We shall be like him because we shall see him as he is
When we celebrate this day, we think of all the saints in heaven. We think of that great multitude described in the book of Revelation in the first reading, impossible to count. We think of the prophets, the apostles, the martyrs, the confessors, the virgins... whom St. Bernard describes in today’s office of readings. They have conquered the battle of life, and they are now in eternal happiness in the presence of God forever. As Bernard says, our praise of them adds nothing to their happiness, it only profits us to be fired by the hope of joining them.
The gospel also invites us to think of another category besides those who are already in heaven. It invites us to think of those still on earth who are destined for heaven. In the beatitudes, the people Jesus describes as happy are not already in heaven, but still on earth with the hope of joining heaven. No matter their present sorrow and challenges, Jesus describes them as happy: the poor in spirit, the peace makers, those who hunger and thirst for justice, the gentle, the pure of heart, those who are persecuted for the cause of right. They already experience the happiness of belonging to God. They live among us. We may know some of them. There may be some right here. If we do not know them, as John tells us in the second reading, it is because we do not know God. We pity those whom we should admire.
The third category we should think of on this day is ourselves. We are all meant to join this great multitude in everlasting happiness. God wants it that way. It is the very reason why he created us. He has called us and prepared a place for us. The great multitude of the saints wishes it ardently. John invited us to think of the love God has lavished on us by making us his children. Let that truth sink in us: we are a child of God. On this day we try to savor the implications of this truth. What we are yet to become is not yet revealed, but when it is revealed, we will see God to face to face. That alone is great, for no one in our present state can see God and live (Exodus 33:20). The experience of his goodness and beauty would smolder us. But then we shall not just see Him, but we shall be like him. This, John tells us, should be a motive for us to purify ourselves and become like Jesus. We pray for the grace to let go of whatever hold us back and claim not just birth birthright but our creation-right.
