By Megan Erbacher
The Message editor
Every moment of our day offers us an opportunity to grow in holiness, Bishop Joseph M. Siegel shared with the faithful gathered for Mass on All Saints’ Day at St. Benedict Cathedral.
On Nov. 1, Bishop Siegel celebrated Mass on the Solemnity of All Saints at St. Benedict Cathedral in Evansville. During his homily, he said what separated the saints from the rest of the world was not a total absence of failure, but their willingness to keep returning to the ocean of God’s mercy. The saints did not rely on their own will power, bishop explained, but they relied completely on the transforming power of the Holy Spirit.
Father Alex Zenthoefer, diocesan Vicar General and rector of St. Benedict Cathedral, and Father Tyler Underhill, parochial vicar of St. Benedict Cathedral, concelebrated Mass with Bishop Siegel. Deacon Dave Rice assisted, and Matt Miller, diocesan Director of the Office of Worship, served as the Master of Ceremonies for the Mass.
During his homily, Bishop Siegel noted that when we think of the saints, we often imagine men and women who never stumbled, never lost their temper and somehow possessed a quiet perfection from birth. Of course, he said, other than our Blessed Mother, the saints weren’t born saints. They became saints, he explained, by responding to God’s grace and striving each day to follow Jesus Christ in their daily lives.
The Solemnity of All Saints reminds us that heaven is not a distant museum reserved for a small circle of spiritual giants, Bishop Siegel said, but a vast, crowded family reunion.
While the Solemnity of All Saints certainly includes the canonized saints, whom we see in statues and stained-glass windows, and whom we venerate on their feast days each year, bishop explained, it also belongs to the un-canonized saints — all those men and women who dwell in heaven and see the face of God. It belongs to the countless millions who live quiet, hidden lives of fidelity to Jesus Christ, Bishop Siegel noted — mothers and fathers, clergy and religious, students and teachers, laborers and bosses, as well as the hidden souls who bore their daily crosses with unshakable joy and hope.
On the Solemnity of All Saints, Bishop Siegel said the church pulls back the veil between heaven and earth to remind us that heaven is filled with ordinary people who allowed God’s grace to do extraordinary work within them.
But, what is the path to heaven, Bishop asked.
The answer is given to us in the day’s Gospel, he explained, as Jesus proclaims the beatitudes. To the world, the beatitudes may sound upside-down, like a recipe for misery and weakness, he said, because the world tells us that the blessed ones are the rich, powerful, comfortable and self-sufficient.
But Jesus, as usual, flips the script, Bishop Siegel said. The beatitudes are not a set of burdens and rules, he noted, they are a portrait of Christ himself and the blueprint for becoming a saint by following Jesus’ example.
The saints are those who took Jesus at his word, when they allowed the beatitudes to take flesh in their daily lives, bishop noted. The solemnity also reminds us, he said, that holiness is meant for and possible for you and me.
Sometimes, Bishop Siegel said, we look at the lives of the saints and find ourselves deeply intimidated by the working of miracles, great penances or theological teaching. However, for us, holiness is rarely achieved in headline grabbing events, he said, sanctity is usually forged day-by-day through small unnoticed choices of life that we make.
In conclusion, Bishop Siegel said becoming a saint is ultimately about letting God restore you to whom you were always meant to be before sin entered into your life. The saints know exactly how difficult it can be to say yes to Jesus, he noted, because they walked the same road, faced the same temptations and daily fought the good fight of holiness.
Right now, Bishop Siegel said, the saints are rooting for us. They are praying for us, he continued, interceding on our behalf before the throne of God, and eagerly waiting to welcome us to our eternal home. As we approach this altar today to receive the same Eucharist that sustained the saints throughout history, Bishop Siegel encouraged all to ask for the grace of renewed, burning desire for holiness, and to accept our call to be saints.