Saturday October 28, 2023

“You and I are unfinished saints, but sainthood is in our DNA.”

Good News Reflection for:

Feast of Saints Simon and Jude, Apostles
October 28, 2022

Today’s Prayer:

You’ve called us, Lord, to heal wounds and to lift up the fallen with Your power. Give us the grace to be bold and docile to your calling. Amen.

Today’s Readings:

Ephesians 2:19-22
Psalm 19:2-5
Luke 6:12-16
bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/102823.cfm
USCCB Podcast of the Readings:
bible.usccb.org/podcasts/audio/daily-mass-reading-podcast-october-28-2023

Saintliness is in our DNA

You and I are brothers and sisters, members of the same household. We belong to a growing family that includes all the saints in heaven as well as the unfinished saints who still live on earth. In today’s first reading, St. Paul says that we form a building (the Church), the foundation of which is the apostles and prophets. The capstone is Jesus, and he holds us all together.

In our Gospel reading today, we see Jesus discerning which of his disciples should be trained as future leaders of the Church. Today we celebrate the sainthood of two of them: Simon who was called a Zealot because he was zealous about obeying both Jewish law and Canaanite law, and Jude (or Judas) the son of James and a relative of Jesus.

Jude is our brother in desperate situations; in his New Testament letter he stressed that we must persevere in difficulties. Yet Jude told Jesus at the Last Supper that he should show himself to the whole world after his resurrection (see John 14:22). How much easier the Apostles’ work would have been if Jesus had made public appearances after conquering death!

Think of someone you’ve been praying for, someone you’ve been trying to convince to come to Mass, or someone who refuses to repent of sinful behavior. Wouldn’t it be great if Jesus appeared to them and spoke directly to them? How much easier your ministry to them would be! St. Jude knows how to help us persevere in the difficulties that come from caring and evangelizing.

Simon is the brother of those who find security in legalistic observance of Church and civil laws. His saintliness increased when he learned from Jesus that the highest law is the Law of Love. As he listened to Jesus and observed his behavior, his understanding of obedience expanded. When we forget that all Church laws were made to benefit us, not enslave us, St. Simon knows how to help us get our priorities right.

The saints in heaven are available to help us in our earthly lives, because we belong to the same family, united and enlivened by Jesus. Jesus is the blood that flows through the family tree. Cardinal José Saraiva Martins, who served as prefect of the Congregation for Sainthood Causes from 1998 to 2008, said: “Holiness … belongs to the very nature of the Church, to its DNA.”

In other words, we all have saintliness in our DNA. Only a few are called to such heroic sainthood that they’re canonized as examples of holiness; however, according to Scripture, a saint is anyone who’s a member of the household of God.

Yes, that means that you too are a saint. You were made holy by the Holy Spirit when you were baptized. You and I are unfinished saints, but sainthood is in our DNA: We grow more and more into our true nature as we learn to live according to our baptismal likeness of the Divine Father.

© 2023 by Terry A. Modica

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