Reflection for the Solemnity of All Saints

"He [Jesus] says: 'Whoever does not carry the cross and follow me cannot be my disciple' (Lk 14:27); and again: 'none of you can become my disciple if you do not give up all your possessions' (v. 33). He calls us to abandon ourselves without hesitation to the adventure that he offers us, with the intelligence and strength that comes from his Spirit, that we can receive to the extent that we empty ourselves of the things and ideas to which we are attached, in order to listen to his word. Many young people, over the centuries, have had to face this crossroad in their lives. Think of Saint Francis of Assisi; like Solomon, he too was young and rich, thirsty for glory and fame. That is why he went to war, hoping to be knighted and adorned with honors. But Jesus appeared to him along the way and asked him to reflect on what he was doing. Coming to his senses, he asked God a simple question: 'Lord, what do you want me to do?' (Legend of the Three Companions, cap. II: Fonti Francescane, 1401). From there, he changed his life and began to write a different story: the wonderful story of holiness that we all know, stripping himself of everything to follow the Lord (cf. Lk 14:33), living in poverty and preferring the love of his brothers and sisters, especially the weakest and smallest, to his father’s gold, silver and precious fabrics. How many similar saints we could recall! Sometimes we portray them as great figures, forgetting that for them it all began when, while still young, they said “yes” to God and gave themselves to him completely, keeping nothing for themselves. Saint Augustine recounts that, in the “tortuous and tangled knot” of his life, a voice deep within him said: 'I want you' (Confessions, II, 10,18). God gave him a new direction, a new path, a new reason, in which nothing of his life was lost.... Even when illness struck them and cut short their young lives, not even this stopped them nor prevented them from loving, offering themselves to God, blessing him and praying to him for themselves and for everyone... Pier Giorgio [Frassati said]: 'If you have God at the center of all your actions, then you will reach the end.' This is the simple but winning formula of their holiness. It is also the type of witness we are called to follow, in order to enjoy life to the full and meet the Lord in the feast of heaven."

--Pope Leo XIV, Homily, September 7, 2025