The Beatitudes (Matthew 5:3-10) are the language of heaven. And we’re here to learn this language. This is a homily for the Solemnity of All Saints.
Yesterday, the prospective adopter of the last two kittens stopped by to visit with them. We had a bunch of cats here, trapped them, had them fixed, vaccinated, dewormed, etc., ready for adoption. And then two other abandoned cats—kittens—joined them. So these are the last two.
Well, she came into the room they were in, and they were sleeping in the sun. But as soon as they opened their eyes and saw her, they wanted to panic. They wanted—their eyes got big, and they wanted to jump and run away. But she kind of just soothingly said to me, “Talk to me.” And she’d look at them and close her eyes slowly and open them slowly, but continue talking to me.
And the cats calmed down, and their eyes started to close, and close some more. And she was talking, and look at them and close her eyes. And the way she held her body, and they closed their eyes and they fell back asleep. It was amazing. And then she went up to pet them. And I said, “How did you do that?” And she goes, “I speak their language.”
I think that is exactly what’s going on in today’s Gospel. We have this beginning of the Sermon of the Mount where Jesus says, “This is what his followers should be like. This is what they should do. This is what they should think.” And it begins with the Beatitudes. And this is the Gospel chosen for the Solemnity of All Saints.
And I say, this is the language saints speak. It may not be word language; it may be doing language. Like the adopter didn’t use any words, it was gestures of peacefulness and love and warmth. And the cats responded. And that’s what I think the Beatitudes are: peacefulness and humanity and warmth.
And so this is the language of heaven, and this is why I think we’re here, is to learn the language of heaven. To be poor in spirit means not to be controlled by stuff, to comfort the mourners, and to be humble, to be meek, not always putting myself first, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, for justice, for fairness.
That’s the language of heaven: to be merciful, to be purified or dedicated heart, to be peacemakers, and to be persecuted even for the sake of righteousness, standing up for the right. This is the language we’re here to learn. This is the language of the saints.
It’s like when you go to a foreign country, if you don’t speak the language, it’s going to be a lot harder. If we don’t speak the language of heaven, it’s going to be a lot harder. But it’s—if we can learn to be merciful. The world: “no, no mercy.” The world: “no peace.” The world: “always it’s me first.” The world: “no meekness, no humility.” The world: “look out for number one.” It’s not the language of saints.
So it’s like going to a foreign country and speaking the language. We fit right in. We move right in. We walk securely and peaceably. Are we worried about this? I don’t think so. Saint Teresa of Avila says—it’s a great line—“Do not let your sins cause you to despair, for God can make saints out of the greatest sinners.” All God is doing is teaching us how to speak the language of heaven. Happy All Saints Day!
