Solemnity of All Saints

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/110111.cfm

"Blessed are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the Kingdom of heaven.

A Waterfall in the
Japanese Garden, Portland

In the setting of Saint Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount imitates the Law of Moses; and the Beatitudes evoke the Decalogue. Clearly, He is giving us a new way of life.

When Saint Francis set out with his hardly little band of followers for Rome he had only a vague idea of the Rule his Order should have. In fact, he might not have given very much thought to having a “Rule.” But when he asked the Pope to approve his new way of life, the Pope naturally asked for a copy of the Rule; and Francis had only a few verses of the Gospel on a scrap of paper. To this day, we’re not sure which verses he was thinking of. But, to the astonishment of everyone, the Holy Father approved Francis’ new way of life, and then directed him to write some kind of a rule. The process took fifteen years.

Franciscan scholars today suggest the Rule of Saint Francis, which is one of the more important documents in European history, describes not how we should live but how we actually live. After fifteen years Francis and his friars could say, "This is how we live the Gospel." It was not idealistic; rather, it was quite real. 

• Despite his ideals of asceticism and poverty, Francis recognized that it was sometimes necessary to wear shoes. He could not simply ban their use, as he might have before his brothers returned from northern Europe. 
• Although his friars should abstain from exotic or luxurious foods, they should not be rude when they found themselves honored with fine food. He told them, "Eat what's set in front of you." 
• He preferred that they not ride horses since only the wealthy could maintain a stable of horses; but he was carried on a beast of burden when he could not walk.

In fact, as I understand, the Canon Law of the church conforms to this principle. It describes how we actually live and not how we should live; neither the Rule nor Canon Law is an idealistic document. Both simply describe how the Gospel is lived in our real world. If some people think Canon Law, with its definitions of marriage and its ban on divorce/remarriage, is idealistic, that only shows how far they have strayed from our way of life.

We approach Jesus’ Beatitudes in the same spirit. He states very simply: Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of God; blessed are they who mourn, they shall be comforted; and so forth.

Do you wonder how God judges the disciples of Jesus? Here are his principles: the poor in spirit, those who mourn, the meek, the merciful, those who hunger and thirst for justice, peacemakers, the clean of heart, and those who suffer persecution for the kingdom – they are God’s chosen people. The Beatitudes are not ideals, which by definition are unattainable. Rather they are simple descriptions of the people God has chosen as his own.

On this Feast of All Saints we pray that we might be found in their company, living as they have lived.