The Solemnity of All Saints is perhaps the best of all feasts to have in the midst of the happy but heavy upheaval of moving back into Ottilia Hall. As we rearrange furniture and equipment, toothpaste and soap, we know that the saints, too, would have had the ordinary struggles of life. They, too, would have had experiences of transition, uncertainty, and disarray, not to mention any number of struggles that come with an embodied life here in this tangible world of space and time, of out-of-place furniture and misplaced soap. I draw solace from knowing that the saints would have had struggles similar to mine, even as I draw inspiration from their holiness in the midst of struggle.
We look to the saints with veneration, but also as companions on the journey who knew the upheavals of life, and also knew the blessed hope that calls us to a life of beatitude and praise.
Postscript: Despite the busy-ness of our move, we’ve been paying close attention to the impact of Sandy on our neighbors to the northeast. May the prayers of the saints accompany those who are experiencing upheavals more daunting than I can imagine.