All Saints Day: A Universal Invitation to Holiness
Reclaiming True Greatness: From Celebrity to Sainthood
We live in the age of the celebrity, a time when fame is not just admired but pursued as the ultimate prize. The internet has democratized stardom, flooding our screens with influencers, viral sensations, and self-made icons. For many young people (and older too!) today, the dream is no longer to change the world through quiet virtue but to be seen, liked, and followed by millions.
Yet on November 1st, the Christian tradition pauses to celebrate All Saints Day, a feast that flips this script entirely. Instead of honoring those who sought the spotlight, it lifts up men and women who lived in the shadows of selflessness, whose greatness was measured not by followers but by faithfulness, not by fame but by love.
In a culture obsessed with image, All Saints Day whispers a subversive truth:
the most influential lives are often the least visible, and the highest human calling is not to be known, but to become holy.
State of Our Moral World: The Triumph of Celebrity Over Character
“In the early 19th century, Alban Butler, an English convert, collected stories of the lives of the saints... For nearly 200 years, these books inspired Christians young and old. No longer. Today, Butler’s Lives of the Saints has effectively been replaced by multiple magazines, podcasts, and websites which chronicle the lives of the rich and famous and stare out at us from our phones, our laptops, and from every newsstand and grocery store checkout line. In effect, we have moved: from St. Tarcisius to Justin Bieber; from Therese of Lisieux to Taylor Swift…from St. Augustine to Mark Zuckerberg; from Julian of Norwich to Oprah... It’s these people who now inflame our romantic imagination and whom we would most want to be like.” ~ Oblate Fr. Ron Rolheiser
The world today admires wealth, fame, and achievement, often at the expense of deeper values. Fame has always existed, every society has envied its stylish icons, brave warriors, and privileged rulers. The timeless allure of achievement, riches, and beauty transcends history. Yet our age stands apart in two ways: the explosive proliferation of famous figures (thanks to the internet) and the widespread ambition among youth to achieve stardom (again, courtesy of the digital world). Survey after survey reveals that for most under 30, the top aspiration isn't curing disease, rebuilding communities, or lifelong love, it's simply being famous, celebrated for the spotlight rather than the substance.
“This shift does two abominable things to the human soul:1) It transforms virtue into vanity with such subtlety that the doer does not realize the target has moved, and2) It generates anxiety ex nihilo.” ~ Ben Lansing and D.J. Marotta
This shift began in the 18th century with the origins of celebrity worship, fueled by the Enlightenment's emphasis on individualism and the rise of mass media during the Industrial Revolution. Ancient and medieval societies venerated heroes and saints for their virtue and sacrifice, but by the 19th century, admiration turned toward public figures celebrated for talent or notoriety rather than holiness.
The cult of the celebrity has replaced saints, turning entertainers, athletes, and influencers into modern "saints." This means a crisis of values: flawed and failed role models, often embroiled in scandals, are idolized for superficial traits, leading to distorted aspirations. People don't read scriptures anymore; they scroll social media, subscribing to a new "religion" of likes and follows, where validation comes from virality rather than virtue.
But history remembers the people who lived for love, figures like Gandhi or Mother Teresa, whose legacies endure beyond fleeting fame. To dream of becoming a saint is the highest human aspiration, redirecting ambition toward eternal impact through selfless love.
In this fractured cultural moment, marked by division, performative outrage, and the hollow pursuit of status, we have traded moral depth for digital applause. The triumph of celebrity over character has left us with a pantheon of hollow idols, where influence is confused with integrity and visibility mistaken for virtue. All Saints Day arrives not as nostalgia, but as rebellion, a call to reject the counterfeit and embrace the real.
What All Saints Day Is
Historically, the feast originated in the early Christian era as a commemoration of martyrs who died for their beliefs. By the third century, annual honors for these martyrs were common in Christian communities. The formal establishment came in 609 AD when Pope Boniface IV dedicated the Pantheon in Rome to the Blessed Virgin Mary and all martyrs, initially celebrated on May 13. In the 8th century, Pope Gregory III shifted the date to November 1 to coincide with the dedication of a chapel in St. Peter's Basilica to all saints, expanding it beyond martyrs to include all holy individuals. Spiritually, it underscores the "communion of saints," a belief in the spiritual bond between all the people on earth (“The earthly community/Church”) and those in heaven, inspiring believers to emulate their lives of holiness.
The day pays tribute not only to canonized saints like St. Francis of Assisi or St. Teresa of Ávila but also to the countless unknown saints, ordinary people whose quiet acts of faith and love went unrecognized by history. This inclusivity highlights the feast's emphasis on the potential for sanctity in everyone.
Beyond its Christian roots, All Saints Day holds global, universal relevance. The veneration of holy figures transcends Christianity, appearing in various cultures as archetypes of moral excellence and spiritual inspiration.
In a world grappling with ethical dilemmas, the day invites reflection on human goodness, appealing to people of all faiths or none by promoting values like compassion and justice that unite humanity.
What a “Saint” Really Means (Stripping away misconceptions)
At its core, a saint is someone recognized for an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness to the divine, or closeness to God. However, misconceptions abound: saints are often seen as distant, unattainable figures. Stripping these away reveals saints as profoundly human, their lives a testament to transformative grace rather than innate superiority.
What is the difference between sainthood and holiness
Sainthood refers to the formal recognition, often posthumous, of a person's heroic virtue and fidelity to divine grace, as in the Catholic process of canonization. Holiness, in contrast, is the underlying state of being set apart for God, a lived reality of alignment with love and truth that anyone can pursue. Sainthood is the Church's affirmation of holiness, but holiness itself is accessible to all.
Saints are not superheroes with supernatural powers beyond human reach; their "miracles" often stem from profound faith and perseverance rather than magic. Nor are they perfect people, many, like St. Augustine, struggled with flaws and sins before their conversion. They are not a religious elite, reserved for clergy or monastics; sainthood encompasses laypeople from all walks of life. Ultimately, saints are human beings whose lives became sources of love, radiating goodness that inspires others to greater humanity.
The Universal Call to Holiness
Rooted in Christian theology, the universal call to holiness was emphatically articulated in the Second Vatican Council's document Lumen Gentium, which states that all the faithful, regardless of rank or status, are called to the fullness of Christian life and the perfection of charity. This teaching echoes biblical imperatives like Matthew 5:48: "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect." It affirms that holiness is not optional but a fundamental vocation for every person.
This call resonates across cultures and faith traditions, where parallels to sainthood emphasize spiritual attainment for all.
In Hinduism, sainthood involves a "long struggle to a higher level of being," as exemplified by figures like Ramakrishna, and is open to devotees through paths like bhakti or jnana.
Buddhism recognizes arhats, enlightened beings who achieve nirvana, and bodhisattvas who delay their own liberation to help others, reflecting a communal call to awakening.
In Islam, awliya (friends of God) are holy individuals whose closeness to Allah inspires the ummah, with Sufi traditions emphasizing personal sanctity through devotion.
Judaism honors tzadikim, righteous ones whose lives embody ethical living, accessible to any observant Jew.
Even in ancient Greek religion, heroes were venerated as semi-divine figures of virtue, blending human and divine ideals. These traditions underscore that spiritual excellence is a shared human pursuit.
Why sainthood is a human vocation, not a rare exception, lies in our inherent dignity as beings created for transcendence. Holiness is a way of living, not a title, integrated into daily actions rather than conferred by institutions. It invites everyone to embody divine love in their unique context.
What Makes a Life “Holy”
A holy life is marked by virtues that reflect the divine: compassion that alleviates suffering, integrity that upholds truth in adversity, justice that fights for the marginalized, truth-telling that exposes falsehoods, and courage that stands firm against fear. These qualities leave an imprint of goodness on the world, transforming communities through acts of selflessness.
Holy people are those whose lives made others safer, more whole, more loved, think of Mother Teresa's care for the dying or Martin Luther King Jr.'s pursuit of equality. Their existence becomes a beacon, fostering environments where human dignity flourishes.
Why the Modern World Needs Saints
In an era plagued by crises of division, conflict, greed, and violence, from geopolitical tensions to environmental degradation, the world yearns for authentic role models. Success without virtue, such as unchecked capitalism or power-driven politics, cannot heal humanity's wounds; it often exacerbates them.
The vocation of sainthood offers a remedy for a wounded world by promoting lives oriented toward unity and service.
Saints bridge divides, challenge injustices, and embody hope, reminding us that true progress stems from moral transformation rather than material gain.
Conclusion / Blessing
On this All Saints Day, may we awaken from the trance of trivial ambition.
May the light of all saints, known and unknown, guide us in our journeys so that we might become what they became: love made visible.
May we be blessed with the courage to embrace holiness, transforming our ordinary lives into extraordinary vessels of grace.
I invite you to dream bigger: envision a world where your actions ripple with kindness, healing the fractures around you. Dream not of followers, but of lives transformed. Dream not of fame, but of faithfulness. Dream not of being seen, but of seeing, and serving, the image of God in every face.
Let us heed the call to live as sources of peace and love, becoming the saints our time so desperately needs.
this Article was written with the assistance of grok.com