Saints

Well, it seems that another holiday is upon us. For those of you that don't know (or didn't read ma first post), it's All Saints Day! Whoot! In the Catholic Church, the day celebrates those who have died and reached heaven. Tomorrow, All Soul's Day, the celebration and prayers are focused on those who are currently in Purgatory, that in-between place before going to Heaven. I realize that this is quite similar to the Halloween stuff I was talking about yesterday, but going to a Catholic school makes me think about these things even more than I used to.

Since I'm not Roman Catholic, the concept of Purgatory is still a little unfamiliar to me. While I could stumble through Bible passages and try to point to why there is or is not a Purgatory, I feel that I should do more research on my own before I publish my thoughts on the internet (although I'd love to hear thoughts of people who know more about the topic than me!!).

One thing that interests me, however, is the topic of "Saints" and "Sainthood". In the letters of Paul, we see the term "saint" used much differently than churches today use it. Of course, it depends on what version of the Bible you read, but in many versions, Paul uses the term saint to describe a follower of Christ, both living and deceased.

A few examples...

2 Corinthians 1:1 - "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God which is at Corinth with all the saints who are throughout Achaia.."


Ephesians 3:8 - "To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ..."


Crazy! So while I still have a lot to read concerning these days and what the Bible has to say about them, I think I'll spend this lovely first of November praising God for all of His saints - those followers of the past, present, and future who work to bring God's Kingdom here to Earth.

A picture my roommate Alexandra took of the beautiful Milwaukee sunrise this morning.
Moments like these help remind me how good and beautiful God created this earth to be :)