All Saint Day/ Reformation Sunday

Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School, and a senior editor of Christianity Today, writes on Reformation Day over at FIRST THINGS.  He concludes his article by reflecting on the 1999 Lutheran / Catholic Joint Declaration on the Doctrine of Justification (JDDJ), where he writes:

"..convergence on justification does not equal consensus on all aspects of the doctrine of salvation. The framers of the Joint Declaration itself were forced to add an annex to the document delineating unresolved differences on simul iustus et peccator, Luther’s idea that justified believers are at one and the same time sinful and righteous before God. How justification and sanctification are related in the life of the Christian still continues to be debated. On these and many other issues related to authority and ecclesiology, the way forward is not to smudge over deep differences that remain between the two traditions but to acknowledge them openly and to continue to struggle over them together in prayer and in fresh engagement with the Scriptures. The way forward is an ecumenism of conviction, not an ecumenism of accommodation.

Several years ago I was asked to endorse a book by my friend Mark Noll called Is the Reformation Over? I responded by saying that the Reformation is over only to the extent that it succeeded. In fact, in some measure, the Reformation has succeeded, and more within the Catholic Church than in certain sectors of the Protestant world. The triumph of grace in the theology of Luther was—and still is—in the service of the whole Body of Christ. Luther was not without his warts, and we can hardly imagine him canonized as a saint. (Remember: simul iustus et peccator!) But the question Karl Barth asked about him in 1933 is still worth pondering this Reformation Day: “What else was Luther than a teacher of the Christian church whom one can hardly celebrate in any other way but to listen to him?”

As a former Lutheran who has individually healed the Reformation breach as the late Father Neuhaus reflected on long before the JDDJ, I pray that we may grow in true and visible Christian unity and see reconciliation in our lifetimes. As Catholics, we celebrate and remember all the Saints in heaven today.   One of the most meaningful parts of the Mass for me is in Eucharistic Prayer II:

Look with favour on your Church's offering, 
and see the Victim whose death has reconciled us to yourself. 
Grant that we who are nourished by his body and blood, 
may be filled with his Holy Spirit, and become one body, one spirit in Christ. 
May he make us an everlasting gift to you and 
enable us to share in the inheritance of your saints, with 
Mary the virgin Mother of God; with the apostles, the martyrs, 
and all your saints on whose constant intercession we rely for help.
Lord, may this sacrifice which has made our peace with you, 
advance the peace and salvation of all the world. 
Strengthen in faith and love your pilgrim Church on earth; 
your servant, Benedict, our Pope, John our Bishop, and all the 
bishops with the clergy and the entire people your Son has gained for you.
Father, hear the prayers of the family you have gathered
here before you. In mercy and love unite all your children wherever they may be. 
Welcome into your kingdom our departed brothers and sisters, 
and all who have left this world in your friendship. 
We hope to enjoy for ever the vision of your glory, 
through Christ our Lord, from whom all good things come. 
Through him, with him, in him, 
in the unity of the Holy Spirit, 
all glory and honour is yours, almighty Father, 
for ever and ever. 
Amen.

Litany of Saints

Holy Mary Mother of God, Pray for us
St. Joseph, Pray for us
St. Michael, pray for us
St. John the Apostle, pray for us
Ss. Peter and Paul, Pray for us
St. Thérèse of Lisieux, Pray for us
St. Louis de Montfort, Pray for us
St. Francis of Assisi, Pray for us
St. John the Baptist, pray for us
St. Francis de Sales, Pray for us
St. Juan Diego, Pray for us
St. Augustine, Pray for us
St. John Vianney, Pray for us
St. Pius X, Pray for us
St. Anthony of Padua, Pray for us
St. Ignatius of Loyola, Pray for us
St. Maximilian Kolbe, Pray for us
Bl. Kateri Tekakwitha, Pray for us
Bl. Miguel Pro, Pray for us
Bl. Theresa of Calcutta, Pray for us

PICTURE: Torsten Schleese (public domain)