ALL  SAINTS  DAY: 

TWO  QUESTIONS 

INTRODUCTION

It’s All Saints Day and I have two questions to reflect upon for this feast:

1) Who are the saints you have met -- who are saints with a small “s” -- the uncanonized saints?

2) Who are the Saints in your life -- Saints with a capital “S” -- your favorite canonized or official saints?

SAINTS WITH A SMALL “s”

Let’s begin with the uncanonized saints in our life -- the saints with the small “s” -- those people we describe as saints. “Oh she’s a real saint.” “He’s a saint.”

Who are those people? A neighbor?  An aunt? A fellow worker? A teacher? Someone you know who is just a good  person?

I think of my mom, my dad, my brother, my sister. I think of two priests I knew: Father Joe Hart and Father Joe McManus. All of these people are dead, but they were saints in my estimation.

What are the ingredients or the characteristics of a saint? What are our criteria? A quick 3 would be: 1) They are caring - giving and would do anything for you.  2) They are God centered. God is the central presence in their life - not an idea about God, but God. 3) Absence of negative stuff. The third idea would be just that. They are people who are not selfish or nasty or mean or self-centered.

SUGGESTION: COME UP WITH ONE

I would suggest that you come up with one person you know who is a saint. They can be living or dead. Talk over your results with those you know.

TONY

If I had to come up with one person I would pick a classmate of mine named Tony. He’s a saint. We always called him that and he is. He is a nice guy.

He was a civil engineer working in the streets and sewers of Philadelphia after he finished college and VMI. He was from New Jersey. He saw a notice in the vestibule of the church he went to on Sunday. “Volunteer needed to drive nuns on Sunday afternoon.” Tony loves football, but he volunteered a few times. Well one of the nuns asked him, “Did you ever think of becoming a priest?”

It got Tony thinking. He asked the nun what group  she would recommend. She said that the Redemptorists take care of the Neumann Shrine at Fifth and Girard in Philadelphia - were a good group.

Well one day he was working in the sewers and streets and he was all filled with mud and it was lunch time and he saw St. Peter’s so he dropped in right after his lunch to see if he could talk to a priest. Brother Hillary saw him and said, “Okay.” 

Hillary opened the door that led into the rectory and called down the corridor, “Some bum wants to see a priest. He probably wants a handout.”

Well, that’s exactly what Tony wanted: a handout. He wanted a piece of paper that described what the Redemptorists do.

He joined us. He was a bit older than all of us in our  class. He is a neat guy. A real gentleman. Good guy. A saint.

Near the end of his studies and right before he became a priest his hearing started to go, so they told him to learn sign language and that’s what he has been doing all his years as a priest.

For the last 50 or so years he has been doing work with the deaf in and around the Philadelphia area, Delaware and Southern NJ. Right not he's quite bent over with arthritis or something, but his spirit is young and stands tall.

SAINTS WITH A CAPITAL LETTER

And who would you pick for a favorite Saint with a capital letter, a canonized Saint.

Would it be St. Teresa of Avila who was a neat character, who had a real honest to goodness down to earth relationship with God. She could argue with God when praying. And when it came to others she was very blunt and open. She said in so many words, “Be careful of priests. There are a lot of dumb ones around.”

Would it be St. Thomas the Apostle who was famous for his doubts?

Would it be St. Peter who made lots of promises but broke them. He had a few good footprints on his tongue.

Would it be St. Augustine who kept putting off his conversion. “Lord, make me chaste, but not yet.”

Would it be St. Jerome who could be very stinging with his comments and his letters and still was a saint -- proving that a person who is quick tempered and nasty at times, still can be a saint. But I wonder if he would be canonized if he had to go through the process today.

Would it be St. Alphonsus who was scrupulous at different times in his life?

ST. CAMILLIS DE LELLIS

If I had to pick a favorite Saint with a capital “S” I would pick St. Camillis de Lellis. I’ve always liked him. It took him a long time to get going -- but when he finally did, he became a great Saint -- caring very deeply for the sick.

But he was a klutz -- taking forever for his cuts to heal body and soul.

I love the story when he visited this man who was sick and as he was leaning on the bed post, Camillis knocked the wooden top of the bed post off onto the man’s head - which gave him a gash -- making the man worse than before.

And one time saying mass he stepped on the alb, this white garment that a priest wears under the chasuble, and he fell down the stairs - causing all kinds of people to smile, knowing he was such a klutz.

We can all make it.

CONCLUSION

That’s my sermon. Two questions. Name a saint with a small “s” and a Saint with capital “S”.

Happy All Saints Day.