All Saints’ Day: Saints Alive! - The Extraordinary Ministry Of Ordinary Women

The term Halloween comes to us from Hallow Evening or Hallows Eve—designating the night before All Hallows Day or, as November 1 is often known, All Saints’ Day.

A number of the women featured in this book are revered as saints by Catholic or Orthodox churches. Many of them faced persecution, refused to deny Christ, and died as martyrs. Others were sainted for their great works of compassion. We find their examples inspiring, but here we want to focus on a larger definition of sainthood, the kind we can all attain to.

The apostle Paul often began or ended his letters with references to “the saints.” He used the Greek word hagioi, which is often translated as “holy ones” in Scripture. (Saint derives from the Latin word sanctus.) “All the saints greet you,” he told one church before signing off (2 Corinthians 13:13, NKJV). He addressed another letter to “the saints who are in Ephesus” (Ephesians 1:1, NKJV). He wasn’t writing to some superspiritual subset of the congregation but to all the believers. He could call them saints, or holy ones, because God had made them holy through the sacrificial blood of Christ.

Remember that some of these churches had major problems—scandals, factions, heresies—and yet Paul addressed them as “holy ones.” How come? Perhaps you’ve seen this on a bumper sticker: “Christians aren’t perfect, just forgiven.” That’s the essence of sainthood. Saints are sinners who kneel before God and receive his forgiveness.

But that’s not the end of our story. God’s love does amazing things in our lives. We begin offering it to others, stepping out courageously in faith, empowered by the Holy Spirit (the Sanctus Spiritus). So, yes, we admire the saints of old for their faithful actions, but we also practice sainthood ourselves as we humbly serve others and honor Christ.

So join in the celebration of All Saints’ Day by exhibiting your own sainthood today!

You are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.

Ephesians 2:19, NKJV