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All Saints Day, canonized, sainthood, saints, St. Paul, Tenley Albright, The Sophia Center for Spirituality
With all the ghosts and goblins back in their hiding places and many candies and other treats already consumed, Christians turn today to the annual celebration of All Saints. When I was young I thought of today as sort of a “consolation prize” for all the people whose names were not listed as official (i.e. “canonized”) saints. I was happy enough to know that St. Ann(e) was the grandmother of Jesus, given to make me a legitimate baptized Christian as my middle name back when I was born. Some people wanted to attribute the sainthood of Lois to St. Louis IX, king of France, but I wasn’t really interested in that, although in a pinch it was rather prestigious.
Today I prefer the perspective of St. Paul who addressed all those who listened to his preaching as saints. Perhaps he was clear on the fact that no one still alive ought to add the title “Saint” as a prefix to their first name, but preferred to assume that we were all working toward that designation and that the possibility still existed until we had taken our last breath.
I was musing on that fact, happy that the seed of a blog post was already in me as I came awake this morning. Just at the same moment for no reason I can imagine, the name Tenley Albright came to mind. That was one of those names that seems as if it were made up by parents who wanted something unique for their child but perhaps it was a family last name that was unfairly thrust upon an innocent baby. Tenley Albright was famous when I was a child, especially known to me because she was born in Newton, Massachusetts as I was. Tragedy was turned into gift for Tenley when she was given skating as physical therapy after being struck with polio at age eleven. She became one of the most decorated skaters in American history and went on to become a surgeon and faculty member at Harvard Medical School.
Certainly Tenley Albright would be in the running for the honor of sainthood, but I’m with St. Paul and my vote is with all those skaters who get up every morning and do their best no matter how many times they fall in practice. That would include all the parents who drive their sons and daughters to practices and events and all the teachers who have those students in their classrooms and all the checkout clerks in the grocery stores who stand on their feet all day facilitating the distribution of the food that farmers (also saints) grow for us, and so on and on and on…to all people of good heart and good cheer who are making their way to eternity and on whom God smiles for their efforts.
There’s hope for all of us! I was just reading a synopsis of St. Vincent de Paul’s life (1580 – 1660), one of the most well known saints of Christianity for his care for the poor. Vincent, the account says, “had become a priest with little more ambition than to have a comfortable life,” but had been changed by the deathbed confession of a dying servant that “opened his eyes to the crying spiritual needs of the peasantry in France.” There’s lots of evidence of his good works, commonly known, but it was a small paragraph toward the end of the account that gave me pause – and actually made me smile.
Every once in awhile I am pleasantly surprised by what I find as I begin my routine of blogging. My first stop is always the US Catholic Bishops’ website (www.usccb.org) which provides me with the lectionary readings for the day. Next I check Fr. Don Miller’s information about the holy person whose designated feast the Roman Catholic Church celebrates on that particular day (www.franciscanmedia.org). I do check into the thoughts floating in my own mind as well but always like to have some backup in case of “brain freeze.” And as most of you know, my “backup” stretches to many other sources as well.
Having lived what I sometimes call “a charmed life,” I am often amazed at the zeal and the difficulties of those that we Roman Catholics (and others) call saints. I wonder if I wouldn’t have given up by now if I had come up against betrayal and poor treatment (including excommunication for a time!) from colleagues and church officials encountered by St. Mary MacKillop – the first named saint of Australia and the “Saint of the Day” on the Franciscan Media website for today.
We all come to God in our own time and in our own way. Whether we are born into a religious tradition that nurtures our faith in an organic way for the duration of our life or have a moment of recognition brought on by an extraordinary event, our life journey is as unique as our thumbprint and just as special.
I knew, of course, that yesterday was Halloween, i.e. “All Hallows’ Eve” but it’s still a bit of a shock this morning to wake up in November! Suddenly the trees are bare and the temperature outside is so low that one can hardly hold on any more to the season of autumn. It’s rather ironic that we celebrate many of our grandest holidays during the darkest time of the year. Perhaps it’s necessary that it be that way to keep us positive through the darkness. We begin today in Christianity with the feast of All Saints.
As a child in Catholic school, I offered my work, as did all my classmates, to Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Especially on tests, our papers were signed at the top with a small cross and the letters JMJ. As a high school student studying Latin there often appeared a more sophisticated reminder at the top of our papers: AMDG under the cross reminded us that all our work was dedicated “for the greater glory of God.” (Ad majorem Dei gloriam) I doubt that I knew at that time the origin of that phrase as a motto although I was aware of the esteemed men’s religious community that claimed it: the Jesuits, formally named the Society of Jesus, founded by St. Ignatius of Loyola in the 16th century. Today is the feast of St. Ignatius.
When I was young, there were saints that held a special place in the hearts of Catholic school children, especially those holy people who were dedicated to education or who were young themselves when their “saintliness” was already evident. Most often, their influence was obvious at the end of the school year when final exam time rolled around. Today is the feast of St. John Bosco (1815-1888), one of the influential inspirations to whom we prayed for help with the answers on our tests!
St Francis de Sales, whose feast is celebrated today, was born into an educated and political family in France in 1567. After studying law in Padua and receiving a doctorate, he returned to France and in time convinced his father that he was called to priesthood rather than government service. It was his gentleness in interactions with all people that was the hallmark of his life. This morning’s short commentary at 
Today, the feast of All Saints in Western Christianity, always seemed to me in my younger days as sort of a “catch-all” for those of us who were not named after a canonized saint: a holy person (often a martyr for the faith) proclaimed as such by a Church celebration and venerated on their own special day. It was a relief to me that my middle name was Ann so that I lived under the protection of the Blessed Mother’s mother. Actually I found it pretty cool to have the grandmother of Jesus as my patron saint! Otherwise I would have had to settle for St. Louis – not the city but a King of France. Later I also found Lois in the Scriptures at the beginning of the second letter to Timothy: I find myself thinking of your sincere faith – faith which first belonged to your grandmother Lois and to your mother Eunice, and which I am confident that you also have. (2 TM 1:4-5) That convinced me that I was covered on both counts – first and middle names – and that it was lucky to have two extra grandmothers to watch over me.