Father Peter’s Homilies

HOMILY for FEAST of ALL SAINTS – Year ABC

On the Feast of All Saints, I’m reminded of this cute story that I’d like to share with you. A
pastor’s son who had just gotten his driving permit asked his dad if they could discuss the use of the
car. The pastor said to his son, “I’ll make a deal with you. You bring your grades up, study the Bible
regularly, & get your haircut; & we’ll talk about it.”
A month later, the boy came back & again asked to discuss the use of the family car. That
pastor replied, “Son, I’ve been real proud of you. You’ve brought your grades up; & you’ve studied
the Bible diligently. But, you never got your haircut.”
“You know, Dad, I’ve been thinking about that,” the young man replied. “Samson had long
hair; Moses & Noah probably had long hair. All the pictures of Jesus show Him with long hair…”
“Yes,” the pastor interrupted, “and they also walked everywhere they went!”
Anyhow, this Sunday the Church calls us to celebrate the Feast of All Saints, which is one of
my favorite feasts in our Catholic/Christian tradition. For it reminds me of our Catholic/Christian
heroes who started out sinful like all of us & then ended up perfect like the Heavenly Father after
going through a person conversion. Before we discuss more about the Feast & its spiritual meanings
in our lives, I’d like to share with you its history. The Feast of All Saints was first mentioned in the
fourth century as the Eastern feast of All Martyrs & celebrated on May 13 as St. Ephrem of Edessa
attested to it. It also came to be celebrated on other days in the East such as Easter Friday & in the
West on Sunday after Pentecost. In 609 or 610, the Roman Pantheon was dedicated on May13
under the title “Saint Maria & Martyrs.” Many have begun to see in this origin of the Feast of All
Saints. Then, for some reason, Pope Gregory IV, who reigned from 827 to 844 transferred the Feast
from May to November 1. Perhaps the pope wanted the Church to honor the saints as its spiritual
heroes & get inspired by those holy souls before it remembers the common souls with the Feast of
All Souls on the day after, which is November 2. That is basically the history of the Feast of All
Saints.
What does the Feast of All Saints mean to you? First, it reminds me of the stories of some
favorite saints that I have read about since my childhood. As a child, I have read St. John Bosco, St.
Therese of little child Jesus, St. Joseph, St. Peter, St. Paul, & so on. But, my favorite one was St.
Therese of little Child Jesus. I have gone through several versions of her life story & was fascinated
by it. She showed me how to deal with people as she had to put up with other nuns in her convent.
Once she was wrongfully accused of breaking a light, she took it gracefully without throwing a
tantrum. Another time she tried to pray quietly in the Chapel, but another nun kept making loud
noises by hitting her rosary against the pew. That happened every time they got into the Chapel for
prayer over the course of weeks; & it slowly got on Therese’s nerves. Thankfully, Therese learned
how to block out that noisy distraction by turning it into heavenly music. But, the greatest spiritual
lesson that St. Therese taught me was to invite & challenge me to do at least one good deed a day,
which she called the little way to Jesus. I have kept up that good habit since my childhood &
searched for opportunities every day to do one good deed even now.
Over the years, I have begun to expand my repertoire of the saints by reading more stories
of other saints such as Paul & Augustine whose amazing personal conversion has challenged me to
change & called me to come home to the Lord, or Jerome who translated the whole Bible from
Aramaic to Latin called the Vulgate & explained it in his Commentary & reminded everyone to study
Scripture more with this message “Ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ,” or Christopher
who supposedly helped carry Jesus in the form of a child across a river & is named a patron saint of
travelers, or Patrick who brought the Good News of Jesus to Ireland after being captured as slaves,
or Francis of Assisi who gave away all his possessions to help the poor & treated animals with much
care & compassion, or Anthony who has helped people to find lost items, or Jude who has come to
the aid of people in hopeless situations, or Martin de Pores who assisted slaves upon their arrival in
south America & evidently was quite miraculous in answering prayers for many Vietnamese, or
Kateri Tekakitha who was a native American & known as the lady who prayed a lot & has apparently
blessed me with a miracle about twenty eight years ago as I prayed for a sick friend. The role of the
saints is not only about interceding for our prayers but also being an excellent role model for us. As
you might know, Catholics often do not go directly to Jesus or God the Father for their prayers
because we feel that we are sinful & not worthy to ask God for anything. That is why over the years
we have come to Mary & the saints, including three Archangels & the Guardian Angels, & ask them
to intercede for our prayers. I invite you to take advantage of this unique prayer portal & come to
Mary & the saints for your intercessory prayers. They might surprise you with their intercessory
power & bring you all sorts of interesting miracles.
However, Mary & the saints have one more important role to play in our Catholic tradition
over the years, namely, being a wonderful role model for us. For they had shared similar strength &
weaknesses like the rest of us. They had also struggled & faced with earthly struggles & temptations
like many of us. But, what distinguishes them from us is their ability to recognize their own
sinfulness & their humility & courage to convert & come home to the Lord. After their conversion,
they dedicated the rest of their lives to follow a life of virtues & holiness & prepare themselves &
others for the Final Exam & Eternal Life in Heaven. These heroes & icons of holiness in the Church
are excellent examples for us to emulate & aspire in our earthly journey. That is why the Church has
scrutinized & created many new saints regularly to help us relate easily & look up to. Besides our
Lord Jesus, Mary & the saints can inspire us to follow their way of life & intercede for us from their
vantage place in Heaven. So, I encourage & challenge each & every one of us to pick out at least one
saint whom we could relate easily & look up to in our daily lives. In fact, this Feast’s First Reading
reminds us the important role of the saints on our journey of faith as following, “…These are the
ones who have survived the great period of trial; they have washed their robes & made them white
in the blood of the lamb.”
If there is one thing that the world desperately lacks amidst its abundance of wealth &
material stuffs, it would be many more role models for everyone to emulate & aspire in their daily
lives. If parents, children, teachers, students, coaches, players, employers, employees, leaders,
citizens, & so one would have someone that they could look up to & emulate, we would see less
bad decisions & terrible acts happen in our world every day. I owe my priesthood & virtues-oriented
personality to my family & many teachers & religious clergy who have influenced me positively
throughout my life. Without those heroes of holiness, I would not be the person that I am now or
stand here before you as a priest. In fact, I have done thousands of funerals throughout my thirty
years of priesthood. The only thing that the surviving members would appreciate & remember
about their deceased loved ones is the way the dead had lived & influenced the living positively
despite their life challenges. Wealth, power, & education level do not mean much to the surviving
after one’s death.
My dear brothers & sisters, are there some saints whom you have highly adored & come to
often in prayers? If you haven’t had one, I strongly urge you to find at least one for yourselves this
Sunday to call on in your prayers besides our Lord Jesus. For they will come to Jesus on your behalf
for your prayer requests. More importantly, they will be the wonderful role models for you to
emulate & aspire in your daily lives. You will see your lives changed for the better once you have
followed the ways of life of your favorite saints. Your families & friends will also benefit greatly from
this conversion.