The saints take us by the hand and teach us – to walk in life, to pray, to overcome difficulties. They want us to be centered on Christ and moved by the Spirit; they want us to be philanthropists, in the broad sense of true love for our fellow human beings; they want us to be merciful, as the saints themselves were in this life. They also teach us to be joyful with what we are and have, and not to be caught up with excuses and with a desire to escape from the present. Moreover, they teach us patience and forbearance in times of difficulties, temptations and problems, which usually become a way of sanctification, opened up by God himself for those who love him. With their examples, the saints show us how to love the very specific person – the spouse, the friend, the neighbor, the colleague – not some abstract love for the unknown crowd an ideology, a particular system or an organization. The saints expect us to be complete and selfless, generous, joyful, impartial and unbiased, satisfied with our kenosis, deeply knowledgeable of ourselves – and to change daily boredom into stepping stones that lead to the kingdom of God. They offer us lessons in Orthodox character and style of life, and in Orthodox instruction and education.   

Albert Einstein once made a rather appropriate characterization of our century. He said: “The twentieth century is the period in time of perfected means but of confused purposes.” Yet, the purpose of creation remains the same – sanctification and holiness, communion with God, deification. According to St. Gregory of Nyssa, the purpose of a virtuous life is to become similar to God. According to St. Maximos the Confessor the unique purpose of creation is that we become communicants of the divine nature and partakers of God’s eternity.  

If, therefore, we want to thank the saints for their many graces and Christ their leader, we should, of course, imitate them. We should imitate them in the two main characteristics of their lives – repentance and prayer. Let us repent for moving away from God and our friends to a cold isolation and estrangement, and let us humble ourselves by loving sincerely. Prayer is the constant delight of the saints – their permanent concern, joy and freedom.  By praying, we are guided readily and easily to the gathering of the saints, to their company and to their blessed peace.

 All Saints: Bible – Faith – Tradition Class
Writngs of Monk Moses of the Holy Mountain.