All Saints Day: Becoming Holy by Habit | One-Minute Homily

Today is the Solemnity of All Saints! As we remember the holy ones that inspire us, Martin Ngo, SJ, reflects on how we are all called to holiness. It’s more than a check-list, it’s a matter of habit. Based on the readings for Sunday, November 1, 2020.

We are what we repeatedly do. Wait a minute that’s not from the Gospel, is it?

Hi, I’m Martin and this is my One-Minute Homily.

You got me. That’s our guy, Aristotle. But the connection there to our Gospel deals with one word: habit. For those of us who love to-do lists like myself, I’m sorry to break it to you, the Beatitudes from the Gospel today are not a checklist. Blessed are the poor in spirit, the mourning, the meek, the merciful, and so on – these each can be seen as building on the prior, and each takes practice.

Ugh, so much work.

But actually, what if we started by asking, “When was the last time I felt deeply loved?” This felt reality changes everything. The confidence that one is securely loved and is an inalienable child of God makes one yearn for holiness. Not the kitschy romanticized pie-in-the-sky notion of holy sainthood that exists out there; but real holiness; an authentic human being burning with love and capable of bearing unceasing persecution by faith in Christ.

That’s a lifelong habit worth becoming.