Bible Study, Prayer, and Homily Resources
by Fr. Tommy Lane
I like this description of the saints: “The saints are, so to speak, our older brothers and sisters in the family of God. They want to take us by the hand and lead us, and their lives tell us: “If this person or that could do it, why can’t I?”” (Joseph Ratzinger Dogma and Preaching 362)
It is because the saints are like older brothers and sisters to us, that we turn to the saints asking their help, prayers, and intercession. Most Christian churches do not pray to the saints asking for their help and assistance but rather pray to God with the saints as brothers and sisters. We pray to the saints, asking them to appeal to God on our behalf for our needs and for a resolution for problems.
Because the saints are like older brothers and sisters, we pray the Litany of the Saints at important moments in the life of the Church, calling on the saints to give us their support and protection. Holy Mary, Mother of God…pray for us. Saint Michael…pray for us. Holy Angels of God…pray for us. Saint John the Baptist…pray for us. Saint Joseph…pray for us. And so on. We ask the saints to intercede for us during the most important moments of our lives because, since they are in heaven and see God face to face, their prayers and intercession for us are powerful. We pray a short form of the Litany of the Saints during every baptism for those about to be baptized. We pray the Litany of the Saints during the ordination of a deacon, priest, or bishop while they are prostrate on the cathedral floor, asking the saints to pray and intercede for the man about to be ordained a deacon, priest, or bishop. We can pray a short form of the Litany of the Saints as someone is about to pass from this world to eternal life to ask the saints to accompany the person as he or she passes to eternity.
Not only are the saints like older brothers and sisters in the family of God, but the saints are reflections of Jesus. We see something of Jesus in each of the saints. In the saints, Jesus becomes concrete (Joseph Ratzinger Dogma and Preaching p55). In the saints, we see what it means to imitate Jesus. There is a homily after the Gospel during Mass and the lives of saints are like a homily. If we want to learn about Jesus or the Church, we can look to the lives of the saints. We learn from the writings of the saints, from how they lived, and from how they died. Just think of the martyrs who remained faithful to Jesus even when this meant death for them.
Despite the intervening centuries, there is hardly a saint who has remained so close to us, so understandable, as Saint Augustine, for in his writings we encounter all the heights and depths of the human condition, all the questioning and seeking and exploring that are still ours today. He has not inaccurately been called the first modern man. (Joseph Ratzinger Dogma and Preaching 363)
Nietzsche once said that he could not stand Saint Augustine: the man seemed so plebeian and ordinary. Nietzsche is making a valid point about Augustine, but it is precisely here that we find the saint’s real Christian greatness. (Joseph Ratzinger Dogma and Preaching 367)
Even though the saints struggled with the heights and depths of the human spirit, they were joyful and happy people. Pope Francis wrote, “Christian joy is usually accompanied by a sense of humor. We see this clearly, for example, in Saint Thomas More, Saint Vincent de Paul, and Saint Philip Neri. Ill humor is no sign of holiness.” (Gaudete et Exultate §126) “Far from being timid, morose, acerbic or melancholy, or putting on a dreary face, the saints are joyful and full of good humor. Though completely realistic, they radiate a positive and hopeful spirit.” (Pope Francis Gaudete et Exultate §122) We can see this in the first two lines of Our Lady’s Magnificat: “My soul glorifies the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke 1:46-47) That sentiment is our goal—to always glory in the Lord and rejoice in God.
Today we rejoice in the Lord for the saints who are our older brothers and sisters, who struggled like us but were joyful, and to whom we can now turn asking them to pray for us.
© Fr. Tommy Lane 2024
This homily was delivered in a parish in Ireland.
More Homilies for November 1: Solemnity of All Saints
The saints: our intercessors 2021
The saints: friends in heaven interceding for us 2020
The saints, transformed in heaven, see God 2018
United with the saints in heaven during this Mass 2006
The saints remind us who we are
The saints have reproduced in their lives Jesus’ victory over evil
The communion of saints and our glorious future
Gospel: Homilies on the Beatitudes
Second Reading related: Love of God for us 2009
stories about saints and Halloween