Homily for the Solemnity of All Saints’ – Thanksgiving for Ministries Mass

Today we celebrate all those who have completed their life on earth and are

now enjoying the bliss of heaven. This includes both the canonised saints,

officially recognised by the Church, such as St Joseph, Our Lady, St Peter, St

Paul, St Therese of Lisieux and so on, and also those more ordinary people who

are in heaven, but only known by a smaller number of people, such as maybe

our great-grandparents. We are all called by God to be saints, to be people who

live faithfully and enthusiastically for God on this earth. We are called to do

great things for God with our lives, whether our actions are more on show, or

more hidden. It’s what the Church sometimes calls the “universal call to

holiness”. Holiness is for everyone, not just a select number. Pope John Paul

II, now himself a canonised saint, was pleased to canonise people from

ordinary walks of life and from our time, to show that holiness is not something

confined to monasteries in the distant past. God is with us now. He can do

great things in our time. His power hasn’t run out; He hasn’t become tired. We

can do new and great things for God, if only we let him.

One of the things all the laity are called to do is to consecrate the world to God,

to make it holy. We often think of the word “consecrate” in relation to the

Mass. The priest consecrates the bread and wine so that they become the Body

and Blood of Christ. We receive the Lord so that we might then have the

strength to go and take the word we have heard at Mass into our world. And as

part of that, we are also given the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is active during the Mass. During the Eucharistic Prayer,

assuming we have someone to take on the role, the bell is rung as the priest

invokes the Holy Spirit in preparation for the words of consecration. So today,

the words you will hear are:

“Be pleased, O God, we pray, to bless, acknowledge and approve this offering

in every respect; make it spiritual and acceptable, so that it may become for us

the Body and Blood of your most beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Then, when the words of consecration are said, the words said by Christ at the

Last Supper, the Holy Spirit changes bread and wine into the Body and Blood

of Christ, and after each consecration the host or chalice are held high, and the

bell is rung again, showing the Christ is now present among us.

But then there’s more.

After the Mystery of Faith, the Body and Blood of Christ are offered in prayer

to the Father as we join with Christ’s offering of Himself to the Father on the

Cross. Then we pray that as we receive Jesus in Holy Communion, we may be

filled with the Holy Spirit. Today, the words we hear are:

“so that all of us, who through this participation at the altar receive the most

holy Body and Blood of your Son, may be filled with every grace and heavenly

blessing”.

So we all, priest and people, are to work together to make our world more

Christian. It’s not the job of the priest (or priest and sister) alone! And then,

whilst we all have a general role to consecrate the world to God, there are

certain parish ministries that we recognise and give thanks for today. We can’t

all do the same thing. We don’t all have exactly the same abilities, spare time,

etc. etc. But as the Mass is the place where our holiness is so wonderfully

nurtured, we give thanks for all the different ways in which we as a parish

support the celebration of the Mass and make that celebration more fruitful,

helping us all to grow in our calling to holiness.

So, in a bit of a departure from what we normally do, I’m going to name

different ministries within our parish, and if that’s part of something you do,

then I invite you to stand, and after I have announced each of these different

ministries, there will then be a prayer of blessing over you all for the important

work that you do. (I ask in advance for forgiveness for any category I might

have missed off this list.)

Readers – who proclaim God’s word with clarity and reverence.

Extraordinary Ministers of Holy Communion – who share Christ’s Body and Blood with faith and love.

Parish Secretary and SLT – who help with the day-to-day running of the parish.

IT support – bringing the Gospel to the internet.

School staff and governors – proclaiming the Word of Life to young minds and hearts.

(Musicians and choir members – who help us lift our hearts and voices in praise of God.)

Welcomers – who welcome all as Christ Himself.

Our cleaners – who help maintain the dignity of the church as the House of God.

(Altar servers – who serve at the table of the Lord with faith and devotion.)

(Children’s Liturgy leaders – who nurture young hearts in God’s word.)

Parish catechists – who prepare children and adults for the sacraments of baptism, confirmation and Holy Communion.

(Those who take the collection – a practical task receiving and bringing to the altar people’s financial offering to the Lord.)

Those on our Parish Pastoral Council – helping to guide our parish community in faith and mission.

(Our sacristan – making sure everything is set up for Mass and runs smoothly.)

Our flower arrangers – honouring the Lord and the saints by beautifying our sacred space.

Those on our Parish Finance Council – who work behind the scenes helping our economic resources to serve the mission of Christ.

Lord God, source of every good gift, look with love on your servants who

dedicate themselves to the ministries of your Church. Strengthen them with

your grace, that they may faithfully serve your people and give glory to your

name. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.