The following homily was delivered by Bishop Rhoades on All Saints’ Day at the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame during Mass for the fall conference of the de Nicola Center for Ethics and Culture on the theme of “Catholic Imagination.” On this joyful solemnity of All Saints, the Church throughout the world raises its gaze to heaven. Here in this beautiful Basilica of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, we are aided in doing so as we gaze up at the beautiful blue and gold ceilings with 96 painted angels and also when we look at the dozens of saints depicted in the murals or frescoes on the walls and ceilings of this basilica. When the sun is shining, we see even more saints, the 64 canonized saints depicted in the stained-glass windows of the nave and transepts. And in the reliquary chapel of the apse of this basilica, there are 1,618 relics of 784 saints, some of which are displayed in front of the altar today. At every Mass, and especially today, we are called to raise our minds from earthly realities and to know that at every Eucharist, we join the angels and saints in praise and adoration of God. In a special way today, we think about the community of heaven: all our brothers and sisters who, as we heard in the Book of Revelation, live before the throne of God and sing His glory forever. St. John “had a vision of a great multitude, which no one could count, from every nation, race, people, and tongue.” They wore white robes – white, because they had been washed in the blood of the Lamb, the blood that cleanses from all sin; white, the color of victory and of resurrection. They washed their robes in the blood of Christ by accepting His Gospel, believing in Him, repenting of their sins, being baptized, and persevering in the grace of their baptism. They held palm branches in their hands, another sign of victory, and they cried out in gratitude to God the Father and to Jesus for the gift of salvation: “Salvation comes from our God, who is seated on the throne, and from the Lamb.” This marvelous vision stirs our imagination. When I was a freshman in high school, in 1971, the famous song “Imagine” was released by John Lennon and Yoko Ono. I like soft rock and appreciate the music of the song, but even at the age of 13, I didn’t like the lyrics inviting us to imagine there’s no heaven. This song is still quite popular and has been performed at major events like the Olympic games. I mention this song today since we are celebrating this All Saints’ Day Mass during the wonderful de Nicola Center fall conference on the Catholic imagination. Unlike John Lennon, we don’t imagine there’s no heaven. To imagine there’s no heaven and to replace it with an imagined earthly paradise does not satisfy the irrepressible yearning of our hearts for truth, justice, and full happiness. By our nature, we human beings reach out for something greater that transcends us. The earthly utopia John Lennon dreamed about is not only unattainable; it does not overcome sin; it does not solve the enigma of death or satisfy our deepest hopes and desires, including that of meeting our loved ones again in heaven. And with no last judgment, there would never be true justice. We Christians believe in eternal life, a new quality of existence that Pope Benedict XVI described as being “fully immersed in God’s love, which frees us from evil and death and places us in never-ending communion with all our brothers and sisters who share in the same love.” Unlike John Lennon, we imagine there is a heaven, not a make-believe fantasy, but something real, “the state of supreme, definitive happiness” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, No. 1024), perfect life with the Most Holy Trinity and with all the saints. We believe based on divine revelation. We believe in the promises of the Beatitudes of Jesus, which we heard in the Gospel today. Now, to be fair to John Lennon, he was encouraging listeners to imagine a world of peace. He dreamed of a better world in which all would live as one, where there would be no greed or hunger, but he saw religion and nations as impediments to this dream. After inviting listeners to imagine there is no heaven and no hell, he sings, “Imagine all the people living for today.” He’s basically repeating the Communist critique of religion as focused on the afterlife and neglecting the world and the needs of people today. Now, it is true that we seek the city of God, the world that is to come, but we believe that we are bound, as Jesus teaches us, to fulfill our earthly duties, to pursue justice and peace, to defend life, to serve others, and to care for the poor and the suffering. The saints we honor on this day not only dreamed of a better world; they contributed to it by witnessing to Christ and His love. They knew that here we have no lasting city and sought the city which is to come, and this committed them more, not less, strongly to put into action in this world the teachings of Jesus, to live the Beatitudes – for example, to hunger and thirst for righteousness, to be merciful, and to be peacemakers. Pope Benedict once said that “eternity can already be present at the heart of earthly and temporal life when the soul is united through grace with God, its ultimate foundation.” The Catholic imagination is stirred by faith and reason, and it contemplates the truth about God, humanity, and the world. It is stirred by the life and teaching of Jesus. It is stirred by love, the love of God revealed in Christ who became man, who redeemed us from sin, who came that we might have life and have it to the full. The Catholic imagination is stirred by the Beatitudes, a self-portrait of Jesus Himself, whom we follow and strive to imitate. The Catholic imagination is stirred by the lives of the saints, their virtues, and their sacrifices. It is a blessing to celebrate Mass with you who work in so many different disciplines, exploring the Catholic imagination ever ancient and ever new. Rather than imagining there’s no heaven, which is to imagine that we have no definitive goal, an imagination that leads to despair and not hope, and to sadness, not joy, you look at the mystery of human existence and the world with the eyes of faith and with hearts of hope. Now, it’s not easy to imagine heaven, since, as St. Paul teaches, “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived what God has prepared for those who love Him.” How to imagine pure love and pure beauty? But we can get a glimpse of heaven by looking at the saints, especially the greatest of all the saints, Our Blessed Lady, the patroness of this university, because in them we see Jesus. In them, we see love. In them, we see blessedness. The saints give us hope as we struggle on this earth amid trials, temptations, and sufferings. They teach us to persevere in our faith, in our friendship with Christ, and in our hope of eternal life with Him. The saints care about us and pray for us that we will one day join them in eternal glory. We should never tire of calling upon our friends in heaven for assistance. They help us with their prayers to follow Jesus, to live the Beatitudes and thus “to put on Christ,” to be conformed to Him, and to walk the way of His cross – the only way to arrive at the destination we seek. To do so, we need His love and His grace. We can’t get there alone. We need the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit. We need the Church, the universal sacrament of salvation, established by Christ and sanctified by the Holy Spirit, through which Jesus communicates truth and grace to all people. As we contemplate the saints today, may we feel encouraged to walk more enthusiastically along the path of holiness! And, yes, as pilgrims on earth, committed to spreading Christ’s Kingdom by our works of mercy and love, let’s imagine the joy, peace, and beauty of eternal life in heaven! 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