Winter is coming, the church year is waning, and our thoughts turn to mortality. In our short dance on this Earth, what’s our purpose? A day for All Saints (1) and one for All Souls (2) begin the month, and the first week is set aside for Vocation Awareness (1-7).

You might ask yourself who comes to mind when you think of those blessed in the gospel beatitudes: the poor in spirit, pure in heart, the merciful, sorrowing, honest, the peacemakers, those who suffer for the sake of righteousness. 

What does it take to be a saint in this world? Two miracles and a lot of good press? Martyrdom for the right cause? Canonization can be achieved on these terms, but it takes a bit more to be actually counted among the blessed. Scripture goes on at length about the holy ones, but their identification always seems to boil down to a curious factor rarely considered: the condition of the human heart.

When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions.

The humidity off the gulf made the New Orleans weather unbearable. The accompanying rain turned the outdoor dinner we had planned at the Court of Two Sisters Restaurant into a crowded indoor event. The presentations at the conference were lifeless. With one full day left, I looked forward to my getting home.

My sister Annamaria died in 1946, 10 months before I was born, during the terrible polio epidemics that ravaged our cities in those years. She received her First Holy Communion on her deathbed and was buried in the dress she would have worn on that special day.

Through the sacrifice of God’s Son, Jesus, our sins are forgiven. We turn now to God for that forgiveness.

Holiness is not the luxury of a few. It is a simple duty for you and for me.