All Saints, 2019

I count on the closeness of Saints.

Those that I know have touched down,

have pounded upon this earth, kneading

it, thumping it, tripping, falling, dancing;

each step, however managed, taking them

onward in this adventure.  They have lived

and shown others the edges of their full humanity;

lived as who they are because anything less

would be too other a shape.

They know that when this strength and vulnerability,

this passionate and cantankerous humanity, comes together,

Things happen, Things that change lives,

that not only speak of God, but unabashedly proclaim God.

They are people who sometimes frustrate, sometimes challenge,

sometimes console, and frequently confuse. 

These saints, in all of their humanity, 

radiate a love of God that cannot be held in check,

cannot be suppressed, denied, or left aside for later.

Some of these Saints get canonized. 

Some—not all.  

Their footsteps and  

the fierce love that was their shadow,

This is what remains.

Kimberly M. King, RSCJ