Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Progressive Christian
All Saints Day as an Antidote to the Spiritual Pride of our Age

All Saints Day as an Antidote to the Spiritual Pride of our Age

Last updated on: November 1, 2022 at 6:58 pm by Frederick Schmidt

All Saints Day as an Antidote to the Spiritual Pride of our Age 2022-11-01T18:58:10-06:00 Frederick Schmidt

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

We live in crazy times. In a fit of supreme arrogance, there are those who comb through history in an effort to identify the failings of our cultural heroes.

How hard can that be? The answer is, not hard at all. Anyone who is honest with themselves knows that even the best of our own past selves would find it hard to live up to the best of our present selves.

There are things that we know now that we didn’t know then.
There are cultural influences that cast a spell on us that is now broken.
Over time, we come under the influence of friends and teachers who draw the best out of us.
The Holy Spirit draws our attention to dangerous assumptions and unexamined habits that shape our lives.
And we mature – or we should – if growing up and growing older has any value at all.

So, criticizing people who are dead and gone is an easy job.

As someone who has spent a lot of time in classrooms over the years, I confess that the whole exercise is tiresome. Fingering the failings of people from the past is the kind of cheap trick that students pull who want look clever, but who can’t be troubled to learn a bit of history or acquire a bit of humility.

So, on this All Saints Day, as we think back over the lives of our heroes of the faith, what should we remember and what can we learn?

One, let’s draw some consolation from knowing that we are not alone and it’s not all down to us.

I feel sorry for people who are convinced that the dead are gone and that we are all on our own. Shouldering the weight of both the past and assuming complete responsibility for the future is a terrible burden. I would have thought that the present was plenty to deal with.

Our theology teaches us that we don’t need to do this. The heroes of our faith are not dead and gone. They are “a cloud of witnesses” – and no, that doesn’t mean that they are our audience. It means that they are witnesses, reminders, enduring exemplars of what it means to be disciples. They cheer us on, not as celebrities, but as followers of Christ’s way. But that should be a source of enormous consolation.

Two, let’s remember that we have a responsibility to continue the work of the Holy Spirit that was done in their lives.

One of the poisonous, primitivistic assumptions driving today’s hatred for all things past is the assumption that we can and should just burn down the past and start over. Believe me, the people who think this have no clue what they are suggesting.

They are unaware of how much we depend upon the work that the Holy Spirit has done in and through the lives of those who went before us. They have no historical awareness that alerts them to the distances we have already traveled: in spreading the faith; in challenging racism; in working to treat women as the daughters of God, made in God’s image; in providing homes for orphans and safe places for the dispossessed; in feeding the poor; in educating every generation; and in shaping our culture’s understanding of what it means to love and show mercy.

God is active in every generation and raises up witnesses. And this day we celebrate what the Spirit has begun in them and continues in us.

Three, let’s remember that the Saints were human beings, just like us.

On All Saints Day, it is easy to get lost in, if not overwhelmed by their stories of sacrifice, dedication, and martyrdom. And the saints of the church become not just literal, but metaphorical pieces of stained glass: superhuman beings who – thanks to either eccentricity or extraordinary character – do things that have not the smallest shred of “real” humanity about them.

But that is simply not true. James Martin points out that:

they had difficulties with their families: St. Thomas Aquinas’ family was so opposed to his entering the Dominican order in the 13th century that they locked him up in a jail. They suffered from physical ailments: St. Francis of Assisi spent a great deal of his later life battling terrible eye infections. And they faced difficulties from the religious organizations to which they belonged: St. Ignatius of Loyola, the 16th-century founder of the Jesuits, was several times thrown into jail by the Inquisition, which was suspicious of his ways of praying.

As Ambrose Bierce puts it, “Saints are dead sinners, revised and edited.” Let’s remember that this day.

Four, let’s remember that the great saints of the world were simply focusing on being faithful. We know more about their efforts and their significance than they did, and it wasn’t their success that motivated them. In fact, they often thought of themselves as failures.

St. Thomas had such a powerful experience worshiping on the feat of St. Nicolas in 1273 that he left his great theological work, the Summa, unfinished. He confided to Reginald, his secretary and friend, “The end of my labors has come. All that I have written appears to be as so much straw after the things that have been revealed to me”

Mother Teresa of Calcutta, left behind a journal recounting her struggles with feeling the nearness of God. She wrote,

“We must know exactly when we say yes to God what is in that yes. Yes means ‘I surrender,’ totally, fully, without any counting the cost.” It meant accepting whatever God gave, and giving whatever God chose to take away. And for Teresa, [that] meant accepting the burden of Christ’s Passion. When she was allowed that insight into the nature of her darkness, she recognized it as an inevitable aspect of the call within a call, and would go so far as to say that she actually loved the darkness because it was “a part, a very, very small part of Jesus’ darkness & pain on earth.”

And five, let us remember that the lives of the Saints point to a single purpose. As Mother Teresa put it so memorably, “Do something beautiful with your life for God.”

One of the most dangerous features of our current cultural climate is the conceit that saying something about the failings of others is an accomplishment, a path to the moral high ground, a sign of superiority. But that is the very essence of spiritual pride. All Saints Day names that pride for what it is and offers a different way.

The great saints of the church are scattered around the world in graves of every conceivable kind, some known, some unknown. They lived out their lives in varied ways, in bodies both male and female, in bodies of every color, speaking languages from around the world.

They faced a variety of challenges. They were sinners as much in need of grace as you or me. They had as many failings as they did accomplishments. In fact, more often than not, in the eyes of the world, they looked like failures and fools.

But we remember them because they did “something beautiful” with their lives for God. If we remember anything this day, that – above all things – is worth remembering.

You have a life. By virtue of your baptism, you are raised to new life in Christ, and you have been given the Holy Spirit. Like the Saints, then, choose this day to do something beautiful for God.

Photo by Mitya Ivanov on Unsplash

All Saints

All Saints Day

Mother Teresa of Calcutta

Saints

St. Francis of Assisi

St. Ignatius of Loyola

Thomas Aquinas

Previous Post

October 31, 2022

Zacchaeus: The Wee Little #@!$^

Next Post

November 7, 2022 Context Is Everything: Notes on Prayer in the Teaching of Jesus

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category "cultured despisers" "Knife: Meditations after an Attempted Murder" "Mountaintop" Experiences "The Second Coming" 1 Corinthians 15:19-26 1 Thessalonians 5:4-6 1 Timothy 1:12-17 1 Timothy 1:14 1776 21st Century 24-Hour News Cycle 250 Anniversary 9/11 Abide abortion Abraham Abraham Cycle Absolution Abuse ACNA Acts Acts 2 Advent Advent 3 Advent One Afghanistan Aging Agnosticism Agnostics Akedah Al Mohler Albert Mohler Albert Outler All Saints All Saints Day Allies Ally ALS Alzheimer's America AMIA Amy Coney Barrett Anarchists Anarchy Anger Anglican Anglican Church Anglican Communion Animals Anniversaries of Loss anorexia Anxiety Apocalypse Apocalyptic Apocalyptic Dread apocalyptic literature Apologetic Theology Apologize Apology Apostle Apostle Paul Archbishop Desmond Tutu Archbishop of Canterbury Art Acevedo Asbury University Ascension Ash Wednesday Ashes to Go Ashes with glitter Atheism Atheists Atonement Augustine Authority Authors Awake Awareness Baptism Baptism and Eucharist Baptism by fire Baptism by Spirit and by Fire Baptism of Christ Baptism of the Holy Spirit Baptismal Covenant baptismal vows Baptizing Jesus Baton Rouge BBC BCP Beatitudes Belief Believing Benedict Benedict's Rule Benedictine Benefactor Beneficiary Benton Johnson Beth Dutton Bexley Bi-vocational Ministry Bible biblical creation Biblical Interpretation Biblical Narrative Big Bang Bill Brosend Bill of Rights Bioethics Bishops Black Lives Matter Blessed Board of Examining Chaplains Body Image Body of Christ Book of Common Prayer Book of Discipline Book of Revelation Book subtitles Book titles Books Boomers Boundaries Bret Weinstien Brian Thompson Buddy Christ Buffalo Buildings bulemia C. S. Lewis C.S. Lewis Call Call of God Calling Camp Mystic Cancel Culture Cancer Capitulation Care for the Poor Care giving Catechesis Cathedrals Catholic Catholicism Celebratory Theology Celtic Spirituality Celts CES Chaplains Charlie Gard Charlie Hebdo Charlie Hedbo Charlie Kirk ChatGPT Children Children's Grief Awareness Day Christ Christ as Judge Christ our Passover Christ the King Christian Christian Conscience Christian education Christian formation Christian leadership Christian life Christian response to violence Christian Spiritual Journey Christian Spirituality Christianity Christmas Christmas Eve Christmastide Christy Thomas Church Church and State Church growth Church of England Church planting Church revitalization Church vitality church weddings Civic discourse Clergy Clergy Spouses climate change Clinton Cognicide Collect Common Prayer Communication Communicative Theology Communion Community Comparative religious studies Compassion Conciliar Christianity Confession Confirmation Conflict congregational life Congregational Vitality congregations Conscience Consciousness conspiracy theories Constitution Consumers Context Conventions Conversion Coptic Christians Coptic Church Coronavirus Councils Counselors Covenant School Covid Covid-19 Crackers and Grape Juice creation creation debate Creationism Creator Critical Theology Cross Crucifixion Cultural Christianity Culture Cure of Souls Dallas Damon Linker David Harbour Deacons Dead Poets Society Dean R. Hoge Death Death and Dying Death of Innocents death of the young Decline Deconstruct Deconstructionism Deconstructionists Definition of Woman Dementia Democracy Democrats Denominational decline Denominational Leaders Denominations Derision Desmond Tutu Diane Feinstein Difference difference of opinion dignity of all human beings Disability Disagreement Disaster Discernment Discipleship Discrimination Disillusionment Dispensationalism Dispute Resolution Diversity Divine love Divine Mercy Divorce Doctrine of the Trinity Dogma Dogs Donal Trump Donald A. Luidens Donald Trump Dones Dorothy Sayers Doubt Doubting Thomas Dreams Dreams and Dreamwork dunamis Easter Eastertide Ecclesiology Economic Shutdown Ecumenism Education Egeria election Election Day Election Night Elizabeth Jeannette Taylor Moulin Elizabeth Lesser Ellie Wiesel Emilio Gentile Epiphany Episcopacy Episcopal Church Episcopal Church Building Fund Episcopal Divinity School Episcopal Elections Epistle to the Hebrews Equity Esau Esau and Israel Esau and Jacob eschatological expectation Eschatology Eternal Life Eternity ethics Eucharist Eucharistic Spirituality Evangelicalism Evangelicals Evangelism Evangelist Evil evolution Examen Exploitation Faith Faith and politics Faith Formation Family Fatherhood Fathers Feeding of the Multitude Feminism First Responders Flag Flood Foot washing Footwashing Forgiveness Formation Fortitude Founder Fourth of July Frederick Douglass Freedom Freedom of Speech Friedrich Nietzsche Friedrich Schleiermacher Friend Friends Friendship Fruit of the Spirit fundagelicals Fundamentalism Fundamentalism and Politics Fundamentalist Christianity Fundamentalist vs. Progressive Christianity fundamentists Funeral Directors Funeral Industry Funerals Future Futuring GAFCON Galatians 5:22-23 Galileo Gen X General Conference General Convention General Ordination Examination General Theological Seminary Generation Generation X Generational Differences Generations Genesis Genesis 22 Genesis 32:3-32; 33:1-11 Genesis 40-41 George Floyd George W. Truett Theological Seminary Giving Global Church Global North Global South Globalization God God of the gaps God with us Good Fridauy Good Friday Good Samaritan Google Gordon-Conwell Gospel Gospel of Mark Gospel of Matthew Gospels Grace Gratitude Greatness Grief Grief Awareness Month Grit Guilt Gun control Gun Violence Guns Habakkuk Hal Lindsey Hamas Harmonial Religion Harry Potter Healing and Restoration Health care professionals Heaven and hell Helping Professions Henri Nouwen Higher Education Hillary Clinton history Hobby Lobby Hold my mule Holidays Holocaust Holy Family Holy Spirit Holy Thursday Holy Week Homeless Homiletics Hope Hospitality Hotel California House of Bishops Hugh Hefner human dignity Humility Hypocrisy I Corinthians Identity if your pastor doesn't Ignatius of Loyola II Corinthians illness image of God Immanuel Immigration Immortality Incarnation Inclusion Independence Day Independents Infant baptism Inheritor Inspiration Instagram Intergenerational relationships Internet Intimacy Irenaeus of Lyons ISIS Islam Islamic Fundamentalism Israel Israelis Jacob James Pike James Stewart Jascha Mounk Jeff Hardin Jeffrey Epstein Jesus Jesus as Judge Jesus Christ Jesus followers Joan Chittester Job's Comforters Job's Friends jobs Joe Biden John 13 John 15 John 18:33-37 John 1:1-18 John Lewis John McWhorter John Shelby Spong John the Baptist John Wesley John's Gospel Johnb 1:1-18 Johns Hopkins University Jonah Jonah 1:11-16 Jonah 2 Jordan Peterson Joseph Journalism Journey Jr. Judging Jesus Judgment July 4 Justice Justin Welby Karl Menninger Karl Rahner Kate Spelman Ken Burns Kenosis Kentucky Kevin Ho Kingdom of God Kings Kings of Israel Knowledge KY Labor Lament Lance Armstrong Language Larry Ellison Lawyers Lazarus Leadership Leadership and Fear Left Behind Lent Leon Kass Lex Credendi Liberal Protestantism Liberalism Life poured out Limitation Litigation Liturgical Revision Liturgy Living in the moment Lk 6:17-26 Loneliness Long-Term Care Lord of the Rings Los Angeles Loss Louise Perry Love Love Command luches toward Bethlehem Luke 10 Luke 12:49-56 Luke 14:13-14 Luke 14:28-30 Luke 18:1-8 Luke 19:1-10 Luke 21 Luke 21:25-36 Luke 21:27-28 Luke 24:36-48 Luke 3:15-17 Luke 3:7-14 Luke 4:1-13 Luke 6:27-38 Luke 9:1-13 lvation Madonna Magic Mainline Protestantism Manchester Mandalorians Marcus Borg Marilyn Monroe Mark 13 Mark Driscoll Mark Sandlin marriage Mars Hill Martin Luther King Martin Scorcese martyr Marxists Mary Mass Murder Mass Shootings Masters of Divinity Materialism Materialist Matthew 13 Matthew 20:1-16 Maundy Thursday Medical Ethics Meditatio Meetings MegaChurch Meister Eckhart Memes Memorialist Men Mentoring Menu Mercy Mere Christianity Messiah Complex Metaphor Methodism Methodist Church Micah 6:8 Micah Jackson Michael Curry Michael Tobin Millennials Minds ministers Ministry Ministry of Reconciliation Minneapolis Minya Miracles Miracles and the Kingdom of God Mission Monastic spirituality Money Montana Moral Inventory Moral Theologies (aka Ethics) Moral Theology Moral Therapeutic Deism morality Mortality Mother of Jesus Mother Teresa of Calcutta Mothers Mt 11:2-3 Mt 13:54-58 Mt 24:36-44 Mt 3:13-15 murder Murder of Brian Thompson Music Musicians Name-calling Nashville National Children's Grief Awareness Month NATO Natural Disaster Neo-Nazis Neurological Diseases Never Again New Atheists New Testament Studies New Year New Year's Resolutions News cycle NFL Nicene Creed Non-denom Non-Man Nones Normal Norman Perrin Notre Dame Nurses Nursing Homes NYC October 7 Online Services Online worship Open Communion opinion Oprah Winfrey Oracle Ordained life Order of St. Benedict Ordination Orthodox Palestinians Palm Sunday Palm Sunday Liturgy Pandemic Parable of the Generous Landowner Parable of the Tares Parable of the Weeds Parable of the Workers in the Vineyard Parenting Parents Paris Parish Growth Parish Revitalization Parkinson's Part-time Ministry Partisanship Passover Pastoral Care Pastoral Leadership pastors Patheos Patriotism Paul PayPal Peace Penal Substitution Penal Substitutionary Atonement Pentecost People of Ukraine Perkins School of Theology Peter Peter Thiel Pets Pew Foundation Pharisees Pharoah Philippians 2:5-8 Physical violence Physicians Pit Playboy Plot Politics Politics and Spirituality Politics and the Pulpit Poor Possession Post-Christian Post-Christianity Post-modernism Poverty power Pray Prayer Prayer Book Revisiton Prayer in public Prayerbook revision pre-marital counseling Preaching Prejudice President President of the United States Presidential Candidates presidential election Presidential Primaries Presiding Bishop Priesthood priests Priests and Politics Prima Scriptura Primitive Christianity Prince Andrew Prison Problem of Suffering Professional boundaries Program Progressive Christianity Progressive Protestantism Progressives Prophet Prophetic Speech Protest Protestant Reformation Protestantism PRRI Public Discourse Public Office Public Policy Public Prayer Publishers punching down punching up Putin Racism Radical Feminism Razib Kahn real presence Reconciliation Regret Relationship Relationship with Jesus Relationships Religion Religion and Politics Religious News Service Repentance Republicans Resilience Resurrection Retirement homes Revelation Reversal Revival Richard Dawkins Righteous Indignation Rights Robert W. Lyon Robin DiAngelo Robin Williams Rock Concert Roman Catholic Church Romans 13:1-7 Ronald A. Binzley Ronald L. Numbers Rosh Hashanah Rough beast Rowan Williams Royal Wedding Rueben P. Job Rule of Life running Russia Ruth Bader Ginsburg sacrament Sacramental Sacraments Sacred Space Sacrifice of Isaac SAG Awards Saints Salman Rushdie Salvation Sanctification Sarah Mullally Sarah Olson Saving Work of God SBNR SBNRs Schism School safety School shootings Science Science and Christianity Science and Religion Scientific rationalism Scot McKnight Scripture Seabury Seabury-Bexley Second Corinthians Seeing Seekers Self-Care Self-examination Self-Governance semeia Seminarians Seminaries Seminary Seminary education Seneca Sentimentality Sequel Sergey Brin Sermon Preparation Sermons Servant Service SETs Sex Sexism Sexual Harrassment Sexual Revolution Shame Shanghai Shenandoah Shutdown signs Silence Sin Sin and Guilt Skepticism Slavery Snake Pit Snakes Sobriety Social agenda Social Media Sola Scriptura Solidarity Son of Man Soren Kierkegaard Sorrow Soteriology Soul Care South Africa Southern Baptist Church Southern Baptist Theological Seminary Sovereignty speaking truth to power Speech Spin Spiritual Spiritual but not religious Spiritual Community Spiritual Direction Spiritual Directors International Spiritual Disciplines Spiritual Formation Spiritual Formaton Spiritual growth Spiritual Guidance Spiritual journey Spiritual Leadership Spiritual maturity Spiritual Perspectives Spiritual practice Spiritual Receptivity Spirituality Spiritually awake Squirrel Hill St. Francis of Assisi St. Ignatius St. Ignatius of Loyola St. John Chrysostom St. Matthew St. Paul Star Wars Stephen Hawking Steven Charleston Stewardship Stoicism Story Stranger Things Stuck Student Evaluations Suffering Suffering Messiah Suicide supernatural Supreme Court Syria Søren Kierkegaard Teaching of Jesus TEC TED Talk Television Temple Temptation Temptation of Jesus teras Termination of Care Terrorism Test Pattern testimony Texas Texas Hill Country Thanksgiving The 12 Disciples The Ascension The Avengers The Body of Christ The Book of Job The centre cannot hold The Church and Covid-19 The Church and Online Communities The Dave Test The Dual Commandment The Episcopal Church The Episcopal Diocese of Jerusalem The Feast of St. Matthew The future The Good The Gospel of John The Grave The Great Pastor Resignation The Kingdom of God The Language of Derision The Last Seven Words of Jesus The Last Temptation The Law The Lord's Prayer The Mandalorian the means of salvation The New American Spirituality The New Normal The Parable of the Good Samaritan The Parable of the Sower The Peace The Problem of Pain The Saints Go Marching In The Thursday of Holy Mysteries The Trinity The United Methodist Church The War on Poverty The Week The Weight of Glory The White Helmets the wrong side of history Theodicy Theodore Dalrymple Theological Education Theology theories of communion Theosis Therapy Thomas Aquinas Thomas Attig Thomas Merton Thomas O'Loughlin Thought and prayers Tiger Woods Tim Keller Tim LaHaye Tithing Tolerance Torah Tornado Totalitarianism Trade Towers Tradition Tragedy Transfiguration transubstantiation Travel Trinity Trinity Episcopal Church Trump Trust Truth Turmoil TX Ukraine Uncategorized Unemployment Union Theological Seminary United Methodist Church United States United States and the Holocaust United States Armed Forces United States Congress United States of America Unity Universal Communion Until We Have Faces violence Virginia Virtual Church Virtue Virtues Vision Vladimir Putin Vocation Volodymyr Zelensky Voting Vow of Stability W. B. Yeatts War Washington National Cathedral Way Wealth wedding weddings Wesleyan Western Civilization Whataboutism When Suffering Persists White Supremacists Will of God William D. Davidson William J. Abraham witness Woman Women Women's bodies wonder Woody Allen Words Work World War II world weariness Worship Writers Yellowstone Youth Ministry Zacchaeus Zealots

Select a Month September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 November 2018 October 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 August 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz