Sunday 2 November 2025. All Saints Day
There was perfect peace before Mass. The rain tapped the stained glass next to me, which now, thanks to the new roof, doesn’t make its way inside. Things were still. Just the sound. And the freshness inside the church.
I knew what was coming in the readings. The opening verses of the Sermon on the Mount. Jesus explaining the Beatitudes, in all their complex clarity.
His sermon is an instruction manual for Christian life. Isn’t it? A map showing you how to become a saint. To live in accordance with what Jesus says to the crowds. To imitate him. Impossible, but a glorious thing to aim for.
I wrote out all the instructions from the sermon a few days ago. I have a habit of trying to create the perfect daily examine, or pre-confessional “checklist” and this seemed obvious. But then, I’ve come to realise treating it in such a bureaucratic manner doesn’t really capture what’s important.
It’s a habit I’m finding hard to shrug off as a new catholic. Yes, I want to be told exactly what to do in some ways. But there’s also something about living it. The difference between reading an article about praying, and actually getting on your knees and doing so.
The latter seemed more important. Which might make the first step to becoming a saint not a step at all.