Catholic World News News Feature
The universal quest for happiness: papal reflections on All Saints, All Souls November 03, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI reflected on the "panorama of holiness" among Christ's faithful followers, during a midday audience on November 1, the feast of All Saints.
The Holy Father likened the Church to a garden in which an infinite variety of flowers bloom. "Eachis different from the others in the uniqueness of his or her own human personality and spiritual charism," he said. "All, however, are marked by the 'seal' of Jesus, the imprint of his love."
The Pope reminded his Saturday audience that the feast of All Saints few out of the early Christian practice of honoring all the martyrs, known and unknown. "We can, in fact, interpret such martyrdom in a broader sense, that of unreserved love for Christ, a love expressed in the total gift of self to God and to one's brothers and sisters," he said. That unreserved love is the characteristic that unites all saints.
The Pope alluded to the words of the American spiritual, "When the Saints Go Marching In." All Christians "want to be in that number," he said. He concluded his audience by saying: "May this beautiful aspiration burn in all Christians and help them to overcome all difficulties, fears and tribulations."
On Sunday, November 2, the Pope devoted his audience to the traditional observance of the feast of All Souls, saying that it is important for Christians to face the reality of death, and of our relationship with the dead, and to avoid "being confused with mythologies of various kinds." Citing St. Augustine, the Pontiff said that all mankind is searching for complete happiness, without knowing exactly what it is like. "It is a universal hope, shared by people of all times and places," he said. "The expression 'eternal life' is an attempt to give a name to this unquenchable hope: not an endless succession, but an immersion in the ocean of infinite love, where time, before and after, exist no more."
Our "unquenchable hope," the Pope continued, is founded on Christ, and comes through union with Him. Christians seek that union during this life, and if they are only partially successful, they may complete the search in purgatory. Because our hope is the same, we share their quest and can help them toward their goal. Pope Benedict said: "The prayer of a pilgrim soul in the world can help another soul that continues purifying itself after death. This is why today the Church invites us to pray for our deceased loved ones and to spend time at their tombs in cemeteries."
