All Saints Have What We Long For – Nov 01 – Homily – Fr Matthias

 

Fr Matthias gives the homily at Bloomington, IN, on Nov 01, 2023, on how the Solemnity of All Saints points to the permanence of the happiness that we long for in this life.

Today's feast reminds us of the eternal happiness that all the saints now enjoy in heaven, which is now permanently theirs. As humans, the transient nature of time often wears on us, as we're caught in a cycle of anticipation, brief possession, and eventual loss. This reality is felt more acutely in personal relationships. Our earthly existence contrasts starkly with the saints' experience in eternity, where they possess all goodness, including the company of God and fellow saints, in a timeless state.

Blessed Boethius describes eternity as the "simultaneous, whole, and perfect possession of interminable life," while Augustine notes the absence of the temporal succession of days there, emphasizing an unending life where all days exist simultaneously without end. This eternal state is something we yearn for but can't experience on Earth due to our temporal nature.

St. Bernard encourages us to aspire for this eternal bliss, urging us to align our lives towards achieving this heavenly state, emphasizing that what saints possess, we can too, if we yearn and strive for it. He advises seeking the intercession of saints to attain what's beyond our earthly capabilities, reinforcing the Christian hope of transcending temporal limitations to attain eternal happiness. This underscores the importance of aligning our desires and actions towards heavenly aspirations, fostering a closer communion with the divine and the saints.

00:00 - Introduction
00:13 - Celebrating All Saints Day
00:40 - Getting tired of time when old
01:59 - Brief possession and loss on earth
02:34 - Saints possess goods eternally
03:28 - Definitions of eternity by Boethius and Augustine
04:14 - Longing for the eternal like the saints
05:01 - Striving for the saints' glory and prayers

Ave Maria!

Mass: All Saints - Solemnity - http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/01315a.htm
Readings:  - http://usccb.org/bible/readings/110123.cfm
1st: rev 7:2-4, 9-14
Resp: psa 24:1-6
2nd: 1jo 3:1-3
Gsp: mat 5:1-12

More on the Readings: https://airmaria.com/r?m=1186

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