The associated reading for this reflection can be found in your Every Sacred Sunday Mass journal or online here.
While praying with today’s readings, I was struck by the many images that allude to baptism. At baptism, our foreheads are marked with a cross, the seal of the living God. We experience the salvation that comes from our God and are given a white garment, because our souls are washed white in the Blood of the Lamb. We are called children of God, brought into His family. We join the multitude called to praise His name.
At baptism, we are given a path to sainthood. Our vocation takes root within us, a distinct and unique call from God. With the help of the Holy Spirit, it becomes possible for us to journey down our path to holiness. We receive divine help and are able to live as people who not only seek the face of God, but truly come to encounter Him. We know God through goodness, truth, and beauty. We encounter Him in our brothers and sisters, in the poor. We abide with Him in prayer, in Scripture, and the sacraments.
As the greatest of Fathers, God is constantly pursuing us, lavishing grace and love upon us, that we would become saints. Jesus became like us, meek and poor in spirit. He was persecuted for the sake of righteousness, and in His infinite mercy He made us heirs to the kingdom of heaven. The Holy Spirit floods our lives with divine help and forms us into the image of Jesus, that we would be holy as He is holy.
We stand in His presence here, hopeful that one day we will stand in His presence in heaven. I love how St Paul delicately points out that we don’t even know what that means. We can’t comprehend what will become of us when we meet God and join the multitude of the saints. But we know, in the most fitting of ways, we will be like Jesus, the one who has redeemed us, the one we belong to.
May this Solemnity be a reminder to us of many wonderful things. We are marked, called, and equipped by God to live as His children now and forever. We can always run to Jesus to receive salvation and have our sins forgiven by His blood. We are made heirs to the kingdom and God Himself is our true reward. God is preparing a place for us with the saints in heaven.
Alyssa Trutter is blessed to be journeying through life with the Lord. She is a consecrated lay woman and has served in ministry for almost 20 years. She loves being outside, baking, laughing, writing, adventuring, and having heartfelt conversations with friends and family.
