November 1st saw us celebrate the Feast of All Saints, a Holy Day of Obligation where Catholics around the world are mandated to go to church. All of the Saints are venerated on this feast day. We celebrate each and every one of the thousands of saints which are present in the body of the church. A painting which adequately reflects the splendour of this image is the Adoration of the Trinity by Albrecht Durer. Sometimes referred to as All Saints, Allerheiligenbild or Landauer Altar (Landauer Altarpiece), this 1511 masterpiece captures the scripture (below) beautifully.
The Great Multitude in White Robes
9 After this I looked, and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. 10 And they cried out in a loud voice:
“Salvation belongs to our God,
who sits on the throne,
and to the Lamb.”11 All the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures. They fell down on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying:
“Amen!
Praise and glory
and wisdom and thanks and honor
and power and strength
be to our God for ever and ever.
Amen!”13 Then one of the elders asked me, “These in white robes—who are they, and where did they come from?”
14 I answered, “Sir, you know.”
And he said, “These are they who have come out of the great tribulation; they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 Therefore,
“they are before the throne of God
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne
will shelter them with his presence.
16 ‘Never again will they hunger;
never again will they thirst.
The sun will not beat down on them,’[a]
nor any scorching heat.
17 For the Lamb at the center of the throne
will be their shepherd;
‘he will lead them to springs of living water.’[b]
‘And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.’
The swarming multitude in their great white robes are captured exquisitely in this painting. People from all nations are gathered around the crucified Christ, with fronds in their hands signifying martyrdom. Christ is suspended above the ground, on a rainbow as the below scripture suggests he would be. He is upheld by God and above both figures is the Holy Spirit. This truly Trinitarian feast of a painting is enhanced by the brilliant colours and variety of those present. In reality, the saints of the Church come from a huge variety of places, which confirms the universality of the One Church. the word catholic indeed means universal. This painting is a joyous celebration of the myriad saints of the Church.
The one sitting on the throne was as brilliant as gemstones—like jasper and carnelian. And the glow of an emerald circled his throne like a rainbow. Revelation 4:3
As we celebrated All Saints day earlier in the week, we are reminded of the importance of aspiring to sainthood in everything that we do while we have time on earth.