NOVEMBER 1, 2026 FATHER PETER TURRONE
“After this, I looked, and there was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb.”
My brothers and sisters, a few years ago, while on a walking pilgrimage throughout Italy, I was in Assisi for the Solemnity of All Saints, that which we celebrate today.
And I remember walking into St. Mary of the Angels and then going off to the right, and there was a chapel with thousands upon thousands of relics of different saints. And it was beautifully illuminated, and I remember just kneeling there in prayer, and at the centre of all of these relics was this remarkably beautiful crucifix of Jesus Christ.
All of the saints, that were there, and all of the saints, all the men and women who are not yet canonized, all those who are in heaven, are saints. They fulfilled their mission of holiness. And all of them had one thing in common: they loved God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. And they had modelled their lives on the man of the Beatitudes, the God-man, Jesus Christ, living according to the logic of the Gospel and the Beatitudes, not according to the logic of the world.
I remember my spiritual father, he used to say that we’re called to live in such a way that, at the end of our lives, that the diocese would have reason to open our cause for canonization. Could you imagine that?
So, I’ll say it again: so that we should live in such a way that, at the end of our lives, the diocese could open our cause for canonization. You can probably think that’s presumptuous; that was my thought, as well.
And then, he reminded me what the Second Vatican Council taught all Christians: every man and woman and child is called to holiness, and we live holiness by following Christ and living according to the logic of the Gospel.
And how do we do this? Well, the goal is, to live heroic virtue. So, to live heroic virtue, so what that means is that, in my life, I seek to be forgiving, kind, to show evidence of the fruits of the Holy Spirit in my life. I seek the will of God above everything.
This is so important. Jesus tells us this over and over in the Gospel. He says, “If you really love me, if you belong to me, then seek to do the will of my Father.”
So, Jesus came to fulfil the will of the Father, and he asks us to do the same thing. So, in my life, in your life, are you seeking to do the will of the Father?
And that’s not always easy to understand, but what the Lord wants us to do is to live in the logic of love of the Gospel here and now. So, it doesn’t mean that we have to do great things.
Some of the saints have done the most remarkable things, but others were remarkable in their simplicity, like Saint Th r se of Lisieux, and there are many examples.
I can think of my grandparents, being faithful to each other, going to Mass on Sunday, loving each other, raising us in the faith, teaching us the truth of the Gospel, and praying together their Rosary and reading Scripture every night like, that was the most beautiful testimony that they could give.
So, we’re called to live super or heroic virtue. Again, radical charity. So, that means, as Jesus says, to love our enemies. Again, it’s not an easy thing to do. But the Lord says, “Love your enemies, and then you will be like your heavenly Father.”
And then again, and lastly, a total surrender to Christ. So, giving myself over to God, knowing that his desire is for my salvation, for what is best for me.
So, if I’m able to live this way, if we’re able to live this way – it’s actually a lot simpler than we make it out to be – then it is possible for us to become saints.
And that’s what my spiritual father used to say: to live in such a way that the diocese has reason to open our cause of canonization, if they desire, because, there was a reputation for holiness amongst the people around us, then, so be it.
But again, we do all of this not out of vanity, but it’s out of love for God. And we have the Virgin Mary, the Queen of Saints, whose holiness is greater than all of the saints in heaven combined, to guide us along the way.
