Transcript of Abbot Clement’s All Saints Day Homily, November 1, 2006

We prayed in the opening prayer acknowledging that the works of the Lord are manifested in his saints. In the Mass the priest holds up the sacred wine and blood and the bread of Jesus and proclaims the great doxology, through him, with him, and in him in the unity of the Holy Spirit all glory and honor is yours Almighty Father forever and ever. Though it is focused as a doxology praising God but it= s praising God for his works, for his activity. And the great activity is going on all the time between God and the human race but especially in the church because through Christ, with Christ, and in Christ, God is drawing people into the mystery of his glory. In the unity of the Holy Spirit and for the glory of God the Father.

So when we look at the saints we also see the work of God. So what= s it like for a person to begin to allow God to invade their life? God is working all the time on every person. The first thing God tries to do is awaken people so that they would not only discover his presence, but give up sin. That= s a real struggle for people so that they vacillate between sinning and not sinning. And the struggle goes on until they make up their mind that they= re not going to sin and they= re going to start following God. Which may be for them simply being honest in their conscience.

We see in the life of St. Augustine for instance. He was in his 30's and he had a concubine. He knew that the Lord wanted him so what did he say? Not yet! So the struggle was there until he put sin aside and then what happens to him? He discovers God is merciful. Because he discovers God is merciful to him he becomes more merciful to others. So God= s manifestation is through his presence now.

Then between that level and the more perfect people are all the other people in the world and what= s the vacillation in their life? The vacillation in their life is whether I= m going to please God, please Jesus, and really become his friend or am I going to continue my own way, serving God my way? That too is a struggle and we see it in the lives of the Saints. One example that= s kind of strong and to the point is one day Sr. Faustina, was at that time taking care of the sick, had some roses she was bringing to one of the patients, and the Lord appeared to her and immediately she saw why the Lord was looking at her, her heart was being focused in her affections for this patient instead of on Jesus. So she threw the flowers down and ran to the tabernacle and acknowledged her total gift of herself to Jesus. What happened as a result? Her friendship deepened so much so that one time there was a struggle for the salvation of a soul. So Sr. Faustina went to the chapel took off her ring and said, "If you can= t give me this soul then the heck with you!" Then she threw ring at the tabernacle and sure enough the person was brought back into the faith.

So the manifestation of God= s nearness in her life is shown that God is faithful in his relationships of friendship. So it becomes again a manifestation of God= s work in the world.

Then, of course, those that are really, totally given to Jesus shows what God is really intending to do. The best example we can give is the Blessed Mother. The Lord gave her a tremendous gift. She was conceived immaculately. But it wasn’t just a thing that happened to her - it was a gift of love. So she had to be faithful to it and she was. And she lived a life of sinlessness. So as time went on the response God gave her more grace so that she was able to respond to him and give to God a life of purity and complete chastity, or consecrated virginity. Because she gave back to him what he gave to her, God gave her the great gift of the mystery of the Incarnation. So her life was a circle of action between God and herself and therefore brought upon graces not only in her life but in the whole world.

So when we celebrate the feast of the Saints we= re not simply celebrating the saints that have made it. We are celebrating the great work of God and his redemptive work and how he manifests himself in his saints. And the call is to each and every one of us here, that we in our life are called to manifest the glory of God. So when we gather around the altar and the priest holds up the divine species that we too can say those words with all truth, through him, with him, in him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit all glory and honor is yours Almighty Father, for ever and ever.