Now is the time of year where High School Seniors start turning in their applications for college entrance.  And in my experience, it seems that for some universities and colleges, legacy is a big deal.  If your parent went to said university, there is a higher percentage of chance of that the senior will also be accepted to the school.

We are celebrating All Saints Day this weekend.  That beautiful day in which we remember that we too are part of a legacy.  Not in a legacy to San Francisco State or USF, but to the university of virtue, fidelity and love.  It is the day that we remember that we too belong to a 2,000 year lineage of men and women who have fought the good fight, men and women who see the Lord face to face, those who are honored with the title “children of God”.

As we come down (a tiny bit) from the emotional high of seeing Master Bruno Cadare, OP, open the Dominican Year of Jubilee, we remember too the long line of the Order of Preachers who have served our Church.  St Dominic, St Thomas Aquinas, Blessed Jordan, Blessed Cecilia, St Agnes, St Catherine of Siena, St Lorenzo Ruiz, the list goes on, proudly, for eight hundred years.  But what about those friars and sisters who have served this church for all of their lives, those men and women who have given of themselves to the Holy Preaching, but also to the salvation of our souls? We continually thank God for the gift of deceased friars and sisters who have served St Dominic’s, teaching us how to radiate the joy of the Gospel in our city.

It is a blessing and a privilege to be part of this day. But it is also a challenge.

Because you see, we don’t celebrate the blessed in heaven because they need our thanks.  No—the thanks we give is, ultimately, for our benefit.  The Saints in heaven don’t obtain anything from our praise—I mean, when you look into the face of God, what else could you possibly want? Yet, praising the Saints reminds us of our call.  That call to manifest the Lord of Love to all.  That call to reflect the Lord’s hope and joy to others.  That call to proclaim the truth with humility and fidelity.  The Saints remind us of this call, and are our examples of how to do so.

Fittingly, we will be given an opportunity to contemplate how to radiate Christian Joy in the here and now.  Along with Fr Michael and all of the speakers, I too extend my invitation to you to attend the “St. Dominic’s Jubilee Conference”.  You are invite to partake of the keynote presentation by Fr. Michael Sweeney, OP, the Co-Director of the Catherine of Siena Institute (Called and Gifted is their program), workshops by animators from Pixar, a missionary in Asia, a homelessness advocate for teens, and many others.  The Conference is happening this coming Saturday beginning at 9:00am.  Go further into the bulletin for registration and other details.

All Saints Day is not a day for the Saints, but for us.  Let us rise up and continue on our road to Sainthood!

Holy Father Dominic, pray for us!

~Fr. Isaiah Mary Molano, O.P.