All Saints
On this feast of All Saints, Holy Mother Church reads again for us as a Mother reads for her children, the Gospel of the Beatitudes which are the ultimate fruit of the theological virtues of Faith, Hope and Charity. It is because a soul believes in what God has revealed, trusts in the fulfilment of His promises and loves Him above all things that they can progress to the point of producing the supernatural fruit of the Beatitudes.
Since there are many misconceptions today about what the three theological virtues are, and since we cannot be saved, much less become saints without them, it is good on such a day as this to reflect upon what they are in reality.
By faith, we believe what God has revealed to us about Himself and about our eternal destiny. We do not believe it because we see it, or because we feel it. We believe it because God can neither be mistaken nor lead us into error. Everything that God has revealed is true, and it is for our good to know it and believe it. It is through faith that we gain access into the world of God, for it is the foundation and the root of all holiness. To be sure, our faith is sometimes put to the test. The sublime truths He has revealed are so very far beyond our understanding. They do not contradict it, but they surpass it, and while we know God cannot be mistaken, our poor created intellects are as it were blinded by the excess of light that comes from the words that God has revealed to us. But if only we can humble ourselves and make that act of faith, then we pass into the world of God and those mysteries become ours. This is why St Thomas says that the smallest knowledge of God through faith is of more value than the greatest knowledge of natural things known by human reason.
By hope, we are certain that the promises of God will be fulfilled in their time. We put all our confidence in the infinite power of God who will overcome all obstacles to the fulfilment of His loving plans. Among those marvels of His grace that we do not doubt are the points enumerated in the act of hope: we hope to receive the help of God’s grace, the forgiveness of our sins and life everlasting. And all of this through the merits of Jesus Christ our Lord and Saviour. By the virtue of hope, we are already in possession, as it were, of eternity. This is why the great feast of hope is the Ascension, where the Lord has gone before us and from where He is the anchor which draws us upward towards Him at every moment, as long as we do not resist and tie ourselves to the earth by an excessive or disordered attachment to worldly goods, fame or pleasures.
By love, we really want what is best for God. That’s what love is, to want what is good for the one we love. But how can we want what is good for God when He has all good things? To want what is good for God is to want that His holy will be accomplished in us and in the whole world, and so the practical way in which we show our love for God is by working that His kingdom come and that His will be done.
Today, in an ecclesial context immersed in modernism, the three theological virtues are often confounded with counterfeits. Faith has become a vague feeling about some higher power over us that is present in all religions. This is heresy. Hope has become the desire to see a better world tomorrow, one in which the environment will be protected and all religions and peoples will get along with each other. This is apostasy. Charity has become a vague sentiment of being nice to others and condoning their vices. This is absurdity.
With the saints, let us strive to grow in the true virtues of faith, hope and charity, which, when grown mature, produce the beatitudes. St Thomas connects the virtues, the beatitudes and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. He says that the virtue of faith commands two of the beatitudes, namely: the beatitude of the pure of heart because faith leads us to see God in all things, and the beatitude of those who weep, for by faith we see eternal realities that are hidden from sinners, and so we weep bitter tears when we see how far so many are from God, but we also weep tears of joy when we sense how good God has been to us and how much the Lord has suffered for us.
The virtue of hope commands the beatitude of the poor in spirit, because when we place all our confidence in the unending and immortal goods of eternity, this moves us to be detached from the mud of worldly possessions that will fade away tomorrow. Charity commands the beatitude of the peacemakers, for indeed only true Christian charity is capable of establishing peace among men. It is only those who have learned to love God above all things and neighbour as themselves who can effectively promote peace among others.
In this way we see that our perfection begins and ends with the theological virtues, for they take us directly to God. This is the way that the saints followed, all of them. They truly believed everything God revealed, they knew with certitude that His promises would come true and they held Him most dear above all, and all creatures for love of Him.
Let us ask Mother Mary, Queen of all saints, and all the inhabitants of the Heavenly Court, to watch over us and lead us, one day at a time, to the glory of that kingdom which is all around us, but hidden by a veil. One day, very soon, that veil will be lifted. On that day, may we be admitted to enter, our faces radiant with joy, our hearts exploding with love for the Triune God and for all His heavenly friends.
