Mary, the Saints, and the Universal Call to Holiness

My dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

Last week, the Church’s liturgical calendar invited us to celebrate The Solemnity of All Saints on November 1st and The Commemoration of All the Faithful Departed on November 2nd. The transition from Mary’s month (October) to the month in which we give thanks for all God’s gifts—beginning with the communion of saints—is seamless. After all, Mary is the queen of all the saints and a comfort to all the faithful departed, especially those who are still atoning for their sins.

Mary, the Mother of the Church, was an important figure in the deliberations of the Second Vatican Council. Vatican II’s “Dogmatic Constitution on the Church,” “Lumen Gentium,” devotes an entire chapter to Mary, a “sign of true hope and comfort for the pilgrim people of God.” Mary’s role in the history of salvation (past), in the life of the Church today (present) and as a sign of the world to come (future) is fundamental to understanding—and accepting—God’s will in our daily lives.

Mary lived in a tumultuous time in human history. Religious freedom was threatened. The poor, the sick, and people who, for various reasons, found themselves on the margins of society were routinely persecuted, abused or neglected. A devout Jew, Mary was surrounded by the hypocrisy, intolerance and self-aggrandizement of the political and religious leaders of her time, who failed to help their people see the truth.

What was Mary’s response? Faithful acceptance of God’s will, dedication to her family and service to others. Although the world around her was in chaos, Mary remained faithful.

All the saints, living and deceased, look to Mary to find their way to Jesus, her divine Son. We look to this simple woman from Nazareth to learn how to live as Christ wants us to live, as saints, holy women and men who respond with courage and integrity to the demands of the Gospel.

Continue reading Cardinal Joseph Tobin’s latest newsletter.