All Saints of the Benedictine Family

The words of God through the prophet Isaiah most fittingly describe the
saints - canonized or not - of the huge Benedictine Family, centuries old.
Our own brothers beginning with Brother Denis and recently ending with
Brother Walter are crowned, clothed with a robe of salvation, wrapped in a
mantle of justice, embraced in the eternal love of God. They knew that God’s
hand was upon them so they sought, they found, they lived Benedicine life
and now repose in that love forever, never ending and always new. These
monks and nuns are the bridegrooms, the brides in Jesus, the Bridegroom
whom they see face to face.

The reading from Isaiah and the Gospel of John speak of growth, of
fruitfulness, the very reality that must mark our vowed lives as it did our
brothers and sisters now assumed into eternal life. Our growth, our
fruitfulness is never to haphazard, or of our own choosing. The Sacred Word
could not be any clearer: “The fruit of the Spirit is charity, joy, peace,
patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.”
(Galatians 5: 22ff)

These monks and nuns entered into eternal glory not yet perfect, not
without faults or weaknesses but in the moment of death all were consumed
in God’s love and all were transformed completely into an eternal
communion with the Most Holy Trinity. The anointing with grace begun in
this life was complete, total, fulfilled beyond all imagination,beyond all joy.
Someone made this comment: “Even God is not successful in bringing forth
all the plants but He is faithful to the process.” Being aware of our own
limits, our inadequacies, we pray, in our efforts to grow in grace, to be
faithful to this sacred process, to live each day with the strength of God’s
grace, with the mindfulness of His presence, with renewed resolve.
Here and now we are surrounded by witnesses beyond number, may their
presence be our encouragement, our inspiration and our peace.