All saints day

Matthew 25: 31 - 46

It is the time of the Christian year when we remember those who have gone to be with the Lord. We remember especially our loved ones - family and close friends, those who have made a difference in our lives. Actually, to be confident that we have people we care for 'waiting' for us over on the other side is comforting. We would be more eager to go home too when it is time for us. There are loved ones to meet us, apart from our much loved Lord. It will be really 'home', the eternal, permanent one.

The reading for today reminds us to allow the love and mercy of God to rule in our heart and thoughts in all of our relationships.

Martin of Tours who lived in the fourth century was a young Roman soldier and seeker of the Christian faith. One day he met a man begging for alms in the freezing cold. The man was barely clothed. He stopped and cut his coat in two and gave half to the stranger. That night he dreamt he saw the heavenly court with Jesus robed in a torn cloak. One of the angels present asked, "Master, why do you wear that battered cloak?" Jesus replied. "My servant martin gave it to me." As a consequence of this vision, Martin rushed to be baptized.

'Saints' are not just those people we aspire to be but can't quite exemplify. We can become 'everyday saints' even in the seeming mundaneness of our lives. Perhaps it is not so much doing 'great things for God' (I cringe when people pray those words for me!). It much more about doing small things with a big heart - all the while only being concerned with the glory of God. Doesn't that make our goal much more reachable - even for us ordinary ones?