Thought for the Day – 1 November – The Solemnity of All the Saints
By Blessed John Henry Newman (1801-1890)
“Very various are the Saints, their very variety is a token of God’s workmanship but however various and whatever was their special line of duty, they have been heroes in it –
they have attained such noble self-command,
they have so crucified the flesh,
they have so renounced the world,
they are so meek, so gentle, so tender-hearted, so merciful, so sweet, so cheerful, so full of prayer, so diligent, so forgetful of injuries,
they have sustained such great and continued pains,
they have persevered in such vast labours,
they have made such valiant confessions,
they have wrought such abundant miracles,
they have been blessed with such strange successes,
that they have been the means of setting up a standard before us of
truth, of magnanimity, of holiness, of love.
They are not always our examples, we are not always bound to follow them – not more than we are bound to obey literally, some of our Lord’s precepts, such as turning the cheek or giving away the coat – not more than we can follow the course of the sun, moon or stars in the heavens;
but, though not always our examples,
they are always our standard of right and good;
they are raised up to be monuments and lessons,
they remind us of God,
they introduce us into the unseen world,
they teach us what Christ loves,
they track out for us the way which leads heavenwards.”
All you Holy Saints in Heaven, Pray for Us!
AnaStpaul 