These Are the Saints – An All Saints Day Meditation

When a loved one dies
their life is changed not ended.
This is a truth of Faith,
it is not wishful thinking.

Those who have gone before us
are still alive,
but in a new way.

Some of them now dwell forever in heaven.
Not a boring heaven
where people recline on clouds, strumming harps;
but a vibrant, joyful heaven,
where there is fun, laughter,
and friendships deeper than one can imagine.

Where they live
there is no fear,
no prejudice,
no division,
no aching bones or illness.
Only peace,
only joy,
only Love.

These are the saints,
these are the blessed,
these are the deeply happy,
living life to the full.

Today we celebrate their joy,
we dance at their victory over suffering,
and we sing our praises
to the Lord Jesus
who took each of them by the hand,
and personally walked them into heaven.

Some of them the world knows by name:
Peter, Catherine, Teresa, John,
James, Ignatius, Francis, Paul,
Elizabeth, Rose, Anne, Bernadette.

But some of them are known only to a few:
a daughter or a son,
a sister or a brother,
a mother or a father,
a wife or a husband.

Today is the day we remember all the saints,
the known and the unknown.

Today we remember
that this is our destiny,
this is our call,
this is our life’s ultimate purpose.

The saints in heaven are alive,
and they can’t wait to meet us again.
They watch us from where they are,
and they smile on us.

Speak to them.
They can hear you.
They are no longer bound by distance.
Ask them to pray for you.
They will,
for they love you as He loves you;
they are one with Him,
one Body in Christ.

These are the saints.
These are the blessed.
These are the deeply happy.
Living life to the full.
Forever and ever.
Amen.

May we all one day be among them.