The celebration of All Saints Day reminds us that as God’s children we are called to holiness; as Christians we are called to be a beacon of light in the midst of darkness; we are called to foster hope in the midst of uncertainty and despair; we are called to be peacemakers in the midst of conflicts and violence; we are called to work for justice in the midst of an unfair society that oppresses the most vulnerable; we are called to be a spark of joy in the midst of sadness and we are called to love in the midst of hatred and disregard for others. To seek holiness you don’t need to be excentric, or asocial, or weird, or to live as a hermit; you don’t need to be dressed in rags or to scourge yourself with a whip to be holy; you don’t need to torture yourself to be holy, you don’t need to fast for days to be holy, you don’t need to levitate or to have any supernatural or mystical experiences or powers to be holy. All that you need to do is to be kind. Our lifestyle has changed so much throughout the centuries and as we change as a society we face new challenges and those challenges have given us new ways to become holy. We live in a society that is dynamic and diverse, a society that is so different from the societies of the past; being a saint nowadays demands different efforts and attitudes. A practical way to seek holiness in our days is by being kind. You don’t even need to refrain from using technology and social media to be holy; as a matter of fact, a few days ago, Carlo Acutis was beatified. He was an Italian schoolboy born in 1991. He was a computer savvy and used his skills to document Eucharistic miracles and created a website to publish them. He had a deep devotion to the Eucharist and fed the homeless in his neighborhood. He died in 2006 at the age of 15. He was a normal kid who just loved the Eucharist and showed compassion to the homeless. So, if you want to comply with the divine mandate to be holy as prescribed in the book of Leviticus and the first letter of saint Peter (Cf. Leviticus 11:44; 19:2; 20:7; 20:26; 21:8; 1 Peter 1:16) you should begin by being kind to others without distinction; never, ever forget that we all are brothers and sisters, children of God, that we all have exactly the same rights. Don’t listen to those who tell you you have more rights than others; they are just trying to deceive you. Don’t listen to those who are trying to divide us by pointing out superficial differences such as race, religion, language, nationality, gender, sexual orientation, culture, social and economic status, level of education and things like that. Don’t listen to them; division is the devil’s most lethal tactic, division is a diabolical maneuver. That’s why one of the last prayers Jesus said for us right before his passion was that we would be one. He prayed to the Father that we may be one as they, Father and Son, are one (cf. John 17:22). Don’t listen to those who are trying to sow hatred and division. Remember, to be holy, you must be kind to everyone no matter who they are in terms of race, gender, culture, language, nationality, religion, social status and so on; every single human being you encounter is your brother or your sister and you are to treat them as such. They are not your enemies, they are not “the problem” as corrupt politicians and hate groups are saying, they are your brothers and your sisters and by divine mandate you are their keeper. (cf. Genesis 4:1-13) May almighty God, through the intercession of all the saints, give us the grace to work diligently for peace and justice; through the intercession of our blessed Mother may our church be seen by all as a mother that nourishes and protects all her children without distinction or preference.