sound familiar because I use passages like that to introduce these essays. Another passage you might recall is 1 Corinthians 1:2 – ² To the church of God that is in Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, together with all those who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, both their Lord and ours. When The Apostle Paul uses this appellation he uses the Greek word, ἅγιος – hagios HA-gee-os.

Saints are known for their “otherness”

This word [hagios] is translated variously as “otherness,” people who are set aside from the world as different. Jesus was different, otherworldly, and so, too, are attested Christians. These are called consecrated; Holy ones; Saints; and by it he refers to all Baptized and active believers in Christ, not necessarily people who excel spiritually, or even persons who have died as martyrs or as people of exceptional faith. it’s everyone who has – as the evangelists over the centuries have phrased it – “accepted Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.” If we honestly hold our faith in Jesus, we are called to be a saint and to stand on those stairs until … whenever “now” comes around to us. If it seems like that might take more time than we’re willing to “spend,” we can relax because once we’re on that side of Eternity, there is no time to spend, invest, or waste. “All God's children’s gotta robe.” (¬ Music Link) And not everybody who is talking about it is going there – that CCC 1021-1022 Particular Judgment again. Previously we’ve shown another way to think about that. Sorta goes like this image to the right. (Click on the picture for artist’s information)

DIY Salvation? Fuhgeddaboudit!

There are so many folks these days who believe they can save themselves, or even that there nothing to save because when you're gone, you're gone, and you're not coming back. Alas and alack, we have no say in that. I'm going to stick in a fairly long passage from last week's Gospel. It will demonstrate that when it comes to God's commands, the rules are the rules. Look around the world, watch the evening news (if you can bear it), and see how many MILLIONS of people are determined to go to Hell because of their lack of chastity and love of immorality, or their penchant for the murdering of innocents, or ensnared in pride, envy, lust, and greed. We who stand on the stairs are divided from them because Jesus (who IS God) says so in Matthew 10:34-40 (ç Stop here and read this.). Jesus brings division – we stand with him or against him, that is our only choice. Failure to choose can potentially put us in the “Those Against” column. Not sure about whether or not to accept God's Best Offer?

WHAT’S STOPPING YOU? WHY?

Choose NOW

If we want that Robe and those Shoes, if we want to shout all over God's Heaven, we have to climb that Hill of the Lord because who shall stand in his holy place?
⁴ Those who have clean hands and pure hearts,
    who do not lift up their souls to what is false,
    and do not swear deceitfully. In other words, those who are set apart – consecrated – for the Lord. That’s how we are gifted a place on one of those steps – through the Incomparable Grace of God because “Salvation belongs to our God who is seated on the throne, and to the Lamb!” It is by Grace that we are called. It is by Grace that we are chosen. It is by Grace that we know what The Apostle John said is T R U E True! See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God's children – and so, in fact, we are. This is why the world does not know us: it has not known God. Chapter 1 Verse 12 of John. Go find it. (¬ Music Link)

What does it take to be poor in spirit, pure in heart, and a peacemaker? And further, what does it take to really live “IN” the beatitudes? Well, there’s an old punny way to look at that list of happy things called the Bee-Attitudes. Check out 2605AFC013026 – WWJnD and the Bee-Attitudes. It is BEE-autiful! All it takes is keeping our lives set apart for the worship of God. living a consecrated life doesn’t have to mean taking vows of chastity, poverty and obedience. What can separate us from the Love of God? Nothing! What can separate us from the Love for God? Every idol in the Book.

I'm redundant but nonetheless repetitious

I reiterate: See how much the Father has loved us! His love is so great that we are called God's children – and so, in fact, we are. This is why the world does not know us: it has not known God. We have only to take the Love he gave to us and return it to him and our  neighbors. Whenever we’re doing that – Whatever, Whenever, Wherever, Whoever, However, If Ever, Forever – we’ve secured a place with those Saints on the staircase along with all those other Saints!

Whatever, whenever, wherever, whoever, however, if ever, forever — at your service, Belovéd!
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Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture passages are from the New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE) New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

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Aloha Friday Messages by Charles O. Todd, III is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License

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