Today we celebrate the feast of all the saints. All of them. Who knows how many there are.

There are those whose name was never renowned. Who will never have a shrine. Who lived a quiet life of ordinary holiness.

In any case, today is a reminder that we are never alone. We are guided and urged along by the people we walk with here on earth and those who have walked this path before. They can help us–if not in such a phyisical way–in a way that is nevertheless unequivocally real.

These are people–as real as our great, great grandparents who have passed away- who were on this same path. Who often went against the culture in which they lived, government policies, the opinions of their friends and families, and even their own impulses.

They gave up in stead of in. They gave up comfort, or riches, or relationships, or jobs or their phyiscal freedom and in some cases their lives. They gave up something good for something they knew to be better.

They were contrarians. But not for the sake of being rebellious or contrary, rather because they were ultimately for something.

And the ‘for’ is the most important part. Their ‘no’ was simply a ‘yes’ to something greater. Something that often we overlook, underestimate, and generally misunderstand–the truth.

Truth is what they stood for: they saw its goodness and beauty and so refused to compromise it.

Of course to be a saint you have to be dead.

All of these are portraits of people who want to be saints, who strive to be saints and who have helped me along this ardurous journey. There are many, many others who I just don’t have great photographs of…yet.

I really hope we all have the courage to be contrarians when we need to be–and most importantly–to embrace the Truth we are meant to defend.

“It is a paradox of history that each generation is converted by the saint who contradicts it most.”

GK Chesterton

And of course…Rimsky… whose holiness is unmatched.

I am so immensely grateful for all of these individuals, and all of those who are not pictured. Some of which I still talk to today, and some who I haven’t seen in years.

Thank you.

All you angels and saints–pray for us.