Fr Ben Garren

You can meet them in school, or in lanes, or at sea, in church, or in trains, or in shops, or at tea; for the saints of God are just folk like me, and I mean to be one too.   ~Lesbia Scott

Dear Siblings in Christ,

Can we see ourselves in the Church? As we come to our yearly celebration of all All Saints Day this is the question that is on my mind. We encounter the Saints as the great exemplars of Christianity, individuals who stand out in our history as truly living out the vocation of God’s Love for the world, those who have joined the heavenly chorus and with whom we sing the Sanctus in the midst of the Mass. Those last lines of Scott’s hymn, which I remember singing regularly in grade school, “for the saints of God are just folk like me” needs to be remembered… and I think particularly to why they are so valuable for us as Christians.

In the 2000 years of Christian History there have been saints who have been, if not just like me or you, had lives and experiences that resonate with ours. Perhaps this is because of an occupation or hobby, a love of the outdoors or the inner city, on account of mutually surviving some trauma or having the same illness… if we take the time we can find saints in the midst of the history of the church who are, indeed, quite like us. Making these connections are exceptionally important because it allows us to see ourselves in the midst of the Church.

Today is a good day to take some time and list all the Saints whose stories remind you of your own, or perhaps whose stories simply make you smile or warm your heart. Create a genealogy, as it were, of saints from every era that speak to you in some way. If in the midst of this if none come to mind for a certain aspect of your life, track them down with a quick search, find the list of saints celebrated on your birthday, find a few people you would want to sing alongside in that heavenly choir… and remember that most saints were not made saints for their musical capacity. 

May today be a day when you can see all parts of who you are reflected in the vast assembly of Saints who have lived before us.

Pax,
—Ben