Who Will We Be? (10/31/2023)

Today is Halloween! Tonight, the neighborhood will be teeming with costumed children and flash lighted parents. There will be laughter and loud conversation as children report on their “take” and plan their next move. We have our candy. My husband always hands it out. Truth is, I’m not the biggest fan of Halloween; I’m more a Christmas and Easter girl. But I do see value in Halloween.

I wonder how many of the revelers out tonight will know that the whole event has a religious origin – All Hallows Eve or the eve of All Saints Day. It is the beginning of a 3-day celebration: All Hallows Eve, All Saints’ Day, All Souls’ Day. Today as the tykes are donning their costumes pretending to be someone or something else, it’s a good day for us grown-ups to consider who we will be, really be, not pretend to be, but really be.

We are called to be saints by our loving LORD. As I tell my faith formation students frequently, “We are saints in the making,” or at least we should be. Daily we choose our path, daily we choose our priorities, daily we strive to live our love of the LORD and of one another in real time and in real ways. If someone were to take a photo of us out and about, would we be recognized as a “saint in the making”? Would our joy in the LORD be noticeable, almost palpable? Would we be caught loving others through service? Would anything about us suggest that we are disciples of our LORD Jesus Christ?

Who is the LORD calling me to be? Who has the Spirit gifted me to be? Who will I be? Who will others remember me as? Whose life will be different because of my love for the LORD and for my sisters and brothers? These are questions for us every day, but especially this day.

We are called to be saints in the making, but we are not sent on this journey alone and without help. The Spirit is with us, guiding us, gifting us. Will we take note of the Spirit’s presence? Will we seek to discern the Spirit’s guidance? Will we prayerfully discern our proper place among the communion of saints here on earth as well as in heaven?

Let us celebrate these special days of All Hallows Eve, All Saints’ Day, and all Soul’s Day. Let us use this time as a time of reflection for blessings past and for guidance for our future. Let us seek always and everywhere to grow into the daughters and sons we were created to be, the disciples we are called to be, and the saints the Spirit gifts us to be.

Until tomorrow, let us all love well.