Making the Sunday that follows the Pentecost as the Sunday of all saints comes from the spiritual piety since the Holy Spirit is the creator of holiness in the church and the faithful. The phrase “All saints” refers to those who their saintliness is declared, and have a feast on a specified day of the year. It also refers to those who their holiness wasn’t declared with an official beatification through a decision from the Holy Synod.
The epistle to the Hebrews tells us about the saints of the Old Testament: Moses and the prophets that left for us prophecies such as Isaiah, Ezekiel, Jeremiah, and Daniel, in addition to those who didn’t write such as Prophet Elias.
The writer of this epistle describes the fights that those had and the pain they have endured. However, he says that those weren’t “made perfect” without us the Christians since they had to wait for the perfection that Christ reached on the cross. Those in the Old Testament were sanctified and waited Christ, and then those who came from his Gospel in the New Testament were sanctified.
In the Biblical passage, the apostle comes with a partial definition concerning saintliness as he says “Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven”. Christianity is based on your declaration of following the Lord that comes from your mouth for we do not have any secrecy as we don’t hide our faith in Christ or say something contrary or incompatible. This confession might lead us into suffering and death. This is why we call those who taste the pain of the enemies “confessors”, and if they were killed we call them martyrs.
The second element in confession is carrying Jesus’ cross, i.e. to carry all the hardships of life and follow him. These might be daily hardships in your home, job or any social and political activity.
The third element in saintliness is to leave our homes, brothers or sisters for the name of Jesus Christ. This means not to be attached to any earthly thing. It doesn’t mean to leave your house and live on the street; however, do not make your heart concentrated on houses, cars, power and control. You are poor in Christ and he dwells in you. The loyalty of the heart is for him and not for any leader or party or any other materialistic thing. It is required for your heart to go completely towards Christ and for him to become your pleasure. You should use all other things according to your need. Serve your family members sincerely. This service is your love and you should put Christ into this love. However, people around you could become an obstacle in front of your encounter with Jesus, and your livelihood could also become an obstacle in front of you embracing Jesus. These people have the interests of Christ’s enemies in common. Leave them; pray for them but have no contact with them. The important thing is for Christ to fill your mind and nourish you with his teachings. Know where to stand; know who you are embraced to; know the center of your heart. Is it Christ? You shall know that if you followed his commandments as he said: “If you love me, keep my commandments”. Christ is everything. If you let people become embraced to him, you shall then have all good things for you. If you didn’t seek this you would be wasting yourself. The important thing is for the Lord to be the source of your life.
Translated by Mark Najjar
Original Text: “أحد جميع القديسين” –Raiati no25- 19.06.2011
