A feast for all the saints — even those not yet known

Saint Hippolytus of Rome, the second-century Christian bishop and martyr, tells a story that cannot but swells hearts of all Christian women and men.
 
There was a beautiful unwed woman of noble birth in ancient Rome. She heard about a new religion, Christianity, now steadily and quietly growing in the Eternal City. Though becoming Christian was illegal, this brave woman was baptized, and with baptism came alienation from her family, loss of noble rank, and the death penalty if — and when — she should be caught.
 
Eventually, the beautiful woman was arrested and was sent to jail to await trial. The local Roman judge heard about her beauty and learned that she had preserved her virginity. Filled with lust, the judge summoned her into his presence at court. 

The judge offered the woman two options: “Give yourself to me, or be sentenced to life in a brothel.” In the face of two appalling paths, the virtuous woman simply said she refused to give herself to the evil judge, and so he banished her to the house of prostitution. He figured he could profit handsomely from her there.
 
News about the beautiful virgin woman’s fate quickly spread across Rome. A young man in the city heard of her beauty and her Christian reputation of keeping herself pure. On the night she arrived at the house of prostitution, he approached the brothel wearing a long, heavy cloak and a hat. He offered the guard double the regular price to see her before anyone else in line and to stay with her as long as he wanted. The doorkeeper accepted his offer and led him to her room.

The man entered and closed the door behind himself. He began to undress. He told the woman to undress, as well. “I will not!” she shouted back through tears.
 
“But you must!” replied the man. He continued, “For if you do not remove your clothing… you will not be able to put on my clothes instead.”

The woman was confused.
 
The man approached her and confided, “I am a Christian too, and I am here to set you free.”

She quickly donned her savior’s long robes and hat. “Make your way quickly by the guards,” he said, “and no one will know it isn’t me.”
 
It worked. The woman walked down from her cell and past the doorkeeper without commotion. Moments later, the manager opened the bedroom door expecting to find the woman ready for her next client, but he saw the naked Christian man instead. He was taken immediately to the same judge who had previously sentenced the woman to the brothel, and the furious official ordered the man to be thrown to the wild beasts without delay. The hero died, and the Christian woman was set free.

Each November, the Church begs us to celebrate the saints — and not just the canonized saints. Most of us know of them even if we never knew them. 
The canonized are already recognized with individual dates throughout the year. All Saints Day is for those who don’t have feast days. It’s for people like the Roman man and the Christian woman who each heroically faced evil and prevailed, even though we don’t know their names.

It is a feast day for those who won’t have their own, yet who are worth celebrating. It is for people like your quietly strong grandfather or virtuously patient wife. When we call these men and women to mind, when we remember their stories, when we share them with others — their tangible, credible, close witness to holiness empowers us to join their company. Therein lies their power, the power of All of the Saints.

FATHER TYLER TENBARGE is a priest of the Diocese of Evansville where he serves as chaplain of Legatus’ Evansville Chapter. His homilies can be found on the And With Your Spirit homily podcast.