Happy Solemnity of All Saints! How wonderful that this year our great feast falls on a Sunday. At the morning Masses, you may very well spot some of our children dressed up as saints, which we’ve encouraged our young families to do this weekend. After the spooky celebration of Halloween, it is good to remind ourselves that All Hallows’ Eve was not invented by secular culture and does not belong to it. October 31 is the vigil of All Hallows, the blessed souls of heaven. And so today we set before our eyes these little ones, whose saintly costumes show our true image.
It may sound strange, but clothing is an integral part of expressing our Christian life. In the liturgies of the Church, for example, the priest, deacon, and servers don’t walk into the sanctuary wearing whatever they want. The sanctuary of a church is meant to be a visual representation of heaven, and so those who enter it are clothed in the garments of heaven.
The priest’s white alb is the innermost of all the vestments, worn closest to the body. It is the garment of Baptism, which signifies our Christian dignity as sons and daughters of God. The alb is girded at the waist by the cincture, the garment of chastity, by which we remain pure in body and heart. Over his shoulders, the priest wears the stole, the garment of immortality. This garment was lost through the sin of our first parents but regained by the crucified Christ. The priest wears the stole as the primary image-bearer of Christ in the Mass, since he is the one who brings immortal life to God’s faithful in the Eucharist. Outermost, he is cloaked in the chasuble, the garment of Christ’s yoke worn by a shepherd. It is the clothing of God’s provision and protection. He calls us by name and leads us on the way of salvation; we recognize His voice and follow Him.
Scripture often speaks of heavenly things in the language of clothing. Proverbs praises the virtuous wife as being “clothed with strength and dignity.” Isaiah rejoices that God “has clothed me with the garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of his righteousness.” St. Paul writes to the Galatians, “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ.” To the Colossians, he writes, “Clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.” In Revelation, the fine linen worn by the bride of Christ is described as “the righteous acts of God’s holy people.”
At the end of this mortal life, when we stand before God, how will we be clothed? Will we see ourselves then as we see our little costumed saints today? As we head into the bustling holiday season, let us remember once more, on this All Hallows’ Sunday, the God who has authored our lives, and commit ourselves anew to the holy life we owe Him in thanksgiving.
From Fr. Brian