During the holiday season, we always remember the traditions that have been passed to us. In a very special way this month, the Church has set aside time to remember and pray for those who have died. We also take time to call upon the saints for their intercession and read accounts of their lives for inspiration. For example, we can learn from the selfless giving of St. Maximilian Kolbe as well as the heroic witness of St. Joan of Arc.

We don’t celebrate the lives of the saints merely because they lived virtuous lives: in fact, many had deathbed conversions. We don’t honor them because they were perfect, but because they strove to imitate and discover Christ in decisive moments. We remember them because we can relate to them. We can follow them as they walked the narrow way to the truth. What a truly priceless gift!

Christ and his Church bridge the gap that separates life and death. God dwells outside of time, and amid the darkness of the crucifixion scene, Jesus tore the veil that separates temporal from eternal. He redeemed us and opened the gates of paradise for those who love and serve him. And, he even came to save those righteous souls that entered the afterlife before his earthly ministry. The most exceptional thing about the saints is that they loved God above all and their neighbor as themselves.

Let us remember the eternal presence of God, and of the many saints who behold the Beatific Vision, with thanksgiving.

“When he took it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each of the elders held a harp and gold bowls filled with incense, which are the prayers of the holy ones” (Rev 5:8).

In Christ’s love, 

Most Rev. Jacques Fabre-Jeune, CS 
Bishop of Charleston