November 1 is All Saints Sunday in the Christian Church. The following from Henri Nouwen’s “The Garden of the Saints,” in Bread for the Journey, seems particularly appropriate:

“The Church is a very human organization but also the garden of God’s grace. It is a place where great sanctity keeps blossoming. Saints are people who make the living Christ visible to us in a special way. Some saints have given their lives in service of Christ and his Church; others have spoken and written words that keep nurturing us; some have lived heroically in difficult situations; others have remained hidden in quiet lives of prayer and meditation; some were prophetic voices calling for renewal; others were spiritual strategists setting up large organizations or networks of people; some were healthy and strong; others were quite sick, and often anxious and insecure.

But all of them in their own ways lived in the Church as in a garden where they heard the voice calling them the Beloved and where they found the courage to make Jesus the center of their lives.”