Reflections for All Saints Day: Embrace the Spiritual

Happy Solemnity of All Saints and day 9 of 68. Since it is such a great Holy Day, I’m going to start with the Spiritual component and move on from there…

Spiritual

Today’s readings from the Liturgy of the Hours are very rich. Take the time to read/pray through them if you can. Here’s a link to a great website/app with all of the readings and prayers.

Nicole was working today so I took 3 of the kids to Mass at St. John in Logan. It was a school Mass and I was happy to see so many of the kids dressed up as saints.

As I knelt with my head in my hands after Communion, a thought came into my head; one day the skull you are holding, someone else will hold, position it gently, and close your eyes one last time. For some, this may be a morbid thought, but in reality I believe it is something we should all meditate on and do so regularly.

In all you do, remember the end of your life, and then you will never sin. – Sirach 7:36

On All Saint’s Day, All Soul’s Day, and during the entire month of November, which the Church dedicates to the souls in Purgatory, it’s also a good practice to Memento Mori – remember death. I often ponder my own death. I wonder what it will be like, who will be near me, and the cause. However, what I most often think of is what lies beyond, who will be there waiting for me, and if my dream of Heaven and eternity is silly and childlike compared to its reality. My heart is saddened when I contemplate those who do not believe in or recognize the Communion of Saints. It is such a rich treasure that the Church offers those of us still walking in this valley of tears. As Fr. Jean-Luc said in Mass, “this great cloud of witnesses prays for us and reaches out with a hand of spiritual friendship to guide us on toward Heaven!” St. Bernard of Clairvaux (d. 1153) puts it this way (sorry for posting the entire thing but it’s worth reading):

Why should our praise and glorification, or even the celebration of this feast day mean anything to the saints? What do they care about earthly honors when their heavenly Father honors them by fulfilling the faithful promise of the Son? What does our commendation mean to them? The saints have no need of honor from us; neither does our devotion add the slightest thing to what is theirs. Clearly, if we venerate their memory, it serves us, not them. But I tell you, when I think of them, I feel myself inflamed by a tremendous yearning.

Calling the saints to mind inspires, or rather arouses in us, above all else, a longing to enjoy their company, so desirable in itself. We long to share in the citizenship of heaven, to dwell with the spirits of the blessed, to join the assembly of patriarchs, the ranks of the prophets, the council of apostles, the great host of martyrs, the noble company of confessors and the choir of virgins. In short, we long to be united in happiness with all the saints. But our dispositions change. The Church of all the first followers of Christ awaits us, but we do nothing about it. The saints want us to be with them, and we are indifferent. The souls of the just await us, and we ignore them.

Come, brothers, let us at length spur ourselves on. We must rise again with Christ, we must seek the world which is above and set our mind on the things of heaven. Let us long for those who are longing for us, hasten to those who are waiting for us, and ask those who look for our coming to intercede for us. We should not only want to be with the saints, we should also hope to possess their happiness. While we desire to be in their company, we must also earnestly seek to share in their glory. Do not imagine that there is anything harmful in such an ambition as this; there is no danger in setting our hearts on such glory.

When we commemorate the saints we are inflamed with another yearning: that Christ our life may also appear to us as he appeared to them and that we may one day share in his glory. Until then we see him, not as he is, but as he became for our sake. He is our head, crowned, not with glory, but with the thorns of our sins. As members of that head, crowned with thorns, we should be ashamed to live in luxury; his purple robes are a mockery rather than an honor. When Christ comes again, his death shall no longer be proclaimed, and we shall know that we also have died, and that our life is hidden with him. The glorious head of the Church will appear and his glorified members will shine in splendor with him, when he forms this lowly body anew into such glory as belongs to himself, its head.

Therefore, we should aim at attaining this glory with a wholehearted and prudent desire. That we may rightly hope and strive for such blessedness, we must above all seek the prayers of the saints. Thus, what is beyond our own powers to obtain will be granted through their intercession.

Isn’t that awesome!? This month, contemplate your own death, strive for Heaven, and ask the intercession of all of our brothers and sisters who await our arrival in Heaven. A great book that I read nearly 30 years ago still holds a place in my mind and I highly recommend it for some spiritual reading during November – The Last Things: Death, Judgement, Heaven, and Hell by Regis Martin S.T.D.

Physical

This morning I timed my self on the apex workout – 08:47. Tomorrow I plan to bump up to level 6 which means 36 Swings, 36 Squats, 36 Presses, 36 Rows, and 36 Push-ups straight through…but I’ll try not to think about that. I’ll keep my dumbbells at 5 lbs. for now but may consider bumping those up as well in a few weeks. If you want to learn more about this program and give it try yourself click here. BTW, there’s more to it than simply exercise because as they say in the program, you can’t out exercise a bad diet. However, it’s not really a diet. It’s more like learning how to eat as a human being.

Emotional

I woke a little before 5:00 AM and found myself depressed and in a bad mood. This quickly disappeared with the exercise routine. The rest of the day was good. I helped the kids with school work, worked on my own work, went to Mass, and I’ll be heading to the airport to pickup my brother, mother, and two of my sons who have been in Rome for the past 10 days. I’m excited to hear their stories. I’m also looking forward to Mass tomorrow and a birthday party for two sons on Sunday!

The dialogue question Nicole and I worked on last night was, “How do I feel when one of our children says I love you?” It was a bittersweet discussion as we discussed our feelings when this happens. We also discussed how our parents never really said that much as we were growing up. My dad made it a point to say it every time we spoke on the phone in the years previous to his passing. We agreed that it’s something we need to get better at each day. We should all be telling our family and friends that we love them because we do! I wish I could say “I love you” one more time to a handful of people right now. Hey, wait, I can! (See the Communion of Saints section above) 😉

Intellectual

The Summa of the Summa continues to be a challenge. It takes a great deal of effort to concentrate on what I’m reading and attempt to make it make sense. I find it helpful to share what I’ve read with my wife or in my mind; talking through it until it makes more sense. Dr. Kreeft’s notes are very helpful. I would love to take a class with him!

Spanish continues to progress. I felt better today while speaking. I’m sure my English accent is atrocious but I can’t let that hold me back!

How was your day? Did you reach your goals or set new ones? Did you hit a bump? Let me know in the comments and if there’s anything I can do, don’t be afraid to reach out!

Finally A.I. didn’t include a day number but really summarized the title. I like it. The image definitely incorporates much of the Spiritual section of this post. I see kids dressed as saints, a man (doesn’t A.I. realize I don’t have hair) maybe starting to put his hands on his head. Again with the fingers!!!