Back in 1969 I began, what is known as the period of novitiate of my life and the person doing the novitiate is called a novice. Some break that word into two and portray it as a person with “no-vice”. Novitiate is the period of training that a member of a religious institute undergoes prior to taking vows in order to discern whether s/he is called to the religious life.
The term is also used among Buddhists, in the Ramakrishna Mission and others.
During the first spiritual talk to us novices, our novice master, with his typical Irish accent placed before us a noble challenge in no uncertain terms, “You are called, not just to be religious or priests but saints, all of you.” The message was loud and clear. We were supposed to be persons, not just with “no vices”, but those who would aspire to be saints.
Many did indeed, as do other novices of all religions in the world, who not only aspire to be saints, but genuinely endeavour to be one, at times going through struggles, to live a saintly life. It is this call to sainthood and the aspirations of many spiritual souls which bring the feast of “All Saints” that the Christians celebrate today around the world, in its proper perspective.
All efforts to live saintly lives do not always fructify as much as the novices would like them to, but nor do many who achieve a high degree of saintliness get noticed, either by the world or by the Church. The feast of “All Saints” is mainly to remember and honour such souls who did indeed live a life of a saint but went unnoticed. For those who have lived exemplary lives as saints such as Mother Teresa, St. Alphonsa and thousands of others from around the world through the 20 centuries of Christianity, have their names commemorated and venerated on one or the other day during the year. Some of them like St. Anthony, St. Francis, St. Luke, St. Ignatius and others.
The saints play an important role in the Catholic Church. People of all religions approach their saints with various requests to intercede to God on their behalf. But more than that, the saints provide individuals with examples that they could emulate in their lives. They also help us question many of the passing things of life such as accumulation of wealth, chasing worldly desires, ego-centrism, selfishness and hosts of vices that somehow prevent us to reach God who is our ultimate goal. May all of us aspire to be holy people, nay saints one day.
Father Dominic Emmanuel, a founder-member of Parliament of Religions, is currently the director of communication of the Delhi Catholic Church.
Links:
[1] http://archive.asianage.com/father-dominic-emmanuel-614
