The Feast of All Saints is celebrated on the 1st November.
‘What’s a martyr?’ he asked me. I thought for a moment and cobbled together a theological response. I blurted it out. He looked unimpressed and hummed some nonsense and, as if he disapproved, he kept his eyes down, looking at nothing.
When eventually he lifted his head, he caught me straight in the eye and said, ‘I think a martyr is somebody who has to live with a saint!’ Admittedly I was puzzled for a while but when he smiled, I laughed. I got where he was coming from. I thought of all the people I knew who thought they had saintly status and boy were they hard work. To live with them is indeed a form of martyrdom.
Today we celebrate the Feast of All Saints, including martyrs! Saints, for me, are important. It’s not the chalk statues that do it for me but it’s their wisdom and legacy. There is not one problem I encounter, not one wall that I can’t see over that one of the saints hasn’t been there too and subsequently offers me a lifeline.
When I’m anxious or distressed I think of the beautiful prayer of Teresa of Avila, found after her death; ‘let nothing disturb you, let nothing frighten you, all things pass away’. It always brings me to a better place. Then there is St Francis of Assisi who just wakes me up to delight in the beauty and wonder of creation. Francis’s simple and peaceful outlook tells us all things are our brothers and sisters and nothing can be destroyed or overlooked–just admired and rejoiced in. Then there are lesser-known saints like Peter of Chanel. He spent his whole life on an island in the Pacific and when he died, he had achieved nothing. However, following his death, people reflected on his existence, and they embraced his message.
Sometimes I feel frustrated with a lack of results and outcomes. Peter inspires me not to become distracted and to keep focused on doing what is right and good.
There is a saint for everyone and there is a saint for every day. For Christians, they are our family, and they are worth getting to know. And if you feel sainthood is not for you, remember that a saint is someone with a past–a sinner is someone with a future!