By Fr. Roy Cimagala
This Solemnity is not only an occasion to celebrate the success stories of holiness of those who are already in heaven, and are recognized and canonized by the Church as saints. It is also a strong reminder that all of us are called to holiness. And the way to holiness is clearly spelled out by Christ himself when he preached about the beatitudes. (cfr. Mt 5,1-12)
Everyone can be a saint because God calls all and empowers all to be so. Ever wondered why Christ chose his apostles practically randomly? He, for example, would just pass by Matthew in his tax collector’s table and say, “Come, follow me,” without as much checking on Matthew’s background.
Same with brothers Peter and Andrew, and James and John. Christ would just call them, and without asking any question they simply left their nets, for they were fishermen, and followed Christ.
In the end, he would also call Judas Iscariot who would later betray him. Christ, being God, would have known that Judas would turn him in. But that did not deter him. He called Judas just the same to be one of his 12 apostles.
The only reason I can find for this behavior of Christ is that he has the right to call anyone and everyone to follow him. And that’s simply because, as God, he has that right since all of us come from him and belong to him. As redeemer, he calls everyone to follow him.
Yes, everyone is called to holiness, because everyone is a creature of God, and as such is therefore created in the image and likeness of God, adopted a child of his, and meant to participate in the very life of God.
There is a basic and inalienable equality among all of us insofar as we are God’s creatures and children called to holiness. Regardless of our position and state in life, whether we are priests, religious men and women, or ordinary lay faithful, we have the same calling and purpose in life.
Corollary to this truth is that there is also a basic and inalienable quality of everything in the world to be an occasion and means for our sanctification. To be holy does not mean that we only spend time praying, going to church, availing of the sacraments, etc.
To be sure, prayer, the sacraments, the doctrine of our faith, obedience to the Church hierarchy are important and indispensable, but these would hang on thin air if they are not supported and made as the goal and expression of a sanctified life that is consistent to the teachings and the spirit of God as lived in the middle of the world.
And given our wounded condition, we have to understand that the road to sanctity will always pass through the ways of suffering in this life. Thus, Christ preached about the beatitudes where what we usually consider as human disasters or clear disadvantages and inconveniences according to worldly standards are converted into a source of joy, a means of our redemption, a path to heaven, narrow and difficult though it may be.
They expand our understanding of what would comprise as our true happiness by including those situations which we normally regard as unsavory and therefore to be avoided as much as possible and hated.
We need to study well the content and spirit behind the beatitudes by looking closely at the example of Christ. There we will have the reassurance that all the suffering and sacrifices that we have to go through would be all worth it.
